[center][h1][color=96EACE]Joseph[/color][/h1][/center]
[@canaryrose][@Duoya][@Jumbus]

He'd upset her. She was trying to hide it, but even an idiot like him could pick up on how her voice was less bubbly and happy than before. Why the hell did he feel the need to bring Winterfall up? Surely there must've been something else he could say to convey how serious it was, right? Whether or not it was warranted, he could feel the regret building up inside him, knowing that he was the reason Jamie was feeling like this. Maybe he should just be happy that she was even trying to pretend it hadn't effected her afterwards. Even with the mounting guilt, he couldn't help but feel that same weird flippy feeling in his chest he'd never quite gotten used to, purely from the expression she made as she flicked him on the forehead.

On the other hand though, her words only made him more anxious. Not that she was completely wrong in her assessment of the man. Probably. He couldn't really judge how cute he was accurately, but he guessed he could see why someone might find the guy attractive. You know, if you were into that kind of stuff...

But he wasn't wrong. Jamie was right, he [i]was[/i] paranoid, but he wasn't wrong. Not with this. Whether or not ZERO was involved, Yousef was a magus. Even without the runic arrays he'd been covered in making it blatantly obvious, he showed the same attitude as all the rest. The self-importance to assume that they could just stick their head into something they weren't involved with, and then make themselves the center of it, dictating how it should go as if they'd not only been involved, but in charge, right from the very beginning. Occasionally one would wise up and grow out of it, but he'd never met one who had. Not that it was really surprising, considering most of these people could literally change the world around them as they saw fit.

Though 

[color=96EACE]"Sorry..."[/color] Joseph said to her, trying to drag his mind away from that topic, at least for now. [color=96EACE]"I-, I shouldn'tve brought that guy up, that was stupid. Still, he might not be involved with ZERO, and I guess maybe there's a chance he's even a decent person, but he [i]is[/i] a magus. And there are some good ones out there, there [i]must[/i] be, but... of all the magi I've ever known, there's only ever been one I wouldn't call a monster. They aren't good people, and I don't think there'll ever be one who hasn't hurt more people than they've helped. Hell, I'm pretty sure most don't even bother..."[/color]

Clearly, dragging his mind from the topic had failed. He couldn't quite hold back the dry chuckle that accompanied the realisation. Bad memories and old regrets were quickly taking over his better judgement, and it was only with tremendous effort that he managed to force the quickly forming grimace from his face, replacing it with a more easygoing smile. Not a very convincing one, he was sure, but hopefully enough that he could at least pretend to convince himself he was fine until he managed to get there for real.

[color=96EACE]"Jus-... I mean-... Alright, look."[/color] He said with a sigh, trying to make his voice sound at least a little less dark than it had gotten, though that was a secondary concern compared to hiding the gloominess from what he was about to say [i]next[/i]. [color=96EACE]"I'm not saying don't hang out with the guy, ok? If that's what you wanna do, then... I guess that's what you wanna do... Anyway, you're your own person, so do what makes you happy. I'm just asking you to please, [i]please,[/i] be careful when you do. Most magi don't see normal people the way they see themselves. We'r-"[/color]

[i]Monsters.[/i]

He froze.

[color=96EACE]"A-anyway, the point is magi suck."[/color] He said, before blinking as it finally in his head registered that Chad had [i]also[/i] said he wasn't a magus somewhere in the middle of that whole mess, presumably to keep Joseph from feeling left out or something.

Good kid, even if he did seem to have missed the point about as hard as he could've without using his super speed to [i]actively dodge it.[/i]

[color=96EACE]"Ah... Yeah, cool. I mean, I'd already figured you weren't, but I guess it's good to know for sure."[/color] He said, giving him a thumbs up. He hadn't [i]initially[/i] been planning to lie to the guy, but he also just watched him accidentally pull the dreaded 'you too' move back there with Yousef. Probably not the best idea to risk him blurting out the main thing he's trying to keep hidden in the first place.

Finally, he turned to address Starbright, who had seemed to be the only one who hadn't fully trusted Yousef other than him. It was a weird feeling, to be looking to [i]Starbright[/i] as his only ally, but thankfully he didn't have to dwell on it because he immediately ruined it.

[color=96EACE]"Hey Noah? Star[i]bite me.[/i]"[/color] He said. [color=96EACE]"It's been a while since I've gotten the chance to play, but D&D is [i]great.[/i] Besides, I'm not talkin' crap about your hobby of being a self-righteous douche, am I? Disregarding the frankly [i]disgraceful[/i] example you're setting right in front of your dear protégé, do you [i]really[/i] want to act even less mature than [i]me?"[/i][/color]

Despite how he'd been feeling before, he couldn't help but start smirking half way through the conversation. Apparently some mutual shit-stirring was exactly what he needed to distract him from the anxiety and anger roiling around in his gut, at least for a little while. He'd need something else to force it back down later, he knew that, but at least for now, he felt some of the weight on his shoulders lift away, leaving him free to try and enjoy himself for a couple of hours.

Thankfully, it only took a second or two before the perfect plan was suggested, his eyes lighting up as Jamie mentioned the bar.

[color=96EACE]"Now we're talking!"[/color] He said. [color=96EACE]"I've been sober since just after we got on the plane, which was a big mistake. Turns out they're still scary even when you aren't drunk."[/color]