[ Aventurine lets a sound of disbelief escape. ] Ha—? You got a lot of assumptions about me in these warnings of yours, my friend!

What are you saying? Do I look like the type of guy who regularly pisses people off? I know I'm out of my league. [ he says, folding his arms in an overall bit of what looks like a mild pout, actually.

He gestures at Shylock. ] Why can't I stay with him, instead? I bruise easy, and I paid a lot for this coat, I don't know if I like the idea of staying with a bunch of people who get mad for no reason and have access to anything resembling fire magic.

[ He really doesn't want any of them knowing he's a pathstrider—it'd just complicate things. It's best they just think he's a useless pencil pusher, so the less chance of butting heads with other people the better.

Yeah, he'd like some sympathy for his plight here. ]