Clearly, it was weighing on him. Joseph wrapped Rhys up in his arms tightly. "That doesn't mean I won't worry, love," he assured him. "And I'm always willing to listen."
Growling at a Gangrel was usually unwise, Joseph had to admit. But Rhys was a barely trained fledgling who'd be badly treated by his clan and abandoned (intentionally or not) by his sire. Expecting him to naturally know such things was ridiculous. "A simple mistake," he soothed. "We all make them. It's hardly the end of the world."
Technically, it was the end of the world since Gehenna had begun and the time of Thin Blood was upon them. But neither of those were Rhys' fault and certainly hadn't been caused by him growling at Ariel.