[His apologies garner a dismissive wave of her free hand as she follows alongside him into the shade. No use for saying sorry about time taken to travel, particularly when nursing a painful injury. He’s gone out of his way to seek her out rather than running in the opposite direction, so he’s already earned himself more points than quite a few of the operators she used to work with back home.

And as soon as he reveals the beat up state of his hand, she can’t help the impressed whistle she automatically gives in response. Yeah, alright, he really wrecked that thing good. She reaches out without preamble to quite firmly grab him by the forearm to get a closer look, glancing up his way when he explains that enough force to get this result typically wasn’t a big deal for him.]

Guessing since you’re new, you haven’t thrown your lot in with either side here yet, yeah? [The newness itself isn’t even in question; she’d instinctively recognized him as an Advocate, while simultaneously knowing he’s one she’s never seen before.] Can’t tap into your full power until you attune to the forces running things around here, annoying as it is.