With a half-cocked smile that didn't quite reach his sunken eyes and a quick, snatching grab that implied mistrust if one were to look deep enough for reasons in minor actions, Phrike placed the Lho-stick in the corner of his mouth, grasping at loose pockets for some sort of lighter or match.

"Nasty bit of scarring, that." He mentioned, albeit without looking up to meet her gaze. With a light in hand, he took a single drag and blew smoke from his nose, coming out in staggered breaths. No matter the fact he was born here, situations like this never changed for him; things were rowdy and tense, one errant convict or paranoid enforcer away from a stubber firing off into the crowd or suffocating gas to be piped into the room. 

Under no consent from the woman, he ran his finger quickly along the length of one of the scars, Lho-stick now halved as he saved the closest section for later. "You do that yourself or your cellmate?" 

Attempting to savour the luxury afforded to him, he scanned the room. You didn't survive long on Redemption without taking stock of your environment every five seconds or so, making sure to keep track of any quiet transactions, hidden blades or bubbling situations that would end up with you in an iso-cube or bleeding out on the ground before the Enforcers were able to control the situation. 

Two men who stood out from the rest drew his eye. Characters of importance were rare on Redemption, as the old adage goes: "the nail that sticks out gets hammered." He made sure to keep his glances quick, as not to draw their ire before he drew his gaze back on the woman.