What an absolutely delightful man. Alex bit back a whole row of insults that had neatly queued up in his throat. It was generally best to stay on the good side of those who managed your paychecks. A sputtering sigh exited his mouth instead. Of all the things he could've ended up doing he'd ended up with PAGAN. The rebellious punk he'd been up until a few years ago would probably have something to say about that, but food doesn't pay for itself. And certain debts are never quite settled. With gritted teeth he made a fist out of his metallic hand. Certain debts remained unsettled. He snapped back to reality as the voice of the girl spoke to him, a voice that sounded rather unhealthy. Lowett had heard rumors that the Tainted were treated like<i>merde</i>despite their vitality in PAGAN operations. He'd never thought it to be true.<br/><br/>With a sigh, he set to following the rude researcher. "Not the friendliest guy around, is he?" He quipped as his new partner strode past him. What a strange girl, she seemed fragile. Almost as if the slightest touch would break her. But something at the back of his mind told him otherwise. Instinct buzzed like a nest of angry hornets. She was not like she seemed.<br/><br/>The room they entered felt like a smaller version of the last one to him, sterile and boring and filled with people who were in over their egg-shaped heads. It seemed Mishka was reluctant to make eyecontact, so he didn't try to force it. Unfortunate, he thought, the electric blue of her eyes was quite pretty. His musings were interrupted by his newest friend Scala blaring into his ears. He didn't really listen to the history lesson, only looking up at his partner a few times when she was mentioned. An attack dog, on a leash? Is that what they saw her as? His eyes narrowed.<br/><br/>As soon as Scala had left, Lowett leaned back and sighed. He popped the front legs of his chair into the air for a moment as he listened to Mishka explain the situation. He whistled through his teeth. "<i>Quel salop, eh?</i>" He snickered.<br/>After a panicked moment where he threatened to fall backwards the chair was quickly put back on four legs and his elbows placed on the table. A moment of silence later he spoke up.<br/><br/>"So... Mishka,<i>non?</i>" He spoke the name as if he was trying to make sure it was really what he thought it was. "It's nice to meet you- oh,<i>je m'excuse.</i>"<br/><br/>The hand he'd extended hummed softly as the lens-like object in the palm appeared to pulsate along. He quickly pulled it back, offering his organic hand instead. Even through this clumsy display, the proud smile never did leave his face. Though unbeknownst to him the empath would certainly pick up the quick wave of embarrasment that overtook him as it happened.<br/><br/>"It's a bit old." he explained, noting that his behavior was probably a little strange to say the least. The PAGAN rookie tapped his metallic arm through his coat about at the height where one's bicep would be. "Takes a while to start up, so I've got it warmed up for when we get out there later and kick some SHADE<i>culs</i>!" A quick display of shadowboxing, the imaginary opponent was quickly felled by a one-two from the excited Frenchman who proudly celebrated his victory by putting his hands to his hips. "Aaanyway, if you touch the hand now you'll get a nasty shock. So... that's why."<br/><br/>It was hard to believe the girl in front of him really was a "weapon", one of the Tainted. She seemed so frail...<br/><br/>"I've heard you've had quite a bit of experience..." He tried carefully, for a fraction of a second an immature smile tugged subtly at the corner of his mouth as a follow-up to that comment was barely stopped by his alert brain. Not now, Lowett. This is probably a sore topic. "Our line of work isn't the easiest, is it?"