Howard's gotten over the kneejerk habit of clarifying that he doesn't have friends. It was an old defense mechanism, but it doesn't lend well to alliances, where you want to believe there's less distance between you and your companion than there might necessarily be.

"Cold burns? The fuck?" Fucking Gamemakers, man. "Where you been, Ellie?"

He gestures that they should all hide back here and formulate a plan of where to stay.