"I'm sorry," she says to Laura's silence on the matter, assuming that it means 'yes' and 'I don't want to talk about it'. She's not trying to be condescending or pitying, she's juts expressing an apology for the crappy situation Laura seems to be in. The claws must be useful, but obviously they come at a cost.

"Um, how long have you got?" It'd take a while to answer that question properly, "It's been a bit haphazard, so it's a long story." She's not quite avoiding the question; she'll answer, she just doesn't want to say a lot if Laura doesn't care to hear it.