[ Oh gods, she notices that he's blushing, too, and that just makes her blush all the more as she pulls him up, but soon enough he turns away and it gives her a moment to pause and try and find her composure with a drawn out breath.

His repeated apology, though, has her waving her hands dismissively as she huffs a little laugh in an attempt to disperse the awkwardness in the air. ]

It's really okay! It's good to meet someone who loves animals, too. I promise that I'm not offended at all. Actually, it felt—

[ — really nice, but by the blessing of some higher power, Ori just barely manages to save herself from complete humiliation by not finishing that sentence. Instead, she covers her mouth with a hand with a muffled noise, something almost sounds like a barely-contained internal scream.

She knows that he was referring very much to her appearance as a dog, but given the atmosphere, Ori can't help but feel bashful at the way he'd said "cute," which is honestly so silly of her, she thinks. She shakes her head at herself silently and, if she manages to catch Thoma's gaze again, she'll try her best at a reassuring smile despite still feeling so embarrassed. ]

A-Anyway... My friends had gotten really used to me turning into animals, so I've forgotten how startling it can be for people who've never seen a druid use Wild Shape before. So that's on me!