Watch that man rattle his bones

She was staring - oh gosh, had he done something wrong, gotten too close, looked at her funny? Some people didn't like his serpentine eyes. Some didn't like that he didn't listen well, though he was getting better slowly. Some didn't like that he didn't really understand social niceties as he'd grown up knowing few people outside of his family, and then, when he had met people, he'd also met entirely too many mushrooms and acted odd or fled. He didn't have practice and it wasn't right for her to feel so uncomfortable because of him lacking some social skill, and he scurried back several feet, ears waggling nervously. "Oh, yes, I'm alright!" he squeaked out, momentarily forgetting how to breathe. To be perfectly honest, he was doing considerably better than he usually did, especially among old and dying things. It was peaceful here, and he almost wished he could stay, even though this wasn't his home and he really shouldn't. But maybe... maybe if he found an old growth forest, one where the cycle of life was active and healthy and normal, he wouldn't be as terrorized by the fungi as he usually was.

Maybe.

It took him a minute to understand that she was apologizing, simply because he had no idea what she would think she needed to apologize for. "Oh! I'm sorry, no, you didn't scare me. Well, not really. Sometimes I just start scared, but you seemed so capable with your sword, and like you were doing what you knew needed to be done, and it was really, I don't know... really admirable? So, I'm sorry for being scared at first, but knowing you were there and then here really brought a lot of comfort." He paused a moment, thinking. "And you don't look bad at all, so I know you're not 'as bad as you look', because that would be impossible."

He looked outside, almost feeling disappointed as he noticed that it appeared safe outside. "I think there's any more wights - the wind seems to have died down, and it's even getting lighter. It's probably safe to leave."