Thomas catches that flicker, and his brow knots slightly in concern. He's about to press for more detail if he can, but she moves on quickly enough, and new information distracts him.

His eyes light up at her revelation. "You designed this form yourself? Why, thats... that's remarkable!" He brings his hands up, gesturing toward her to try and communicate his excitement. "With that kind of independence, you must be incredibly advanced!"

Give him a second, Aya. He just needs to get this out of his system. He looks her up and down again like he were inspecting a work of art.

"Incredible. Not just in the design, but the movement... The movement's always the hardest part to get right. And the eyes. But you've got so much..." He brought a hand near his face, motioning toward his own eyes, "...life in your expression. That's so difficult to replicate, even for a human, and you've accomplished it yourself!"

She was a bit stiff, certainly, in her movement and mannerisms, but there was that spark of life in her eyes nonetheless. That was the important part.