A New Discovery (The dryad discovery 1)

Encouragement

(Lucy)
Victoria Theater 11:30am

Kristin and Aurora perfectly follow their scripts while Lucy watches them. Lucy got to see the large audience that the exam will take place in Victoria theater and the people meeting them to show off the creature, especially her. Her hands shaking and nearly crushing the paper. She can feel her insecurity rising through her body. Kristin and Aurora glance at Lucy with so much concern for her.

Sprinting away from the stage to get away from the crowd that she will perform while Kristin and Aurora shouts. Hiding behind a chest to get away from public through the backyard. She hates to be center of attention, let alone being the only dryad to be discovered. Maybe meeting Kristin and his friends is a bad idea, let alone being in the metropolis of Hope Redfield. Maybe she should go to the forest and hide forever. Maybe she should-

Footsteps thunders the backstage, it's a man. They get closer while Lucy holds her breath, opening her eyes to see Ian's glowing crimson eye glowing in the dim background. He was so close to her that they can, no Lucy needs to keep her distance from him. Ian was shining by the spotlight though slightly, Lucy relaxed her muscles to see him. For some reason Ian just calm her down just by his presence alone. He storks her hair, there is a subtle sad smile on his face. She never seen Ian like this, she always knew that he always has a kind heart underneath the rough exterior.

He's not shy, he prefers to guard his emotions. "Lucy, I know you're scared because you don't like to be the center of attention. I understand that, Lucy you can do this," he encouraged her. Lucy shakes her head, "I can't Ian, what if I fail? What if I made Kristin look bad? Ian I can't."

(Ian)

Lucy curled up into a ball. Ian doesn't want to monologue anyone, but it looks like he has no other choice. Lucy's face to meet his, he monologues her. Her pink eyes glow also in the background.

"Lucy, I get it that you're scared. Your not only one who get this feeling. We all have it during our lives. However, we need to push ourselves into uncomfortable positions for people to see us who we really are as people, not as actor or anything else. Look, I know you're scared of people, but you need to push yourself to uncomfortable situations where you can be nervous, scared, wanted to cry and even run away. You're a strong woman Lucy, I know you can do this. Do this for Kristin, do this for the people you really care about. Mostly, do this for yourself."

He kissed her forehead and walked out to the stage. For a brief moment, the footsteps become louder and louder as Lucy begins to sprint to the stage. Wow, that works to his favor. "Let's take another chance for this...I'm ready for this." Kristin and Aurora looked at him, they're going to ask him later about this. Ian watch as they rehearse their lines for the second time and Lucy perfectly act in the stage as a small group of examiners clapped for Lucy. Bursting of flowers, the examiners stand up. Yep, she's ready for this.

After they left, Lucy hugged him. At first, he was unresponsive, eventually he hugs her back. He could feel Lucy's skin through his clothes. Damn, she is so soft and pretty short. "Ian, thank you. I'll try my best for the exam. Not for this to Kristin, but to myself."

He smiled. He swear that he never smiled towards to someone before, but he did. Giving her a head pat, he gives her "I'm here if you need someone" look. Lucy stand on her tippy toes to hug him. After a while, she got blushing and run away from him. At least, he encouraged her.

His heart beings to thud uncontrollably, what the hell is happening to him? He never feels that way with the other girls that Lance tried to persuade them. Touching his lips to feel Lucy's soft skin, fuck I'm being soft towards someone I barely knew. Let alone a dryad to a newbie who has live under a rock.