<span style="font-style: italic">"Hey. I know you're frightened, I can smell your fear. We all are. It's hard for all of us. We're all different, just trying to make things work. Whenever you want to try, too, you can come and join us. We help each other here, okay? I'll be going back to the living room, now. See you later, I hope."</span><br/><br/>Kala listened to Veronika through the door then wandered away from it deep in thought. She had crossed her room, the 'floor' of which was covered in grass and wandered to the tree that took up nearly half the room, a few branches above her head running along the ceiling. They had moved the tree here and build the room around it, or rather, through it. Half the tree graced a corner of her room while the other half extended outside to bask in sunlight.<br/><br/>Kala ran a hand through the low hanging leaves, like a veil around the base of the trunk, where she normally slept, still deep in thought and wondering what she would do. She did enjoy her small piece of forest they had made for her, but she missed others of her kind. She just missed being in someone elses company, really.<br/><br/>So what was the issue then? Why was it she couldn't go out and say hello? Was it because they were so different? Why was she fine around Jayce and not them? If anything, she should be scared of Humans for what they did to her home, but Jayce had nothing to do with that. No one here did those horrible things to her forest. It was something else. Something she couldn't put her finger on.<br/><br/>Opening her door a small way, she peered into the hallway. Once she was sure no one was there, she inched out and quietly tapped on Jayce's door.<br/><br/>"Caretaker, may I enter?" she whispered, hoping no one would hear. Jayce straightened up, finding himself staring at the floor for a while now, deep in thought.<br/><br/>"Sure." he said. He watched as Kala entered the room, gently pushing the door closed with a rear flank. She turned in the small space and kneeled down on the rug at the end of his bed. She still sat level with him as a Human girl sitting on the bed.<br/><br/>"I do apologize, Caretaker, I was dropping eves outside your room a moment ago." she said, "I am also having problems with seeing other people."<br/><br/>"You mean socializing." Jayce corrected, "Yeah, I don't mean to, but I just find it awkward for some reason."<br/><br/>"What is 'Awkward'?" she asked.<br/><br/>"I feel uncomfortable around them. I can't think of what to say or talk about with them. I worry about offending them when I do say anything. Just like this morning." he said.<br/><br/>"I feel the same way." Kala said, "Although I also feel like I am too different from them as you are. I do not like attention. Also I fear for embarrassing myself because of my size and the little space you have in this house." she paused for a moment then became defensive, "No, not that the house is too small! I am very comfortable here, but I don't want to break any of Caretaker's things."<br/><br/>"Well I don't think you have to worry about that. Drake breaks and burns things all the time. The Government pays to fix it. I don't have many sentimental things. All of it is in this room really." He replied. They both stared at the floor for a moment then Kala suddenly giggled.<br/><br/>"What?" Jayce asked.<br/><br/>"I find this amusing, Caretaker." she said, "Dryads are inherently shy and it sometimes takes years for a child to venture past the shadow of their mother. I outgrew this long ago and enjoy 'socializing' with other Dryad. I see not how this differs. Other Dryads were different from each other as we are when it comes to the person you are. The only barrier I see is their appearance and abilities." she paused for a moment, then looked over to the window before getting up and walking over to it. She pulled back the curtains to look outside at the construction crew doing the roadwork in the hot summer sun. Jayce remembered the film they had put on the glass in the bedrooms to make them like one way mirrors. No one would be able to see her unless she opened the window. She continued, "I am not afraid of you or your looks. I am not afraid of those people outside. I am not afraid because you are familiar and because you do not fear me. Perhaps all I need to do is become familiar with the rest of the people here and I will not fear them either."<br/><br/>"Good for you, Kala." Jayce said with a smile.<br/><br/>"But what of you?" she asked, turning away from the window, "Why do you not socialize as I should?" It took Jayce a while to answer.<br/><br/>"I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm Human and consider myself weaker than the rest of them. I think of myself as fragile compared to them. I don't understand things about what they are, and I think they don't know things about Humans." he replied.<br/><br/>"You fear for your safety?" she asked, "I am more than willing to protect you, Caretaker." Jayce turned red and stood up abruptly.<br/><br/>"No, no. I don't need to be protected. If anything, I should be protecting you."<br/><br/>"Why?" she interrupted him.<br/><br/>"Well, because, um." he trailed off, "You're a girl I guess. Guys are supposed to protect girls from danger. It's instinct I guess."<br/><br/>"Because I am Female you think I cannot protect myself?" she asked, crossing her arms.<br/><br/>"No! That's not what I mean!." he protested, "This is what I mean by not understanding things about our species." he flopped back down in his computer chair and hung his head in his hands, "I did it again. I've offended someone." Kala stood cross with him for a moment, then broke her stern demeanor with a giggle.<br/><br/>"I am not serious with you, Caretaker. I understand this instinct for the male to protect the female, but for Dryads, only family and lovers are concerned with that." she paused for a moment then a sneer formed on her lips, "We are not family as you are not of Dryad decent. Could it be you think of me in the other way?" Jayce turned a deeper shade of crimson and cleared his throat.<br/><br/>"What do you mean?"<br/><br/>"Do you think of me as a lover?" she said slowly, enunciating every word to make it sink in, all the while leaning over to look deeper into his eyes, a sort of seductive smile on her lips.<br/><br/>"I....ah....um....well..." He stammered, "No...I....Ahem...God it's warm in here."<br/><br/>"Well?" she asked, now inches from his face, "You obviously find me attractive."<br/><br/>"You are attractive, but..." he began.<br/><br/>"You do not like me?" she asked straightening up.<br/><br/>"I do, but as a friend. Do Dryads protect their friends?" he asked.<br/><br/>"Not really. If one Dryad family got along well with another Dryad or another family, they would simply become one big family." she said, "What you call friends are like new family members."<br/><br/>"Then we would be family then too, right?" he nervously asked, "We're friends."<br/><br/>"I suppose you can put it that way, yes." she said, brightening up, "So, we seemed to stray a bit from our original topic of conversation. I think I would like to try socializing with the others, but only if you will join me and be some form of familiarity."<br/><br/>Jayce looked behind him and scooped up his coffee cup, "Alright. I'm being silly not wanting to go out. I need to get some breakfast anyway."<br/><br/>"Oh, that is right. Mine is on the floor beside my room." she added.<br/><br/>Opening the door, Jayce picked up the bowl and handed it to Kala, then made his way to the kitchen to get some cereal with Kala right behind him. Before he headed to the lounge where the rest of them were sitting, he turned back to Kala.<br/><br/>"Ready?"<br/><br/>"Y-Yes." she stammered, then followed him in. It was comical at first. She tried to hide behind him like a shy little girl but because she towered over him it didn't quite work well. She ended up sort of cowering behind his back with her hands clamped on his shoulders.<br/><br/>"Morning, all." he said, "We've decided to join you this morning. How are things?" he awkwardly said, "This is Kala Mylune. She's kind of new here. I hope you welcome her to the house."<br/><br/>Drake turned around for a moment, looked her up and down, then smiled, "Hey. Good morning! Finally decided to turn off your computer? Kala, was it? Come in! Have a seat or whatever. Make yourself comfortable. The scary Zombie dude just left in a hurry. He was getting kind of fidgety."<br/><br/>"Clay? Is he alright?" Jayce asked. The government had told him certain, 'need to know' things about some of the residents here, but one was a mention of medication for Clayton. Perhaps that's what it was, "I'm sure he will be."