Haunting Past [Max]

[Max Abner]

Max nodded. A sandwich they could do. They let Kristina into their house and heard her gasp. They blushed a little at the paintings everywhere. "Yeah like I said the house is kind of a mess." Max chuckled as they led Kris down a hallway and into the kitchen. The house was mostly open concept so the kitchen was connected to a living room, dining room, and an archway led to their mom's art area. "Mom I brought a friend home." they called out as they opened the fridge and began searching for some sandwich materials. "What kind of sandwich did you want?" Max asked Kris.

Just then Max's mom literally slid into the room, her socks taking her halfway into the room. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a messy bun and her clothes were covered in paint. She rushed over to where Kris was and held out a hand. "Oh wow it's so nice to meet you. Max doesn't usually bring their friends home so as you can imagine I don't know a lot of them. We don't have a lot of company so excuse mess and my husband should be home soon if you were hoping to meet him too. How do you know Max?" Max's mom said all in rapid succession. Max chuckled and began preparing a sandwich, leaving Kris to the onslaught of their mother's questions and whatever else she could think of. Max got their hyperactive attitude from their mother, as would soon become apparent.

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Kristina looked at Max, "Not the mess... the paintings are beautiful." She explained as she followed Max into the kitchen. She heard them calling for their mother, telling them they had brought a friend over before looking in the refrigerator for the things needed to make a sandwich. "Well a sandwich with vegetables is much more filling, but I'm okay with a jelly sandwich too." She pulled away when she heard somebody walking into the kitchen. Their mother had the most prettiest blond hair she had ever seen and it was pulled back in a messy bun. So she is the one who created such masterpieces. She thought to herself as she took her hand in hers. "It is nice to meet you too." She paused before adding, "I'm Kristina, though I go by Kris." She paused, she looked towards Max before looking back at their mother. "I met Max when I was with Candy, another Chaser." She paused before trying to correct her words. "I'm thinking of joining that school myself."

Kristina could hear Max laughing but didn't mind at all, she liked talking with their mother. "Did you paint all of these? They are so beautiful." She stated, seeing as their was paint all over her clothes it seemed safe to assume that their mother was the one doing all the paintings around here. She had took note that Max's father would be hope if she stayed around long enough, she didn't see a real big rush. Strangely enough it seemed like the more people she met and their family, the bigger hers became even though, her brothers were gone. She wasn't about to explain that to Max's mother however. Just another reason to skip schools.... but I really don't want to leave Isidore behind... She gave Max's mother a friendly smile. "We are just having sandwiches, you should join us." She invited, wondering if Max opted for the vegetable type sandwich or a simple one.

[Max Abner]

At the two options of sandwiches Max thought for a second. Jelly sandwiches were easier, but vegetable sandwiches would be more fun to make and a have a lot more variety to them. So that's what Max went with. They started making those as their mom talked to Kris. The two seemed to be getting along and when Kris complimented their mother's paintings Max knew that she was in. It wasn't hard to impress Max's mother. All you had to do was compliment their art.

She laughed and sat down next to Kris. "Well Kris it's wonderful to meet you and good to hear that you might be joining the Academy. It's amazing how many young people join that place considering how dangerous it is. It's nice to hear that you like my art. I would love to paint you some time. You have a great face shape. I'm Tammy by the way." She said as she inspected Kris's features. Max sighed and plopped down two sandwiches in front of the two ladies. One for Kris and one for their mother. "Bon Appetite" This seemed to distract their mother as they thanked Max and then started to take small bites of the sandwich. Tammy offered to paint quite a few paintings of other people and even a couple of the ones in the room were pictures of people that knew the family.

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Kristina found herself smiling at Tammy when she said it was nice to meet her, "It's nice to meet you too." She was still waiting on a name. Tammy's words made her smile bigger. "It just means everybody else is safer." She answered, still thinking about her choice of joining or not because she hadn't decided. She nods her head over liking Tammy's old before Tammy gave her name. Kristina was flattered that Tammy wanted to paint her. "I'd love to take you up on that offer." She agreed just as Max plopped the sandwiches down in front of them. "Thanks Max." She was surprised there wasn't a third sandwich for them to eat, maybe Max hadn't planned on eating when they had stopped by here.

Tammy started taking small bits of the sandwich and Kristina did the same to her own sandwich, it wasn't long before it was gone. "So I just moved here a few months ago... do you know everybody you painted?" She asked, knowing that her brothers wouldn't be in the mix but maybe her foster mother had been. "My foster mother, you might know her.... Rebecca Evans." She added, though if Tammy did know her she would also know about her no longer being alive because she had been murdered by Kristina's aunt.

[Max Abner]

It seemed that Kris fared pretty well with their mom and wasn't too weirded out by her asking to pain her. Some people found that weird. Max decided that If Kris was strong enough to be a chaser then she had to be strong enough to handle their mother. They pulled up a seat and sat down. They weren't really hungry so they hadn't made themself a sandwich. Their mother raised an eyebrow at them and they shrugged. That was when Kris began talking about the paintings again. "I don't know everybody I paint. Sometimes I get commissioned to paint portraits, but sometimes I just paint the people I know because I think they look nice." Tammy stated.

The question about the foster mother made her think. She got up and walked over to a few paintings. "I think I have a painting of a woman by the last name of Evans. I knew her a long time ago." As Tammy flipped through the canvases Max heard the door open. They stood and looked around the corner into the hallway to where they dad was. He had a gym bag slung over his shoulder and as they walked by they kissed Max on the forehead. Max made a face and chuckled. "We have company dad." They stated and motioned to Kris. Max's dad laughed. He ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair. "That's a new one. This must be the neighbour girl right Max? Couldn't possibly be a friend of yours since you never bring them home to see us. Right Max?" As he teased them he picked the small teen up and slung them over his shoulder. Max complained and struggled to get free while their dad held out his hand to Kris. "Hi, I'm Max's dad Baxter."

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Kristina smiled at Tammy but noticed that Max hadn't joined them in making a sandwich to eat it. "Oh I see." She answered back before smiling. "Oh I was just wondering, she was my foster mother." She explained before feeling a bit sad, she missed that woman. Max had moved out of the kitchen and down the hall, Kristina could hear them talking but stayed in the kitchen. She noticed Max had pointed towards them and smiled at their father. Kristina laughed when Max tried getting free from their father but weren't able to do so. She took his hand and smiled. "I'm Kristina but I go by Kris." She paused, "It is nice to meet you Baxter."

[Max Abner]

Baxter shook Kris's hand and smiled. "Hope you've made yourself at home." He chuckled and then swung Max down onto their feet. They huffed and pretended to be annoyed, but there was a small smile on their face. They turned to Kris and grinned. "So these are my parents. They're a little bit eccentric." Max explained and their dad gasped behind them. "Eccentric? Us? Tammy did you hear what our little Maxxy just said?" He called over to his wife. She popped her head up and carried a canvas over to the group. "Did they call us eccentric again? I cannot believe this betrayal." She chuckled and handed the canvas to Kris. "This had the name Rebbecca Evans on it." Tammy explained. Max had never met Kris's foster mother so they couldn't tell if it was indeed the woman that Kris had lived with, but it was the same name. They say down again and watched Kris. They weren't exactly sure how she would react if the painting was indeed their foster mom. Tammy continued eating her sandwich while Baxter began looking for something to eat in the cupboards.

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Kristina found herself smiling when Baxter made his comment, strangely enough she had. Max then spoke about their parents and called them eccentric. Then Baxter had called to Tammy about what Max had just called them. Tammy popped her head up and carried a canvas, she explained it had the name Rebecca Evans on it. Kristina looked at the painting as it was handled to her. It was her foster mother alright, she was feeling somewhat weak in the legs, so she found the wall and leaned against it as she slid down to the floor just staring at it. "This is her." She answered, happy that Tammy had a painting of her foster mother after all. Tammy had sat back at the table to eat the rest of her sandwich while Baxter looked around the cupboards for something to eat. "Thanks for showing me Tammy." She answered, slowly setting the painting against the wall. She found it a whole lot easier to sit on the floor than trying to stand back up. "Hey ummm Max..." She called before seeing them. "A little help please..." She found herself stuck on the floor, the last thing she wanted was to risk stepping on something.

[Max Abner]

The look on Kris's face made Max think that the painting was in fact of her foster mom. Then she slid down a wall to the floor and confirmed what they had been thinking. That was her foster mom and Max's mother had painted her however long ago. Max stood up and went over to where Kris was sitting on the ground and when she asked they helped her up. "Kristina if you want you can keep that painting." Tammy said as she faced the girl. "I have no use for it and I'm sure you'd appreciate it a lot more than anyone would with it sitting in a pile here." The older woman gave a small smile. Max looked at the painting that Kris had set aside. It was nice, but not unlike many other in the house. It was no doubt that it would get looked at a lot more with Kris rather than just sitting here. They were happy that their mom had recommended the idea.

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Kristina smiled when Max had helped her up, Tammy told her that if she wanted to she could keep the painting. "I would really like to keep it." She stated, figuring Dream wouldn't care since it would be going in her room anyway. We can drop it off at Dream's house before Max and I head to the beach. She thought to herself. The Valentine party had yet to happen after all. She leaned over and picked up the picture in her hands. "Hey Max, on the way to the beach, I'm going to drop this off in my room. I hope that is okay." She answered as she didn't want it to get damaged at the beach and she believed they would be still going. "Tammy, Baxter we are heading to the beach, would you like to come with us?" She asked, sure that they wouldn't mind coming along, seeing as Max was likely still going with her.

[Max Abner]

Max was glad that Kris was going to be bringing the painting home. They figured that it might be nice that she have something to remind her of her foster mom. They were wondering for a second how and when to bring it to Kris's house when she figured it out for them. "Sounds like a plan. It shouldn't take too long." Max was pretty much up for anything right now. They smiled at Kris and their parents. However when Kris suggested that their parents come with them Max blanked. "Oh that sounds like a great idea! Tammy we haven't been to the beach all year!" Baxter turned around and smiled at his wife. She laughed and nodded. "Thanks for inviting us Kris. I think that would be wonderful." Tammy stated. Max forced a smile and laughed. "Yeah my parents coming with us to the beach. Good idea Kris." They were worried about their parents telling embarrassing stories more than anything else.

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Kristina nods her head in agreement, she found herself smiling back at them. When she had suggested their parents come along it seemed like such a good idea. Little did she know that Tammy and Baxter had some stories about Max that they'd likely share with her. With the painting in hand she looked towards Max. "We should head out before it gets to dark, so that I have time to drop this off." She answered, holding the painting in her hand she slowly walked towards the door, careful not to trip on anything because she reminded herself of the stuff on the floor. It was a nice place, with lots of paintings, but as soon as she was outside again, the fresh air made her feel all the more happier. She had the painting in her arms, finding it easier that holding the weight in her fingers. "Ready?" She asked as they slowly walked towards the beach, making a stop at Dream's house she set the painting in her room before walking back out. She left her wallet and cell phone, choosing to not risk getting it wet.

[Max Abner]

Max nodded when Kris started walking towards the door. Tammy got up and put on a jacket before grabbing another jacket and holding it out for her husband. The family walked with Kris to Dream's house and chatted idly about nothing important. Max was fairly glad that their parents hadn't brought up anything embarrassing about them yet. They had quite a few embarresing stories that could be told about them. They stuffed their hands in their pockets as they waited for Kris to come back down from setting the painting in her room. Before Kris came back down Max considered begging their parents not to tell any stories about them, but that just opened the gate to them actually doing it. So instead Max relaxed and smiled at Kris when she came back down. "Yea I'm ready. The beach is really pretty this time of year." Max stated. Baxter chuckled. "Max you only know that because we used to take you there. Nobody really goes to the beach when it's this cold." He gently poked the little gender fluid kid as they shrugged. "Yea yea. Doesn't mean I don't still like it." they laughed and looked at Kris.

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Kristina smiled at them, "I'm a bit bias, seeing as I don't get cold very often I find it beautiful all the time." So in the end she was agreeing with Max, until they got to the beach and Max possibly decides to change their mind on the subject. She slowly walked with them until they made it to the beach, she walked over to the water and touched it lightly with her finger tips. It was cold like normal, but she liked it all the same. She turned to look at Max, "So what do you think?" She was asking if they found it beautiful still, because now they got a chance to see it in the winter time. Her fingers once more touched the water, allowing the ripples to be created because she was causing the water to move out, back towards the ocean, it was fine to watch. "Would you like to give it a go Max?" She knew of their power, how they could touch her and get her power for a limited time.

[Max Abner]

Max nodded at what Kris said. They of course were usually wrapped in bundles of clothing and cold even in the summer had longer sleeves. They hated being cold. As they walked they forgot about even being slightly cold and got excited for the beach and the water and hanging out with Kris. Their parents being there didn't bother them that much, either. So when they got to the beach they followed Kris over to the water excitedly. They dipped their fingers into the water and a shiver ran up their spine. Tammy and Baxter had sat down next to each other to watch the two younger kids from further away.

At Kris's question they smiled. "It's beautiful, just like I remember." They stated as they sat back onto their ankles. They watched Kristina play around with the water and smiled. Elemental powers had never been their strong suit so when Kris offered for them to try it out they smiled and shrugged. "Yea sure why not." They chuckled and then reached over to the water. They gently touched Kris and then focussed on her power. Okay, just manipulate the water. It was probably just like Dream's metal manipulation. Slowly the water began to slowly rising in a straight line towards their palm. Of course then it fell back into its normal formation. They smiled at Kris. Then an idea occurred to them. "Hey I've been working on a new trick. Do you want to see?" they smiled widely. They had been practicing this for a while and they were excited to actually try it out.