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Eyyyyyyyyyy, finally got this done!!!! This took a while part cuz of the picture but also the story i wrote that went along with it lol. Decided to experiment with both and see how it'd go together!!!!! You can read the story below!!!! I hope you like it!!!! :3

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It was a snowy August morning as they both walked together. And Kristy had to admit; she was still very much not used to this weather at this time of year. Then again, she still kindaaaa wasn't 100% used to being in Shellside yet either. She'd only been here a few months, those months feeling like years and years. Sure, she had gotten more used to things, having been here in Shellside since the end of January but even then, it still wasn't something she could just...Brush aside, the entire being kidnapped thing. And even moreso, she also wasn't used to having to travel around Shellside Island to do missions and having to demon fight and literally learn how to save the world. Kristy really just constantly felt like the entire world was on her shoulders and it was something that still would suffocate her in anxiety if she dwelled on it too long or too hard. Easier said then done though. Especially considering now that she WAS thinking on it, she felt her entire body flood with dread, anxiety filling her chest.

"Eyo, you aite there Kris Kris or...?" Kristy looked over to see Max giving her an odd look, his sky blue eyes studying her closely. Kristy looked at him a moment before awkwardly looking down at her feet as she walked, grabbing her arm anxiously. "Yeah, i uh......I'm fine..." The floppy earred blue shoodle snickered some, that classic sharptoothed grin pointed at her. "You say that but your face and voice very much say otherwise heheheh. You maybe wanna come clean and really tell me what's up?" Kristy internally facepalmed, of course Max of all people wasn't gonna let that go so easily. Max was a master at both reading other people’s emotions and hiding his own to a degree. Kristy honestly knew she should have known that by this point and yet...

Kristy contemplated sharing some of her anxious feelings with her teammate but also wondered if it would be better to just tell Max upfront that she didn't want to discuss any of this with him at the moment. On one hand, she'd just be repeating the same old same old stuff again but on the other, she knew Max would understand if she didn't want to discuss it and...Quite frankly, she kind of didn't want to. She knew these anxious feelings weren't gonna go away anytime soon anyway, she knew it was a thing she'd have to get used to. Maybe if she just let those thoughts be, they'd turn more numb over time and not bother her so much.

Kristy thought for a moment before giving her answer to Max. "It's just anxiety again, i...Don't really wanna talk about it." She looked over to see Max just shrug, his hands in his hoodie pockets, smirking still. "Alrightyyyy then...Don't say i didn't offer ya an outlet then. And uhhhh, if you change your mind, you know i'm here for ya friendo." Kristy let out a small breath, that breath being visible in the cold. She was glad Max let it go so easy. She knew it'd be better if she dealt with it on her own with time.

Currently, her and Max were walking through the streets of Greyston, a city they were stopping the night at on their route to a different city on Shellside for a mission. Since they were at a stop and therefore were just passing through, they kinda had a bit of a free day to just do whatever. Max and Kristy had decided to take a look around the area whilst their other teammate, Sharky, had decided to lounge and rest some in their hotel room until Max and Kristy returned. Sharky had been driving quite a bit lately, Kristy definitely thought he deserved some nice alone relaxing time and along with Max encouraging him to self care, Sharky couldn't really refuse or say no.

Thus it was just Kristy and Max together for a bit which was fine by her. They hadn't really done too much other then go by a few electronic and game stores, Kristy had gone into a bookstore to see if there was any manga she'd be interested in, Max had insisted on getting a coffee he quickly polished off. It was kinda boring but it was kinda nice also. It beat Kristy's stress of the upcoming mission away somewhat, at least. Now at the moment, she and Max were just wandering, taking a scenic route back to their hotel room. And while she was enjoying it and they had moved on from the topic, Kristy's anxiety still continued to eat away at her.

~~~~~~~

And Max very much could tell. He wasn't about to just drag Kristy's emotions out of her. He hated when other people would do that to him and he wasn't going to dare do it to his bestie. But at the same time, Max knew Kristy still was very bothered with life at the moment. Which wasn't new. Kristy'd been an anxious wreck since day 1 when they first met. It kinda made Max wonder if the shitty kidnapping stunt Orange Hair pulled on Kristy singlehandedly gave her the anxiety orrrrr if Kristy had anxiety before and OH's crap just made it that much worse. It kinda didn't matter either way though he figured. Kristy had so much going on it honestly wasn't surprising at all that she was so anxious constantly but that didn't mean Max had to like that. He hated seeing his friends being in ruts like that. With his depression, Max definitely knew the sheer torture of your brain being against you like that.

The cold wind blew through his midnight blue fur, his punk-ish boots crunching in the snow as they both continued walking, Kristy anxious and obviously not too happy while Max was deep in thought, trying to think of something maybe they could do to get her mind off of her troubles. From dealing with this on and off again, Max knew distractions were honestly a pretty good way to keep your mind more at ease from the world's chaos. It wasn't a cure but it definitely helped keep you from self destruction, kept your mind clearer.

Max pondered if there were any stores around maybe they could go into for a bit as a distraction. Maybe they could get some food? Food always was a great idea. Max more then anybody knew that it was pretty hard to be down with a full stomach, despite him being constantly hungry and never seeming to be satisfied for some reason but hey! Food was food and it helped alot with his depression so who was he to complain? Max kept thinking. There had to be something around that'd make for a good distraction to help his comrade out.

And that's when Max looked up and saw it. Bingo. Looking up ahead, Max noticed an empty playground, devoid of anybody and coated in snow. And he knew he could use this as a jumpoff point to get Kristy to relax more. This was exactly the kinda thing he was hoping for. And he also knew exactly how to get Kristy to get onboard also. With a very quick smirk, Max elbowed Kristy and got her attention. "Hey, i bet i could get over to those swings before you could!"

And of course, Kristy being the competitive spirit she was, took it hook, line and sinker, smirking back at Max and chasing after him. "Not if i get there first!!!"

  ~~~~~~~

Kristy ran after Max as fast as she could but Max was still faster. Part because he had a headstart but also because Max did have being a dog on his side. Out of The Trio, Kristy was the slowest due to her being human but she never let that stop her. She had tricks up her sleeves and she knew how to use em. Like her teleportation skills, which speaking of...

Kristy's leaf amulet lit up in a bright green hue as she proceeded to teleport, getting there a few steps before Max did as she materialized back into existence in front of him. "Hey, no fair!! I ain't got no magic to use Kris!!" Kristy just smirked and scooped some of the snow off the swing chair, throwing it directly at Max who was laughing until the snow hit him in the chest. "You snooze, you lose!! Skill issue!!" Max let out a huff, glaring playfully at her as he brushed some of the snow off his chest and jacket. "Yeah yeah, whatever i guess. Enjoy that win, not gonna let you win so easy next time..."

Kristy sat down on her swing as Max approached the other swing, Kristy not noticing Max grabbing the snow off his swing as she spoke. "The only way you'd ever win Max is if i let YOU win yknow? I do still have magic on my si- HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN?? COLD, COLD!!!" Kristy was taken very off guard by Max moving her jacket and shirt and proceeding to drop snow down the back of her shirt, Max letting out a big laugh as he then slinkered back to his swing. "There we go, now we're even!! That was for chunking snow at me hehehehe!!"

Kristy glared at Max for a moment, thinking about throwing more snow at him but instead she just groaned after a second, annoyed but faltering. "You're lucky i just wanna sit now...Been up all day walking around..." Max started swinging, snickering some as he began to get higher as he looked over at Kristy. "Yeah, walking around and looking at cool stuff all day hehehe...Tis a pretty nice change of pace in my opinion." Kristy crossed her arms, scoffing a bit, her tone somewhat amused. "Beats having to do the mission honestly..."

Kristy immediately stopped, her face falling. She HADDDDD to bring it up again, didn't she? She immediately felt a sense of dread flood throughout her body. The anxiety gave her a sense of cold that the snow never could. She figured she must have been very obvious with her mood shift because Max quickly picked up on it, kicking his feet into the snow below him to stop, a very concerned look on his face. "Hey, you alright or...?"

Kristy sighed, squeezing her arm tightly, her nervous habit. Kristy knew she'd probably be better off just telling Max now instead of just continuing to repeat her 'It's fine' shtick. So she decided to try and muster up some form of an explanation for her friend. "It's just...I'm really anxious about the mission. I know it's like super routine at this point but to an extent it still isn't for me. I just...I'm not used to this stuff still and i'm worried i never will be...I know it's our job but at the same time, this isn't a job or position i asked for and just...UGHHHH, my brain is a clustered cluttered up mess, i'm feeling so much stuff at once and i just...I don't know what to do really i guess..."

  ~~~~~~~

"I'm really sorry Kris...I guess i can't really imagine what you're going through with that exactly..." Max found himself saying after a moment. Kristy kind of slumped down a bit more, an annoyed look on her face as Max continued, a bit unknowingly on his part of Kristy's feelings. "Like for me, being a demon fighter is something that i've always wanted to do. Like i didn't really want the 'save the entire world' part thrown in there with it but like...I mean, i'll take it haha!!" Max finally looked back over at Kristy, realizing he sortaaaa wasn't helping. "I just...I dunno. I guess it's a disconnect me and you have. My point is, i guess i can't put myself in that mindset of not wanting the job but uhhhhhh, then again, i don't really think there's alot of people that...Can relate to all the stuff you've gone through heh..."

Kristy was not very enthusiastic about Max's rambles, her face kind of said it all and Max mentally slapped himself while on the outside he just had a very forced, nervousy smirk on his face. "Yeahhhhhh that's kind of part of the problem. Glad you were able to piece that out..." She looked away and Max immediately felt bad. That was not his intention like at all. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking over at Kristy and speaking again after a moment. "I'm sorry Kris...I guess i made stuff worse huh?"

Kristy let out a breath, responding back to him after another moment. "No, not exactly. I know you're just trying to help. I think my problem is just the fear of not getting used to things ever...Like all of this is just...So much still and i just...I don't know if i am ever gonna get used to it. And if i don't ever get used to it, how the hell am i supposed to save the world? How am i supposed to get us as a team to the point where we can save the world? It's so...Much..." Max listened to Kristy, staring as she spoke and he slowly changed his expression some, his expression getting softer, obviously thinking a bit himself. "........I actually do kinda know THAT feeling...That you're never gonna get used to certain stuff..."

Kristy paused, seemingly not expecting Max to say anything like that. She looked over at him, seeing the neutral-ish but serious softened look on his face. "Wait, really?" She questioned. Max nodded. Max normally tried not to talk about some of this sort of stuff. Alot of his earlier years in life had been pretty damn heavy and Max internally had enough issues dealing with it himself...So bringing his friends into those horrors wasn't something he enjoyed doing by any means...But he figured if it'd help Kristy's nerves some, he could deal with it. He was a strong guy, the streets had made him strong. He had to be to get by and to survive...Max took a breath and begun to speak more, explaining himself a bit.

"Yeah, actually...That uhhhhh...Kinda was me whenever i got to The Campsite at first. I'd been so used to being on the streets and adjusting to living in a house, having everything i need at an easy reach, being able to actually take better care of myself and not have to fight for everything...Well uh, that defs took a bit of trust and learning and reassurance and a wholeeeee spectrum of stuff altogether but i did get there eventually...And as hard as it was, i'm really glad i did get there in the end...Sorta, i still have certain issues heh...Yknow what i'm talking about..."

  ~~~~~~~

Kristy hung on Max's words as he confined in her. Max usually was much more lighthearted and derpy so whenever he did dip more into these sorts of deep topics, Kristy always did her best to be respectful and to hear him out. As much of a derpass as he could be sometimes, Max was a person too and Max had been through his fair share of crap. He knew his shit a good bit of the time. The least Kristy could do was listen and take that trust and keep it close to her chest. She never wanted Max to feel unsafe sharing those sorts of things with her.

Whenever Max had finished speaking, the cold air was quite around them both for a moment. Kristy had her hands clasped in her lap, her fingers intertwined. She found the right words after a moment. ".........I see...I didn't know about all that......I can defs imagine that being pretty hard..." Max smirked lightly after a second, trying to be lighthearted and seemingly happy he found an angle to maybe help his friendo from.

Max kicked his feet in the snow some, his hands grabbing on the swings plastic ropes, moving very subtlety back and forth. Shrugging some, he spoke again. "Yeah, that's an understatement heh. Stuff was BEYONDDDD hard for me when i was a kid..." Max paused for a minute before looking over at Kristy, his tone very genuine and somewhat more lighthearted. "Actually...When i was a kid on the streets still, playgrounds were kinda like...Just the one place i could go to for a bit and just for a few moments, i could feel normal and just be a kid. It was kinda nice...Heh, i guess that's probably part of what made me think going over here'd make you feel better-ish. Old instincts never fully go away i guess..."

Kristy felt herself snicker a smidge at that. Her experience was veryyyyy different..."When i was a kid, i was pretty much...Like completely opposite of that. Whenever i was in school and recess came around, i'd always take books out and read on the playground instead of playing anything. At a point, the teachers got really pissy with me because i'd do that and they'd take up some of my books to try and get me to be 'social' and whatever...so i'd sneak books out and find a hideaway spot or two so i could read still. Reading used to be my sorta special interest so they couldn't stop me from doing it that easy! That and uhhhh the kids were assholes alot of the time. Every time i ever did try and join in, i'd usually get some form of crap for it. Just always have been that weird autistic kid so uhhhh yeah uh, i guess i can't relate to that specifically...But i'm glad it was that happy place for you dude."

Kristy felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Max looking her in the eyes, smirking and determined. "Welp, never too late to rewrite old memories with newer better ones...Like the ones we're making here where you're with a comrade who's 'ride or die' with ya haha!" Kristy felt a large weight seemingly fall off her shoulders some whenever Max said that...And she couldn't help but smile back some genuinely. "It sucks ass i'm in this whole situation but at least i got some amazing friends by my side to help me. It helps to know i'm not in this alone and the people I'm with actually care about me..."

Max spoke cheerfully as Kristy suddenly felt a buzz from her phone in her pocket and she proceeded to get it out and check her texts as Max went on. "Hell yeah!!! That's the spirit!!! We gotcho back all the way Kris Kris, never forget it haha!!!" Kristy stood up from her swing and turned to Max, reading the text. "Speaking of never being alone, we probably should get going back to the hotel room. Sharky's wondering where we're at and we do have to do a bit of planning for tomorrow still."

Max stood up also, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, rolling his eyes some amused. "Yeah yeah, don't remind me...But fair honestly. I'm kinda tired of being cold so going back to the hotel sounds pretty damn good right now. I wanna keep relaxing but i wanna relax in bed if ya get me." Kristy shoved him some with her shoulder, walking beside Max as they started leaving. "You slept like foreverrrr earlier, you're fine for a bit ya derp!!" Max just smirked back amused still. "Kris, you underestimate the hell outta me, yknow that? Ya really do!! I could sleep so much longer, you have no clue!!! Ooooooo, speaking of, i think ima defs get some chow before we go back up to the room. And alottttt of it too, neither you or Sharky are gonna stop me!! And i also-"

Kristy let Max keep rambling as she started zoning out a bit. Looking over and seeing Max's energy and knowing their other teammate was back waiting for em and was wondering about em made her feel really nice for a change...Sure, this wasn't exactly what she had ever planned in any single sense, this entire life she had now...But Kristy knew it was necessary and she knew she'd get better with stuff as time did continue on hopefully. If Max could build himself a new life from the ground up for better, then surely she could too...And with both Sharky and Max on her side for all of it, the anxiety felt less strong. The mission tomorrow might suck, it might go flying off the rails real bad in fact...But if she had her new best friends by her side, then she felt much more confident and comfortable. And that was more then good enough for her...

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I hope you guys liked the story!!! ^-^

Picture done: Today!!!
Story done: Ehhhhhh, couple weeks at least lol...Don't have an exact date i'm afraid for that one lol, oof...

Description
Eyyyyyyyyyy, finally got this done!!!! This took a while part cuz of the picture but also the story i wrote that went along with it lol. Decided to experiment with both and see how it'd go together!!!!! You can read the story below!!!! I hope you like it!!!! :3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a snowy August morning as they both walked together. And Kristy had to admit; she was still very much not used to this weather at this time of year. Then again, she still kindaaaa wasn't 100% used to being in Shellside yet either. She'd only been here a few months, those months feeling like years and years. Sure, she had gotten more used to things, having been here in Shellside since the end of January but even then, it still wasn't something she could just...Brush aside, the entire being kidnapped thing. And even moreso, she also wasn't used to having to travel around Shellside Island to do missions and having to demon fight and literally learn how to save the world. Kristy really just constantly felt like the entire world was on her shoulders and it was something that still would suffocate her in anxiety if she dwelled on it too long or too hard. Easier said then done though. Especially considering now that she WAS thinking on it, she felt her entire body flood with dread, anxiety filling her chest.

"Eyo, you aite there Kris Kris or...?" Kristy looked over to see Max giving her an odd look, his sky blue eyes studying her closely. Kristy looked at him a moment before awkwardly looking down at her feet as she walked, grabbing her arm anxiously. "Yeah, i uh......I'm fine..." The floppy earred blue shoodle snickered some, that classic sharptoothed grin pointed at her. "You say that but your face and voice very much say otherwise heheheh. You maybe wanna come clean and really tell me what's up?" Kristy internally facepalmed, of course Max of all people wasn't gonna let that go so easily. Max was a master at both reading other people’s emotions and hiding his own to a degree. Kristy honestly knew she should have known that by this point and yet...

Kristy contemplated sharing some of her anxious feelings with her teammate but also wondered if it would be better to just tell Max upfront that she didn't want to discuss any of this with him at the moment. On one hand, she'd just be repeating the same old same old stuff again but on the other, she knew Max would understand if she didn't want to discuss it and...Quite frankly, she kind of didn't want to. She knew these anxious feelings weren't gonna go away anytime soon anyway, she knew it was a thing she'd have to get used to. Maybe if she just let those thoughts be, they'd turn more numb over time and not bother her so much.

Kristy thought for a moment before giving her answer to Max. "It's just anxiety again, i...Don't really wanna talk about it." She looked over to see Max just shrug, his hands in his hoodie pockets, smirking still. "Alrightyyyy then...Don't say i didn't offer ya an outlet then. And uhhhh, if you change your mind, you know i'm here for ya friendo." Kristy let out a small breath, that breath being visible in the cold. She was glad Max let it go so easy. She knew it'd be better if she dealt with it on her own with time.

Currently, her and Max were walking through the streets of Greyston, a city they were stopping the night at on their route to a different city on Shellside for a mission. Since they were at a stop and therefore were just passing through, they kinda had a bit of a free day to just do whatever. Max and Kristy had decided to take a look around the area whilst their other teammate, Sharky, had decided to lounge and rest some in their hotel room until Max and Kristy returned. Sharky had been driving quite a bit lately, Kristy definitely thought he deserved some nice alone relaxing time and along with Max encouraging him to self care, Sharky couldn't really refuse or say no.

Thus it was just Kristy and Max together for a bit which was fine by her. They hadn't really done too much other then go by a few electronic and game stores, Kristy had gone into a bookstore to see if there was any manga she'd be interested in, Max had insisted on getting a coffee he quickly polished off. It was kinda boring but it was kinda nice also. It beat Kristy's stress of the upcoming mission away somewhat, at least. Now at the moment, she and Max were just wandering, taking a scenic route back to their hotel room. And while she was enjoying it and they had moved on from the topic, Kristy's anxiety still continued to eat away at her.

~~~~~~~

And Max very much could tell. He wasn't about to just drag Kristy's emotions out of her. He hated when other people would do that to him and he wasn't going to dare do it to his bestie. But at the same time, Max knew Kristy still was very bothered with life at the moment. Which wasn't new. Kristy'd been an anxious wreck since day 1 when they first met. It kinda made Max wonder if the shitty kidnapping stunt Orange Hair pulled on Kristy singlehandedly gave her the anxiety orrrrr if Kristy had anxiety before and OH's crap just made it that much worse. It kinda didn't matter either way though he figured. Kristy had so much going on it honestly wasn't surprising at all that she was so anxious constantly but that didn't mean Max had to like that. He hated seeing his friends being in ruts like that. With his depression, Max definitely knew the sheer torture of your brain being against you like that.

The cold wind blew through his midnight blue fur, his punk-ish boots crunching in the snow as they both continued walking, Kristy anxious and obviously not too happy while Max was deep in thought, trying to think of something maybe they could do to get her mind off of her troubles. From dealing with this on and off again, Max knew distractions were honestly a pretty good way to keep your mind more at ease from the world's chaos. It wasn't a cure but it definitely helped keep you from self destruction, kept your mind clearer.

Max pondered if there were any stores around maybe they could go into for a bit as a distraction. Maybe they could get some food? Food always was a great idea. Max more then anybody knew that it was pretty hard to be down with a full stomach, despite him being constantly hungry and never seeming to be satisfied for some reason but hey! Food was food and it helped alot with his depression so who was he to complain? Max kept thinking. There had to be something around that'd make for a good distraction to help his comrade out.

And that's when Max looked up and saw it. Bingo. Looking up ahead, Max noticed an empty playground, devoid of anybody and coated in snow. And he knew he could use this as a jumpoff point to get Kristy to relax more. This was exactly the kinda thing he was hoping for. And he also knew exactly how to get Kristy to get onboard also. With a very quick smirk, Max elbowed Kristy and got her attention. "Hey, i bet i could get over to those swings before you could!"

And of course, Kristy being the competitive spirit she was, took it hook, line and sinker, smirking back at Max and chasing after him. "Not if i get there first!!!"

  ~~~~~~~

Kristy ran after Max as fast as she could but Max was still faster. Part because he had a headstart but also because Max did have being a dog on his side. Out of The Trio, Kristy was the slowest due to her being human but she never let that stop her. She had tricks up her sleeves and she knew how to use em. Like her teleportation skills, which speaking of...

Kristy's leaf amulet lit up in a bright green hue as she proceeded to teleport, getting there a few steps before Max did as she materialized back into existence in front of him. "Hey, no fair!! I ain't got no magic to use Kris!!" Kristy just smirked and scooped some of the snow off the swing chair, throwing it directly at Max who was laughing until the snow hit him in the chest. "You snooze, you lose!! Skill issue!!" Max let out a huff, glaring playfully at her as he brushed some of the snow off his chest and jacket. "Yeah yeah, whatever i guess. Enjoy that win, not gonna let you win so easy next time..."

Kristy sat down on her swing as Max approached the other swing, Kristy not noticing Max grabbing the snow off his swing as she spoke. "The only way you'd ever win Max is if i let YOU win yknow? I do still have magic on my si- HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN?? COLD, COLD!!!" Kristy was taken very off guard by Max moving her jacket and shirt and proceeding to drop snow down the back of her shirt, Max letting out a big laugh as he then slinkered back to his swing. "There we go, now we're even!! That was for chunking snow at me hehehehe!!"

Kristy glared at Max for a moment, thinking about throwing more snow at him but instead she just groaned after a second, annoyed but faltering. "You're lucky i just wanna sit now...Been up all day walking around..." Max started swinging, snickering some as he began to get higher as he looked over at Kristy. "Yeah, walking around and looking at cool stuff all day hehehe...Tis a pretty nice change of pace in my opinion." Kristy crossed her arms, scoffing a bit, her tone somewhat amused. "Beats having to do the mission honestly..."

Kristy immediately stopped, her face falling. She HADDDDD to bring it up again, didn't she? She immediately felt a sense of dread flood throughout her body. The anxiety gave her a sense of cold that the snow never could. She figured she must have been very obvious with her mood shift because Max quickly picked up on it, kicking his feet into the snow below him to stop, a very concerned look on his face. "Hey, you alright or...?"

Kristy sighed, squeezing her arm tightly, her nervous habit. Kristy knew she'd probably be better off just telling Max now instead of just continuing to repeat her 'It's fine' shtick. So she decided to try and muster up some form of an explanation for her friend. "It's just...I'm really anxious about the mission. I know it's like super routine at this point but to an extent it still isn't for me. I just...I'm not used to this stuff still and i'm worried i never will be...I know it's our job but at the same time, this isn't a job or position i asked for and just...UGHHHH, my brain is a clustered cluttered up mess, i'm feeling so much stuff at once and i just...I don't know what to do really i guess..."

  ~~~~~~~

"I'm really sorry Kris...I guess i can't really imagine what you're going through with that exactly..." Max found himself saying after a moment. Kristy kind of slumped down a bit more, an annoyed look on her face as Max continued, a bit unknowingly on his part of Kristy's feelings. "Like for me, being a demon fighter is something that i've always wanted to do. Like i didn't really want the 'save the entire world' part thrown in there with it but like...I mean, i'll take it haha!!" Max finally looked back over at Kristy, realizing he sortaaaa wasn't helping. "I just...I dunno. I guess it's a disconnect me and you have. My point is, i guess i can't put myself in that mindset of not wanting the job but uhhhhhh, then again, i don't really think there's alot of people that...Can relate to all the stuff you've gone through heh..."

Kristy was not very enthusiastic about Max's rambles, her face kind of said it all and Max mentally slapped himself while on the outside he just had a very forced, nervousy smirk on his face. "Yeahhhhhh that's kind of part of the problem. Glad you were able to piece that out..." She looked away and Max immediately felt bad. That was not his intention like at all. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking over at Kristy and speaking again after a moment. "I'm sorry Kris...I guess i made stuff worse huh?"

Kristy let out a breath, responding back to him after another moment. "No, not exactly. I know you're just trying to help. I think my problem is just the fear of not getting used to things ever...Like all of this is just...So much still and i just...I don't know if i am ever gonna get used to it. And if i don't ever get used to it, how the hell am i supposed to save the world? How am i supposed to get us as a team to the point where we can save the world? It's so...Much..." Max listened to Kristy, staring as she spoke and he slowly changed his expression some, his expression getting softer, obviously thinking a bit himself. "........I actually do kinda know THAT feeling...That you're never gonna get used to certain stuff..."

Kristy paused, seemingly not expecting Max to say anything like that. She looked over at him, seeing the neutral-ish but serious softened look on his face. "Wait, really?" She questioned. Max nodded. Max normally tried not to talk about some of this sort of stuff. Alot of his earlier years in life had been pretty damn heavy and Max internally had enough issues dealing with it himself...So bringing his friends into those horrors wasn't something he enjoyed doing by any means...But he figured if it'd help Kristy's nerves some, he could deal with it. He was a strong guy, the streets had made him strong. He had to be to get by and to survive...Max took a breath and begun to speak more, explaining himself a bit.

"Yeah, actually...That uhhhhh...Kinda was me whenever i got to The Campsite at first. I'd been so used to being on the streets and adjusting to living in a house, having everything i need at an easy reach, being able to actually take better care of myself and not have to fight for everything...Well uh, that defs took a bit of trust and learning and reassurance and a wholeeeee spectrum of stuff altogether but i did get there eventually...And as hard as it was, i'm really glad i did get there in the end...Sorta, i still have certain issues heh...Yknow what i'm talking about..."

  ~~~~~~~

Kristy hung on Max's words as he confined in her. Max usually was much more lighthearted and derpy so whenever he did dip more into these sorts of deep topics, Kristy always did her best to be respectful and to hear him out. As much of a derpass as he could be sometimes, Max was a person too and Max had been through his fair share of crap. He knew his shit a good bit of the time. The least Kristy could do was listen and take that trust and keep it close to her chest. She never wanted Max to feel unsafe sharing those sorts of things with her.

Whenever Max had finished speaking, the cold air was quite around them both for a moment. Kristy had her hands clasped in her lap, her fingers intertwined. She found the right words after a moment. ".........I see...I didn't know about all that......I can defs imagine that being pretty hard..." Max smirked lightly after a second, trying to be lighthearted and seemingly happy he found an angle to maybe help his friendo from.

Max kicked his feet in the snow some, his hands grabbing on the swings plastic ropes, moving very subtlety back and forth. Shrugging some, he spoke again. "Yeah, that's an understatement heh. Stuff was BEYONDDDD hard for me when i was a kid..." Max paused for a minute before looking over at Kristy, his tone very genuine and somewhat more lighthearted. "Actually...When i was a kid on the streets still, playgrounds were kinda like...Just the one place i could go to for a bit and just for a few moments, i could feel normal and just be a kid. It was kinda nice...Heh, i guess that's probably part of what made me think going over here'd make you feel better-ish. Old instincts never fully go away i guess..."

Kristy felt herself snicker a smidge at that. Her experience was veryyyyy different..."When i was a kid, i was pretty much...Like completely opposite of that. Whenever i was in school and recess came around, i'd always take books out and read on the playground instead of playing anything. At a point, the teachers got really pissy with me because i'd do that and they'd take up some of my books to try and get me to be 'social' and whatever...so i'd sneak books out and find a hideaway spot or two so i could read still. Reading used to be my sorta special interest so they couldn't stop me from doing it that easy! That and uhhhh the kids were assholes alot of the time. Every time i ever did try and join in, i'd usually get some form of crap for it. Just always have been that weird autistic kid so uhhhh yeah uh, i guess i can't relate to that specifically...But i'm glad it was that happy place for you dude."

Kristy felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Max looking her in the eyes, smirking and determined. "Welp, never too late to rewrite old memories with newer better ones...Like the ones we're making here where you're with a comrade who's 'ride or die' with ya haha!" Kristy felt a large weight seemingly fall off her shoulders some whenever Max said that...And she couldn't help but smile back some genuinely. "It sucks ass i'm in this whole situation but at least i got some amazing friends by my side to help me. It helps to know i'm not in this alone and the people I'm with actually care about me..."

Max spoke cheerfully as Kristy suddenly felt a buzz from her phone in her pocket and she proceeded to get it out and check her texts as Max went on. "Hell yeah!!! That's the spirit!!! We gotcho back all the way Kris Kris, never forget it haha!!!" Kristy stood up from her swing and turned to Max, reading the text. "Speaking of never being alone, we probably should get going back to the hotel room. Sharky's wondering where we're at and we do have to do a bit of planning for tomorrow still."

Max stood up also, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, rolling his eyes some amused. "Yeah yeah, don't remind me...But fair honestly. I'm kinda tired of being cold so going back to the hotel sounds pretty damn good right now. I wanna keep relaxing but i wanna relax in bed if ya get me." Kristy shoved him some with her shoulder, walking beside Max as they started leaving. "You slept like foreverrrr earlier, you're fine for a bit ya derp!!" Max just smirked back amused still. "Kris, you underestimate the hell outta me, yknow that? Ya really do!! I could sleep so much longer, you have no clue!!! Ooooooo, speaking of, i think ima defs get some chow before we go back up to the room. And alottttt of it too, neither you or Sharky are gonna stop me!! And i also-"

Kristy let Max keep rambling as she started zoning out a bit. Looking over and seeing Max's energy and knowing their other teammate was back waiting for em and was wondering about em made her feel really nice for a change...Sure, this wasn't exactly what she had ever planned in any single sense, this entire life she had now...But Kristy knew it was necessary and she knew she'd get better with stuff as time did continue on hopefully. If Max could build himself a new life from the ground up for better, then surely she could too...And with both Sharky and Max on her side for all of it, the anxiety felt less strong. The mission tomorrow might suck, it might go flying off the rails real bad in fact...But if she had her new best friends by her side, then she felt much more confident and comfortable. And that was more then good enough for her...

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I hope you guys liked the story!!! ^-^

Picture done: Today!!!
Story done: Ehhhhhh, couple weeks at least lol...Don't have an exact date i'm afraid for that one lol, oof...