2/22 Instance: Prickly Pair

[Starfish]

Timeline: After the instance "Sonic and Knuckles Adventures".


Max: Max peeked his head through a door and only found another empty room. "Flippen bloody stupid place. It's too big. It's too blerrie big." he said as he backtracked through the hallway. "Must get a blerrie map for this place." he kept mumbling.

Penny: Penance had been watching Max for a while now, having silently followed him through his tour of the mansion. For some reason, he didn't seem to like exploration as much as she did. Or stalking people from the shadows without them noticing anything. Now he had turned around and came straight back towards her, however.

Max: Max stopped dead in his tracks and saw the familiar figure of Penny. He grinned at her and waved, "Hello. I think I'm lost. I thought the locker room and swimmingpool was this way."

Penny: With her head curiously peeking around the corner, a smile appeared on Penny's features as she returned the wave. Stepping into the hallway to reveal herself, she crouched down in front of Max. She then produced a crayon wrapped in duct tape and wrote the word "Pool" on the blank wall, followed by an arrow.

Max: "Sweet, this place needs more directions like this." Max said, "You wanna take me there, or are you going somewhere else?" he asked.

Penny: Returning the crayon to its makeshift pouch, Penance replaced it by a piece of chalk and scribbled some words on the little black board around her neck. "I want to go with you." She held it up for Max to read, an expectant look on her face.

Max: "Then come along, it's this way apparently," Max pointed the way the new official crayon signed pointed. "So you liking it here?" he asked as they started their mini journey.

Penny: Penance stayed by Max's side as they made their way down the hallways and gave him an eager nod. She glanced down long enough to write another message for him. "The place is huge and exciting." When she bumped into a wall, she blinked in surprise and shook her head, then simply moved on. "The people are nice and interesting."

Max: "And weird, just like us. I think there's a crocodile dude somewhere around here as well. Well, I heard about him." Max scratched his elbow. "This way, right? Place is startign to look familiar now."

Penny: Looking up at Max's face, Penny's eyes widened from excitement. "Can we look for him? Do you think he is swimming in the pool?" Glancing from side to side, she nodded and pointed a claw in the right direction. Before they moved on, she drew another arrow with her crayon.

Max: "Hell yeah, that would be awesome." Max said as he walked with her. Their pace had somehow quickened sinvce the mention of the croc-o-guy.

Penny: "Riding on a crocodile is fun," she wrote on her chalkboard, then held it up for Max with a smile on her face.

Max: "Are we talking like plastic ones you get at the arcade where you throw a coin in and they move back and forth? because I can't actually fathom that someone would sit on an actual crocodile's back.... and ride him."

Penny: Penny's smile grew until she showed some of her white teeth. "Fake ones don't try to throw you off," she wrote. "That's not much fun."

Max: Max stared at her as they walked, this time it was his turn to bump into the wall. He shook his head and then went on their path of adventure. "You are very strange and very interesting." he stated.

Penny: Penance flashed Max a grin and sped up, bounding into the spacious hall before scrambling to a halt. The dim pool area lit up when the lights sensed movement and flickered to life one by one. Turning around, she waited for the brown spiky boy with a proud look on her face.

Max: Max wasn't too far off, and quickly arrived in the pool. "Place looks bigger when it's just us two here. Aww, I don't see any crocs." Max said. He then peered to the side, "But they have a hot tub. Man this place is awesome."

Penny: The amazement let the red girl's eyes sparkle as she craned her neck to take in all the impressive sights, turning around until she almost made herself fall over. It would take a while for her to get used to a place like this. Approaching the edge of the pool, she cautiously peeked down into the water. How sparkly and clear it was.

Max: Max had to resist the urge to push her into the water. There's always the chance she couldn't swim. Or she could knock her head. And maybe drown. Max seemed a little worried by then. "You can swim, right?"

Penny: Penance turned around to look at Max, a grin appearing on her face when she nodded. "I like water," she wrote for him, holding up the board so he could read it.

Max: "Great, we could go for a swim when you get some unbreakable swimwear. I wonder if spandex is unbreakable. Never seen it tear."

Penny: Instead of answering Max, Penny only tilted her head slightly to the side, looking thoughtful for a few moments. Then she did a quick backwards somersault and pushed herself off the edge, catapulting herself into the clear water.

Max: Max's feet got wet, a bunch of drops hit him higher up. He looked down, "Oh great, now it looks like I peed myself." He looked over to Penny. "You really should get something else than that leather thing, wont it get uncomfortable when you get out of the pool?" he asked.

Penny: Penances resurfaced, treading water while enjoying the feeling of the cool drops running down her face. Opening her eyes, she thoughtfully watched the boy. Fortunately, the small chalkboard mostly consisted of wood, paint, and duct tape, allowing it to float. "You are right - it is broken anyway." She showed him the words she had written.

Max: He pieced together what te smudged words on the wet chalkboard said. " He looked back downat himself. "I can either join you, or hide until this wetness dries." He smirked, and pulled his shirt off, jumping into the water with pants on.

Penny: Penance would have laughed if it weren't for the lack of a voice, so she simply grinned and held up a clawed hand to shield herself from the splashing water. The moment Max returned to the surface, she retaliated in kind.

Max: He had to wipe the splashed water from his face. "This is nice! Never been in an indoor pool, didn't think it would feel this warm.. Well it's still cool, but not cold."

Penny: "I have never been to such a place." Penny had to draw every line several times, the water making it hard to get the chalk to stick to the board. Eventually she gave up, simply enjoying the experience with a relaxed smile on her face. Max was right - this felt nice.

Max: They, and with they being just Max, was quiet for a while as they both floated and relaxed, before Max splashed and stood up in the water, fidgeting inside his pants, "Blerrie hell! I forgot to take out my cell and wallet." he said, pulling out a waterlogged celllphone and a dripping wet wallet.

Penny: Lifting her head out of the water to see what all the fuss was about, a cheerful smile lit up Penny's face when she gave her impression of a voiceless laugh. She hid it behind a raised claw, because poor Max seemed to be really upset his things getting all wet. On the other hand, it was incredibly funny - particularly how he had said "blerrie".

Max: Max waded to the side and shook his cellphone and wallet, putting the one down on the side of the pool then opened his wallet, trying to get his bank card and other things dry.

Penny: Penny followed Max and waded to the side of the pool, where she peeked over the edge to investigate the drenched phone. Extending a long claw, she gave the little electronic device a few careful pokes. After pondering on how to be helpful, she then held it up between two fingers and gently blew on it.

Max: Max glanced up at Penny and smiled at her, then went back to trying to drying his wallet's things. "That's as dry as they come I guess. Sweet, drivers license still looking good. Let's see if the phone's still okay," he said asking for the cell.

Penny: Max should get his answer when Penny tried to hand the delicate phone over to him, finding the screen impaled on the tip of a claw despite her best efforts to not leave a scratch. She wore a bewildered expression when she froze and stared at the skewered device. That was not good.

Max: Max stared then cocked his head, "Well, I'm sure that's how it would have wanted to go out, first drown and then impaled." Max said and pulled it off of her hand. He still tried to turn it on, "Nope, it's departed. Oh well." he said, turning it around and taking out the sim card. "This little bugger is the important one though." he said with a smile.

Penny: Penny almost sank underneath the water, feeling horrible about the broken phone. She gave Max a miserable look, before hastily scribbling something on her little black board. "I'm sorry."

Max: "Oh no, don't worry, I'm the idiot who first drowned the donnerse thing. Besides, I was looking for a reason to get a new one anyway. It's old. It was old. I'm just glad the sim card seems okay."

Penny: A faint smile crept back on Penny's features when she realized that Max didn't seem to be angry at all, and she dared to lift her head out of the water bit by bit. She wiped her board clean and wrote another message: "You don't mind me breaking your stuff? I do that all the time." Then she showed it to him while looking quite sheepish.

Max: "Well, I tend to break my stuff as well, so it's no biggie. Come to think of it, the only stuff I have left now is my clothes in my room, and ninety percent of them is already poked and ripped thanks to my spikes."

Penny: Her smile turned into a grin and she nodded, knowing exactly what the boy meant, before hastily writing a reply. "These are my best clothes - and my only ones." Lifting her arm, she caused some of the duct tape patches to get pulled off, revealing more and more tears and holes in the worn black leather suit.

Max: Max frowned, "You know, if you don't mind wearing t-shirts and pants, I'd 'lend' some to you if you want." he finger quoted the lend.

Penny: Penance cocked her head. "They would not last long - sturdy clothes are better." she wrote for Max, then turned the board around to add another line. "Thank you."

Max: "Well, if you do nned something, just tell me." he thought for a second. "Or write me. Anyhow, I'm gonna see if they have any towels aronud here, get this stuff completely dry." he said, and then pushed himself up the side of the pool.

Penny: Keeping her head titled sideways, Penny's eyebrows shifted upwards while Max's wet pants took the other direction. The cheerful grin returned to her face when his little tan butt revealed itself to the public - which consisted only of her at the moment, of course.

Max: "Ag no..." Max said as he quickly tried pulling the wet pants up, which due to his luck wouldn't, seeing that his leggings were caught on the quills at his legs. "Damnit, damnit, blerrie flippen damnit."

Penny: Penance enjoyed the amusing show with a silent laugh, gleefully bouncing in the water while Max struggled with his pants and almost tipped over. At the same time it was fascinating to watch him deal with problems she knew all too well about - even though having spikes on your arms and legs seemed to make the whole affair even trickier.

Max: Max finally gave up. Wet pants and quills on legs are no way friends. He looked over his shoulder and was about to say Please don't luagh, but that was way too late. He gave out a sigh and then, with his back still at Penny, he pulled his pants off completely, then held them at his groin as he turned around. He quickly grabbed the underwear that came off as well.

Penny: Penance sank down into the water to hide the tiny smirk on her face, while she continued to watch Max's plight with curiosity and amazement. Her long red hair and the small black board floated on the surface. Apparently he shared her sentiments that clothing was a necessary evil at best. It certainly wasn't made for pointy people like him and her.

Max: "Ummm... I think I'll go find a towel or something. I'll be right back." he said and skiddled off to the wrong door which ead to the hallway, then came back in and found a closet door filled with towels and other things for the pool. He dropped his wet pants with a loud schlopp sound and wrapped a towel around him before grabbing his pants and coming back, second towel in hand for Penny.

Penny: Ducking under the water, Penance then pulled herself up on the pool's edge and lifted herself out of the water, doing a quick handstand before tumbling across the floor to end up sitting by Max's side. She shook herself briskly, causing drops of water to fly in every direction, then awkwardly reached for the offered towel.

Max: "Okay, I am sure that leather has got to be uncomfortable when wet like that," Max said as he handed the towel. He then picked up his shirt and put it on. "I wonder if people would mind if I walk around like this." He added, still feeling the little blush stick to him.

Penny: Penny's expression was a mix of confusion and annoyance while she fought with the towel, which had deviously set out to attack and get the red girl all tangled up. She spun around and flailed when it got stuck in her spiky hair, before her claws tore a hole into it through which she could peek out to look at the quill-covered boy.

Penny: "I don't mind," she scribbled on her board and held it up, still caught within the large towel.

Max: "Ahhhh you need help there?" he asked.

Penny: Penance shook herself once more, creating a gentle rain of white fluff when the towel was torn to pieces. She shook her head and smiled, sitting triumphantly among the remains of her vanquished enemy.

Max: "Well, um, guess I'll need to go put this on a clothesline.. or a dryer or something, and probably find a cellphone somewhere to see if my thingie card still works. Wanna come with me?"

Penny: Nodding excitedly, Penance wiped her chalkboard. "Sounds like an adventure," she wrote, showing Max her message with a smile.

Max: "Great," Max smiled, "First stop, my room, need a dry pair of pants."

Penny: After pulling some shreds off her disintegrating clothing, Penny added the note: "And I need more duct tape."

Max: "Right, first stop, kitchen or garage, second stop, my room. Onwards!" Max said, pointing towards the doors and started marching.