Max
Max doesn’t get much sleep these days. She hasn’t ever since she lost her mother a few years ago, she was only twelve. It’s been five years and she still spends restless nights thinking about who did it. Her favorite place to go think is by the garden in her backyard. She often goes there for about two or three hours at night when the world is empty and the only thing you can hear are the crickets and faint sounds of the cars passing by in the distance. It helps her gather her thoughts and get a clearer mind. She loves to write and play guitar during these hours because there are far less distractions and things that can get in the way.
And yet, through all of these hours she spends with a restless mind losing sleep, she still manages to roll out of bed early in the mornings for school. She wakes up at 7:30am to take a shower and have coffee for breakfast. While she inhales her coffee, she puts on her favorite pair of jeans and cuffs them at the bottom as always. Then, she throws on her favorite black tee and picks out a blue flannel to put on top. She tucks in her t-shirt and puts on a thin black belt and finishes off the outfit with the hightop vans she designed herself with little doodles. After she gets dressed, she brushes her teeth and does her usual quick and easy makeup look which just consists of doing her eyebrows and a little mascara. Finally, she makes sure she has everything and rushes out of the door after telling her dad goodbye.
She uses her skateboard to get to school and listens to RINI and Daniel Caesar as well as other music artists on the way there. She goes through her school days like a typical teenager, just surviving class by class through daydreams, until she gets to her english class that’s the only class she looks forward to and enjoys. She’s also good at math but it’s not her favorite. She stops and talks to people here and there, but she only has a couple classes with her real friends. After school, she rushes home to change into her uniform and get to work.
She works at a pizza shop called Penny’s Pizza. She doesn’t make a boat load of money, but it’s enough to help out her dad and keep her satisfied. She works there until about 10pm after she finishes closing the shop. Then, she returns home to finish up her school work, when she remembers of course, and winds down for the night. She doesn’t see her life as super extraordinary but it’s a simple life that she’s grown to be satisfied with. In her free time, she tends to the garden and tries to hang out with her friends. When she’s not doing that, she’s critiquing her guitar skills and skating tricks. She tries to read as much as she can and loves watching movies with her dad after dinner. They don’t have a lot but they work hard and are pretty happy.
Xylieth
Xylieth isn’t your average human. This is because he’s a demon. Although he visits Earth often, of course, he is actually from hell. When he visits, he can control who sees him and who doesn’t. He controls it because he comes to Earth to specifically scare people and punish them. However, he isn’t necessarily a bad demon, he doesn’t go after just anyone and everyone. He typically goes after bad people who do bad things. Now, of course there are good people who do bad things because they had to, or at least they believed they had to. But, he leaves it to their guilt to take care of that. He also appears to people who have bad people do wrong to them and leave them seeking revenge because, in a way, he is karma to the bad people.
Now, sometimes he doesn’t show up to mess with anyone at all, but simply just to roam and experience Earth. He often likes to cause mischief and have fun, but it’s harmless and doesn’t actually hurt anyone. When he’s not being a troublemaker, he is making art. He favors abstract art because he is often perceived as abstract. Not just because he’s a demon, but because despite the fact that he’s a male, he is very in touch with his feminine side. Infact, he often likes to have his nails done and wears crop tops. And boy does he love shoes, he has a collection of very high end and pricey boots that he is very particular about and likes to keep them clean. However, he does have his select few pairs of shoes that may be a little worn, but it’s all for the aesthetic like his distressed clothes. He has a lot of pride in the way he dresses and thinks he has a great fashion sense.
While the life of a demon may seem easy and carefree, he actually stresses about a lot of things. The number one thing that he struggles with is feeling like he doesn’t deserve anything. He feels that because he is a demon, he doesn’t deserve love, happiness, or any enjoyment he gets really. This makes it hard for him to enjoy his free time. Truth is, he’s actually good on the inside, he was just born into a not-so-good lifestyle, which for him, happens to be eternity. He’s only nineteen and finds sorrow in the fact that this has just begun. So he drowns it out in his art and mischief when he’s not endlessly finding more bad people to terrorize.
This all changes when he comes across Max on her way home. Intrigued by her essence, he follows her and finds her in her garden she spends pieces of her nights in. He knows that he risks scaring her with his startling eyes and many piercings. Nonetheless, he builds the courage to approach her.
Dialogue Activity
Character One: Max/Maxine
Character Two: Xylieth the Demon
Scenario: A few weeks after they’ve acquainted each other, Xylieth convinces her to let him show her how to be fun and free and live life to the fullest. So, he’s helping her sneak out and spray paint on abandoned buildings. This is one of the many steps she takes to not only live the life she wanted the courage to have, but also this happens to be one of the steps she takes to realize she’s fallen for a demon. She won’t learn the second part completely until later on though.
“Psst! Max!” Xylieth calls up to Max trying to still be quiet so he doesn’t wake her father. Max rushes to her window.
“I’m here, what?” she calls back down, maintaining the same volume.
“Tonight’s the night! Remember?” he reminds her.
“Ugh why did I agree to this again?” she asks, holding her forehead, sliding her hand sluggishly down the side of her face.
“Because,” he smirks, “ you decided to finally be an actually fun person for once!” he teases.
She sighs, “Fine! I’m coming down!” She softly closes her window and creeps her way down the stairs and out the back door to find him waiting in the garden.
“Oh relax! The fun hasn’t even started yet!” he says, nudging her shoulder.
She rolls her eyes and smiles softly, “Okay so where are we headed?” She asks.
“It’s a surprise just follow me” he tells her as he happily begins their adventure.
“You owe me for this one,” she teases.
He pinches his eyebrows and looks at her, “Owe you for what? I’m doing you a favor,” He laughs.
“For having me sneak out of my house to come and break the law with you.” she replies.
“It’s not harming anyone, we’ll be just fine,” he assures. “But what do I owe you?” he asks.
“You get to let me teach you how to skateboard so we don’t have to walk everywhere.” she says.
“What’s wrong with walking? I find it nice.” he retorts.
“Walking isn’t bad, when you’re taking a leisurely walk. However, when there’s a specific destination it takes too long,.” she explains.
“Fine, I’ll learn to skateboard, but it better not mess up any of my clothes or shoes if I fall,” he says.
“Stop being dramatic, they make shoes for skating, but I don’t really know what to tell you about your clothes. I think you’ll be fine though,” she tells him, laughing at his concerns.
