MAX HAS NO FRIENDS except Lucia, who’s his Only Sister. He loves her dearly, and almost thinks of her more as a mother than a sister because she’s taken care of them for so long. He doesn’t remember his parents, or his home, much at all really. If you ask him about something that happened a year ago, he’ll simply shake his head and tell you a fairy tale—he’s often in his own imagination, believing his sister to be a witch, and himself the prince she’s keeping safe1He’s had this story going for years. Every criminal they encounter is an evil king or a monsterous beast. They’re searching for a ring or something. Lucia has no idea.
He doesn’t particularly understand right or wrong. To him, everyone’s a good person—unless they hurt someone, then he knows they’re an Only Enemy. Most of his spare time’s spent drawing, or eating desserts, or just daydreaming. He’s been known to sit on their roof and just stare at the moon on more than one occasion2He’s been kidnapped for ransom more than three times because of this. Lucia had to board up their door and buy him a telescope.…
His obsession with puffers began somewhat randomly. While watching TV, he heard about these fish which puff up and can poison someone to death! He really wants one, and every time Lucia’s asked about it he simply mutters about them probably being “magic!”3To Max, any poisonous creature is magic She’s given up trying to understand it. Since he’s never actually seen one, though, his description of them changes a lot. One minute they’re dragons, the next they’re octopuses.
Max just has fun. Maybe all the horribleness of Panty’s Landing has traumatized him to the point that he’s become entirely disconnected from reality, or maybe he was just born a saint. Lucia doesn’t know, and doesn’t wanna know—she’s just happy to have him. Sometimes his optimism is the only thing that keeps her going…
