Animalistic

I NEED MOUNTAIN DEW RED

"Hold up." Says Aaron, incredibly confused as to what Max wants him to do. He couldn't really think of ANY friends who would just conveniently have three or even four guns just ready for someone to borrow. 

Suddenly, Max comes up with an idea. "Hey Aaron?" He asks "So, you know Shimmer?"

"Yeah, of course." He responds, a little surprised. "What about her?"

Max runs a paw through the tuft on top of his head, seeming way too confident for his lousy idea. "Shimmer has a sister who works for Animal Forces! Technically not police, and she probably has protection!" 

Volio decides to join the conversation and say, "And you expect us to track her down in.." she checks her phone "thirty minutes?" 

Max calms down, realizing what was wrong with what his fiancé just said. He sits back down, with Zandar still staring at him, and decides to propose "Let's get some snacks at 7/11, and then come back to get Zandar." He nods at the panther, who in turn struts away to go help someone else. "I haven't eaten anything all day."

Aaron grins, clearly liking Max's idea. "Yes! I love it!"

"Alright." Volio says. "Looks like we're going to Sev Elev. Follow me to the van."

The three old friends head into the parking lot, and load into Volio's van, with Volio in the front driver seat and Max and Aaron in the back. They spend the entire drive loudly singing along to whatever song Max played on the speaker he was always carrying. Mostly musical songs or random meme songs. Some anime theme songs, as well. Volio's ears are still stinging from a very loud "IT'S FROM JAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!" from Aaron. 

Once they pull up in the 7/11 parking lot, they each climb out of the van. It's beginning to get dark, and Max's nyctophilia is beginning to kick in. He always gets hyperactive at night, but he guesses that it's just part of his blood.

As they approach the door, Aaron gives Max a nod, which Max return with a smirk. They both step through the door at the exact same time, simultaneously yelling "I NEED MOUNTAIN DEW RED" in perfect unison. Volio smiles, realizing just how clear it was the two had been friends for a really long time. 

The three anthros stroll up and down the aisles of the gas station, looking for snacks or possible supplies. Volio mostly walked around with their arm wrapped around Max's, Aaron ran around making jokes about almost everything he saw, and Max switched between quietly chatting with Volio, and laughing at everything Aaron said. The tired-looking cashier, a rat named Salazar, kept a close eye on Max, because of the one time Max was caught stuffing his hoodie with powdered donuts. 

After a few minutes of searching around the store, Max is holding the items he picked in his arms, waiting for his friends to finish up. Aaron is looking at the slushie machine as if the flavor he chooses determines the rest of his life, and Vol is scrolling through their phone, allegedly trying to pull up a 7/11 rewards account, but likely on Twitter as well. The jackalope gazes at the ceiling, staring into the neon sign of the hot dog machine. He thinks about how the past few days have been the first time he's been in public this early for a while, as he usually waits until nighttime to go shopping. It's not that he was afraid of other animal's opinions of him as a species, but rather he was afraid of running into more situations similar to the reason he isn't doing too well with law enforcement. He didn't mean to cause any trouble in those few times. He doesn't even remember what happened. (Hint Hint Skye this means you)

In the end, Max found himself paying for two energy drinks, a packaged honey bun, and a lighter. Volio approaches him from behind, setting a disposable flashlight and three slushies on the counter in front of him. Aaron simply bought a bottle of red mountain dew, not unlike the wolf's usual taste. 

The three head outside the store and into the parking lot with one last dirty look from the cashier, mainly directed at Max. The very minute all three of them loaded back into Volio's van, the yellow jackalope decided he had something to say to his friends. He hadn't shown them how much he appreciated them in a little too long, and Max gets the feeling he's going to need to quite soon, or he's going to regret it.

"Hey, Aaron, Vol, I just-... I wanted to say I appreciate the both of you and I'm really glad that I get to spend time with you each day. And, no matter what happens with whole ordeal, I gotta follow one thing. Go big or go home."

Aaron runs a paw through the fur on his forehead. "Aw shucks Max, I know you love me."

Volio starts the car and passes the two's slushies into the back seat. They look at Max, who still appears to be more hyper than usual. Volio needs time to decide if this is a good thing.

The drive back to Jakey D's is somewhat quiet, at least until a new pop song that Max has hated until now comes on the radio. Then things get chaotic, as Max felt the need to sing the entire song as loud as he can. Volio joins in the singing halfway through it. "What a wayward group of weirdos."