We're in for a rare treat today, folks! If we're super quiet, I think we might actually - yes, yes, we will! Gosh, what we have here is a once in a lifetime, seriously, bona fide actual chance to see the incredibly-HYPER-RARE Mayas Feylinus hunting in her natural habitat!
Watch, as she spies her prey and stops instantly - he's sunning himself in the morning light, completely oblivious to his impending doom and the danger he has put himself in. It must be a beautiful sight for her, with the way she's practically salivating, no doubt about it! See how her eyes widen at such an easy meal and she slowly turns her head, surveying her surroundings for hidden traps and - ah! Ah! Now begins the hunt in earnest; she creeps towards him, silent as a ghost, taking advantage of their natural camouflage to hide her approach!
What you're seeing here, my friends, is the result of generations of evolution!
Of course, it wouldn't be fair to attribute all the success of this hunt to the Mayas' natural grace and skill - her prey is remarkably dense! See as she makes it into striking range and pauses, one last time, to savour the moment - and what a moment it will be!
Here it comes! Here's the final strike! Watch as she reaches out slowly - sloooowly -
Nick's hand slapped right into Maya's face as she came down, and she meeped against his palm, yanking her arm back like it was burned. Her fingertips only just missed his wallet, playfully peeking from his pocket
"I'm awake," he informed her, cracking one eye open. Not much could be seen past his hand, but he felt her expression shift.
"Hey!" Maya protested - or at least, she probably said hey. It was hard to tell with how muffled her voice was, but then she shoved his hand away and fixed him with a glower. "I thought you were asleep!"
"Really," he remarked, dryly.
He stared at her. She stared at him. He dropped his own arm. In the silence, her expression changed again - but this time, it was to a sly grin, and he felt a cold chill skitter down his spine.
That was never the kind of expression you wanted to see on her face, he'd learned.
"Hey, Niiiick?" the medium wheedled, as realization dawned.
"..."
Don't say it don't say it don't sa-
"Weren't you meant to be studying...?"
Damnit.
"I am studying," he responded confidently, and made no attempt to sit up. The fact he'd had enough practice figuring out how to twist so he could sprawl along the couch without squishing anything important didn't make him eager to repeat the experience any more than necessary. Maybe one day they'd get rich, and he'd be able to afford a bigger one.
Ah, the infamous Wright sense of humour. If only there was someone to chronicle his underappreciated charm and wit.
"Really?" Maya asked, curiously. "Because it looked like you were napping."
"I'm absorbing the information!"
"So how much did you get through?" she challenged, planting both hands on her hips. His gaze flicked past her to the book lying on his desk, face down and discarded, and he felt a flash of guilt.
I read the first page, you know! Well... I mean... I almostdid!
"Enough that I need time to contemplate," Nick shot back, as confidently as he could manage - but Maya wasn't buying it.
"Aw, just admit it, Nick!" she complained. "You lied when you said you needed silence to study - you just don't want me watching Pink Princess!"
Damn it!
"That's not true!" he insisted, not quite as confidently. "I really do need to study! Because... uhm..."
She waited while he frantically searched for an excuse - but there wasn't one on the floor, or on the ceiling, or on the wall, or even behind them.
His office was, by and large, completely devoid of convenient excuses, because of course it was.
"...of reasons," he finished, rather lamely, and her cheeks puffed up in indignation. He felt any false sense of authority he'd fooled himself into thinking he had slip away.
"You're meant to be a lawyer!" Maya accused, crossing her arms and frowning. "How are you the world's worst liar?"
Nick sighed - there wasn't really any point trying to argue with her when she was like that, after all. She spun away before he could even try to, and he gave up, closing his eyes and waiting to hear the door slam as she stormed away. He'd have to do something really big to make this up to her, he suspected.
...He heard only silence. He opened one eye again, cautiously, and found she was still staring down at him - but the indignation was gone, replaced by something that looked very much like Hurt Feelings.
"You don't want to watch Pink Princess with me?" she said, very quietly. "Do you really hate me that much, Nick?"
"What? No!" He shot upright instantly, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to reassure the teenager. "Of course not! It's just- uh- Edgeworth!" Oh man, you're a goddamn genius. "He'd get jealous!"
"I think he'd get something, yeah."
Ugh - she wasn't even going to buy that? What had he done to deserve this kind of torture?
"Uhm-"
"He doesn't even watch Pink Princess!" she added, tearing up. "I asked!"
Nick could feel it: guilt was going to win out over logic. He struggled to maintain his serious face, and even as he did, it slipped away, inch by inch. He sighed again, reluctantly meeting Maya's teary-eyed gaze.
"...Okay," he agreed, defeated, and her face instantly lit up.
"I knew you'd come around eventually!" she crowed happily, and leapt onto the couch - she got tangled up in her robes, of course, but he patiently stared at the ceiling until she'd got herself all sorted out. He wasn't even surprised to find her sitting right next to him, despite the vast expanse of couch he wasn't currently occupying. "You're gonna love this Nick - I promise!"
He gave her and her triumphant grin and her hand close to him a doubtful look, and let his gaze wander towards the book, still on the desk.
He could read that, or he could watch this.
...In the end, it was a much, much harder decision than he would have liked to make at 9 o'clock in the morning.