"Hi, Nick!" Maya grinned down at him.
He stopped with a jerk. Rain drummed on his umbrella and pattered on the sidewalk -- much too loud to be called silence.
"Maya," he finally managed, "Why are you sitting in a tree?"
"Training!" she chirped, kicking her feet in the open air, wiping wet hair out of her eyes, "It's actually a lot like a waterfall!"
If Phoenix knew anything, he knew that Maya's logic was an art far more mystical than chanelling. He sighed, and settled for being grateful: it could have been a thunderstorm.
"Come on up, Nick!"
He pretended he didn't hear her.