"Uh... well, OK. If you think it's the right thing to do!"
Phoenix was just starting to brainstorm how he and Maya might draw Lotta's attention to their predicament when Maya's voice suddenly rang out again, this time at a full screaming volume.
"HEY, LOTTA!! LOOK OVER HERE!!"
Stumbling in surprise, Phoenix covered his ears.
At the same time, the very large figure sharing the room with them jumped in surprise as well.
"Wh-what in the-..." Lotta exclaimed, startled. "... Who said that? Y'all'd better show yourself!"
In typical fashion, Lotta was trying to sound much more brave than she clearly felt. Her head was snapping back and forth, surveying the entire room for any sign of an intruder.
"I'm warnin' y'all -- I ain't gettin' robbed without a fight...!"
Maya audibly groaned.
"LOTTA, TAKE IT EASY!! JUST LOOK DOWN, OVER HERE!!" she yelled back.
Lotta didn't seem to be calming down from her sudden jump into panic. She had her arms raised in some knockoff version of a fighting stance, and nearly stumbled backwards over a loose box of some kind on the room's floor when she stepped back at the sound of Maya's voice.
"I-I don't know how y'all know my name, but I'm givin' ya one last chance to stop hidin'...!!" Lotta went on. "What, are y'all some kinda ghost...?"
"NO, JUST THE SAME OLD SPIRIT MEDIUM!!" Maya responded. Phoenix sighed, still covering his ears. Maya could be seriously loud when she wanted to.
"S-spirit... wait a minute..."
Lotta calmed down slightly, lowering her arms again. She still hadn't pinpointed the location of the voice she was hearing.
Her afro swaying with her movements, Lotta finally froze, her eyes doubling back over a spot she'd just glanced by, and settling on Maya's position on the tape roll.
"Wh-what in the hell-...!?"
Lotta's face went completely pale. She staggered backward, and this time, she did stumble over the box on the floor. Both Maya and Phoenix winced as the towering photographer crashed to the floor, having soundly failed to catch herself on anything. The table they were resting on shuddered.
"Ouch..."
Lotta shakily got back up, into a sitting position, then shuffled forward on her hands and knees. Bracing her hands on the edge of the table, she rose until her eyes were just slightly above Maya's position on the tape roll.
"W-why, yer the spirit channelling girl that wasted all my film and killed that doctor fella...!!" she stammered, eyes wide.
(Uh... OK, Maya did waste a load of your film once, but she was found Not Guilty in her trial after that...)
Phoenix was shaken from his thoughts as Lotta suddenly pushed herself up, sliding an arm onto the tabletop. He let out a startled yelp just in time for Lotta's elbow to slam into him, sending him sailing backward to land in a dazed heap.
"Oww..."
Maya looked on in concern, spotting Nick taking a nasty hit from Lotta's elbow.
"Um... y-yeah, Maya's my name!" she said.
"Maya, right! I wouldn't forget that!" Lotta said, a smile appearing on her face. "So, why're you in my apartment? ... An' the size of a bug...?"
Maya laughed nervously.
"Uh... I'm not sure. Nick and I just sort of... ended up here. We were trying a spiritual training exercise, and-"
"H-hang on, 'Nick'...? Y'mean that lawyer fella, right? Phoenix?"
"Yeah..." Maya said, looking over at Phoenix again. He was just pushing himself up again, lying in the middle of the scattered objects on the table. "He's, um... over there." She pointed.
Lotta's head turned a bit, and she yelped in alarm.
"Tarnation...!" she exclaimed. "How many of y'all are in here...!?"
"Uh, just us." Maya said. "... I think."
Lotta reached toward Phoenix, and he let out a yelp of his own as he was picked up. Lotta had pinched one of his legs between her thumb and index finger, leaving him awkwardly dangling by just the one leg as she examined him.
"L-Lotta, would you mind..."
He yelped again, this time when Lotta dropped him into her other palm.
"So... one of yer crazy spirit summoning tricks made this happen...?" the photographer asked next. "Guess I'm just lucky y'all didn't shrink me the last time we met up..."
"Ugh..." Phoenix clutched at his head, dispelling his current dizziness. "Lotta, we need some help." he said, once he'd cleared his vision.
"Well, I'll say!" Lotta agreed. "Y'all got into a real mess again. Ya really hafta drag me into it, though...?"
Phoenix sighed. "I promise we won't bother you the next time we suddenly shrink, OK? Is that good?"
Lotta puffed out her lower lip slightly, in a little pout.
"Pretty darn sure yer just makin' fun of me... ah, well, y'all need help, so I can provide!"
That was a relief, at least.
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