The Wolves in the Woods

A Whole Lot of Yesterday

             "Thanks again," Juleka said, waving bye to the clerk at the counter. The clerk smiled, nodding in acknowledgment. The bell above the door jingled as Juleka walked through and she was welcomed by winter's bitter chill. Adjusting her guitar strap so the instrument itself rested comfortably against her, Juleka started down the sidewalk back to the Liberty. Luka wouldn't be home until later and she still had some errands left to do.

"Let's see..." Juleka muttered, pulling out her phone and opening the notes app. Today's dinner was going to be sole meunière, a kind of pan-fried fish dish Luka found while browsing the Dupain-Cheng family's collection of cookbooks. It seemed simple enough, and their mother practically salivated seeing the dish itself. What probably helped was the preparation itself was relatively straightforward. Nothing like what Mrs. Césaire had to whip up for those hotel customers daily.

It was totally not inspired by what Marinette and her parents would concoct whenever inspiration struck.

Juleka patted her side pockets, the new guitar strings she had just bought nested cozily inside. Luka had started earning a little more money thanks to the side gigs he'd been doing for the Dupain-Chengs. Which, in turn, inspired Juleka to start slowly stepping out of her shell in search of a part-time position. She would insist she wasn't trying to upstage him, but that infuriating smirk he sent her way resulted in yet another sing-off that ended with the two of them on the floor laughing their guts out.

"Brr..."

This winter was shaping up to be a doozy, and it was only the fourteenth of December. She had to touch base with their mother to see if they needed any more fuel for the furnace and the ship. Good thing they'd already brought all the musical equipment below deck. It'd be a nightmare getting the frost out of those things.

Juleka blew between the palms of her gloved hands, savoring the warmth. Though the fiasco with Lila soured things a bit, she was slowly making amends with her family. Their mother, though she never blamed Juleka for the situation getting so out of hand, had begun asking her for her help more. Luka was starting to talk to her again, with encouragement from Marinette (and some from Amaia, she suspected). Slowly, but surely, things were looking up.

It helped that Paris itself was slow today. Not in the sense that time seemed to come to a crawl. But slow in the sense the city felt like it was finally able to breathe again. No one knew how or why, although a few questioned it, but akuma attacks had screeched to a halt. Either someone had finally pinpointed where Hawkbutt was and did something or the supervillain was plotting something. Whatever the case, Paris could finally enjoy a sense of normalcy since the attacks started.

That said, was it normal to ask for sixteen liters of motor oil? Juleka wasn't sure, but it was the norm in their household.

The next few stops were for basic necessities, like cleaning supplies and new strings for their guitars. The old ones had finally reached the end of their lifespans, so to speak. And, feeling oddly opportunistic, Juleka took the chance and applied for a position at this store. It felt oddly liberating and it scared her a bit. Yet it was also exhilarating now that she was finally stepping out of her comfort zone again.

So imagine her surprise seeing someone she hadn't met face-to-face with since the trial, waiting at the corner light with her arms full of pet supplies.

"Rose?" Juleka said out loud. Rose jumped, the items in her arms jostling while she turned around.

"Juleka?" the petite blonde squeaked. "What are you doing here?" A can of cat food fell out of her bag. The motion somehow reminded Juleka of a certain baker.