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It happens to be the full moon tonight, Luka notices when he looks at the calendar. That means Juleka will be transforming tonight.
It's dangerous to be a werewolf in a big city. Humans have always been scared of the unknown. It isn't Juleka’s fault, really, but they will blame her regardless for daring to exist as a wolf inside a city. Animals are hunted often enough, after all, and he doesn't want her to die.
She usually stays on the boat, or gets dropped off at a park to run. Tonight she's staying on the boat -- it's always her choice.
She stays in her room, like usual. The sun is starting to set. That means that when night falls she'll be cooped up in her room.
Being a werewolf has been bad for her self-esteem. Luka wishes he could help her out sometimes.
He sits outside her door with his acoustic guitar, and plays the first song he can think of, which is unfortunately "Werewolves of London." He gets a couple chords in before he realizes that it's probably a bad choice of song. He grabs his phone for his Spotify playlist. The song that plays first is some pop song he doesn't recognize. Romantic and cutesy -- which playlist is this again?
Ah. It's Marinette's -- the one she sent him ages ago. Back when they were still dating. It must have been a while since he opened his Spotify app.
He hears Juleka trying to sing along from the inside, but -- well, it's not like werewolves can truly sing. All they can do is howl, and Juleka’s attempts to pitch her howling make it sound more like a warble.
He hits shuffle on the playlist. It'll be a kick of nostalgia, and Juleka seems to enjoy the music -- maybe the werewolf likes pop music. Huh, this song is longer than he thought.
The next song to play is "Wonderwall". Luka can't help but laugh, and pauses it so he can play himself. He plays it and Juleka howls along.
"Hey," Ma says, "what's the ruckus all about? I don't have a problem with it, but..."
"Juleka and I are singing," Luka says. "Tonight's the full moon. Did you forget?"
"Oh." Ma frowns. She can be oblivious sometimes. "She'll be okay, though. You know that."
"I know, yeah," Luka says. "I just wanted to keep her company while she was transformed."
"Music is always a good thing," Ma comments. "Make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time."
"...thanks," Luka says. "I wasn't worried about that. It's summer, you know."
"Yeah," she says, "but you know. I'm supposes to care about those sorts of things."
He smiles. "Sure."
He skips "Wonderwall", since he played it himself. And the night goes on.
He wakes up slumped over his guitar, back to Juleka’s door. He gets up. It's still dark out, but his phone is dead.
He knocks on Juleka’s door. It's probably too early for her to have transformed back -- she barks when he knocks, so clearly he was right about that. He lets himself in because she didn't lock the door. She's curled up on her bed. He sits down at the foot of the bed and strokes her dark black fur. It's surprisingly soft.
He smiles and grabs her phone, searching for the playlist title and shuffling it, putting her phone on a lower volume than he had his phone on.
He leaves it on her nightstand and goes back to his own room.
When Juleka wakes up, she isn't a wold.
Weird. She doesn’t usually fall asleep when she's a wolf. And is this...
It's the first song Luka played for her. "Lightning in a Bottle" by a band called...The Summer Set. Weren't they that one hit wonder who made that song about being the James Dean to the person they were singing to's Audrey Hepburn? Yeah, that's the one.
Oh. Wait. This is...the playlist that Marinette made Luka, based on the title. She's never seen it before. She laughs at the addition of "Wonderwall" -- that is a good joke.
She wonders -- why did Luka play this? Probably because it was leftover on his Spotify. But she likes the music.
Secretly, she's kind of a sucker for pop music. Ma would call her a sellout, but...it's the right amount of cheesy. And Rose listens to some -- she's fond of hyperpop. Juleka doesn't see a reason to be snobby about music. Luka doesn't actually snub pop music, but she's aware that he doesn't like that many pop songs at the same time.
"Morning, Jules," Luka says at the breakfast table. "How was your night?"
She shrugs. "I fell asleep. I feel like I never do on full moons."
"That's nice. I think you like music more when you transform, if that's even possible," he says. "You get more docile, I think."
She smiles slightly. "I'll be sure to keep listening, then."
"Yeah," he says. "Sounds good. Just make sure your phone doesn't die while you play music."
"I can't believe I was trying to sing along," Juleka says with a slight flush. "I can't believe you let me."
Luka smiles. "If you want to make music...I shouldn't stop you. It's definitely not the worst karaoke I've ever heard."
"God, you must have heard some really bad stuff," Juleka jokes. "I don't think I've ever heard worse."
"Don't insult yourself," he responds, nudging her lightly. "Seriously. You should make your voice heard more often, however that feels to you."
"You know why I don't like my voice," she mutters. "It's too low."
"If I could trade with you, I would," Luka jokes. "In a heartbeat."
"We both know if an akuma switched us we wouldn't go back," Juleka teases, a hint of warmth in her voice. "Well. I'd hope."
"I wouldn't want to, maybe?" Luka proposes. "I mean, I don't really know what it's like to be a werewolf..."
"And you never will," Juleka says loftily.