Prologue
It was dark in the room. Thick curtains prevented almost all the light from the outside to shine through the single window and the door was shut tight. The sounds of bed sheets shifting slowly could be heard, along with a grumble in a somewhat annoyed tone, after which the sound of feet hitting the ground followed.
The sound of shifting sheets stopped and were replaced with slow and weary steps, the repeated thumps stopping after a short while. Suddenly, the sheets were pulled down and the room was filled with the bright rays of the outside sun.
Jules held his right arm in front of his eyes for a moment, then turned around, moving towards the wooden dresser in the room. Reaching it, he first stretched himself, yawning soundly, before opening it and taking out a white button-down shirt and brown trousers, proceeding to dress himself.
Another day like any other. Come on, J, you can do this, it's just the waking up part that bothers you, Jules thought to himself, moving towards the door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway.
It was a rather average place he saw before him. It was on the second floor, the ground was wooden, with a blue carpet laying just in front of the stairs that offered a view on the first floor. There were 4 doors, one being the door to the bedroom he just left, the one on the opposite leading to a rather average bathroom where Jules usually spent a lot of time bathing in, and two others, one what could be considered a very spacious broom closet, though Jules spent little time in there, and another bedroom for guests.
Having spent enough time examining his familiar surroundings, he started to move towards the stairs before stopping and sniffing for a while.
It seems like someone started working early, he thought, starting to move down the stairs with a joy-filled expression.
"Darling, what is that wonderful smell?", he asked in a loud and warm tone.
As he reached the end of the stairs, he looked left, seeing his wife kneading dough on one of the wooden tables while something seemed to bake in the oven at the end of the room. Judging by the ashes among the fire under the oven, it wasn't the first and naturally wouldn't be the last.
"You ask that every morning. Can't you think of something original?", she asked in a seemingly annoyed tone, causing Jules to look surprised. However, she suddenly laughed, stopped working on the dough and moved towards Jules for an embrace. "Oh, you know that's just what I love about you. You're just so predictable!"
Jules embraced her happily, both of them laughing. "I love you, too, Sam.", Jules said, which caused his wife to hit his chest in mock anger. "Don't call me that, it's embarrassing!", she said, a smile on her face. "Fine, fine. I love you, too, Samantha." As he said that, she quickly returned to her work, leaving Jules standing in the room, smiling.
Turning around, he moved through the open doorway leading to the entrance where he and his wife sold the baked goods that were being prepared in the back. He looked right, seeing the wooden post where his jacket and hat were hanging, which he promptly grabbed.
Quickly dressing himself further with those two, he moved towards the entrance door, but not before turning around once more. "I'll be gone for a bit. Don't worry, I'll bring back groceries!", he said, after which he finally opened and moved through the door onto the street.
Breathing in the air slowly, he simply stood there for a while, observing the surroundings. Nothing better than fresh air in the morning, he thought to himself, watching other animals walk along the paved streets, small weeds growing in-between the cracks, and looking at the houses around him.
Most of the houses were built with bricks, though some smaller ones were simple constructs of wooden planks, even though they only served as either small shops or warehouses, but nobody in this area used them as homes.
Jules was a bit shocked as he heard the loud noise of the Southwind Clock, the large metal clock standing near the southern gates to the inner Zootopia, and in reaction he corrected his hat. After briefly glancing to his left once more, he started to move north towards Zootopia, looking at the intimidating sheets of metal.
No matter how often I see this thing, I never get used to it. Can't imagine why anyone would build a home in the centre of a massive metal bowl anyways.
Thinking that, he continued his way towards the gates, not once losing sight of the great metal sphere.