𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 || 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐥'𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞

xiii. they're close (quick, hide)

“Be gentle with me, please...”

Sophie watched along with the others as Howl scoops out Calcifer from the fireplace, and brings the fire on the center of the room where a magic circle of sort was drawn on the floor.

Howl have them sit on the dining table during the spell in order to have no distraction while he casts. The wizard stands on the half of the circle, his hand with Calcifer outstretched towards the other half.

“On my mark,” he said with a hand on his waist.

Then, he raised that hand to his side. Only a second after, Calcifer started convulsing, and then, his form changed and grew. Gone the friendly face and instead replaced with a demonic face, only befitting for a creature such as him.

A wind comes from the ground, lifting Howl's hair, clothes and himself upwards, but his eyes remains focused straight ahead. Sophie and Markl lets out a gasp of both shock and astonishment as the chalk drawing on the floor starts to glow, and all the surfaces of the room—no, the house—stretches.

Sophie's eyes flew to the left wall, just where the hole from the plane crash was left, started fixing themselves brick by brick along was a window pane put together like puzzle pieces.

Then, the ceiling above them creaked, the walls changed colors, the furnitures now looks new, and Markl watched, mesmerized for the hundred time by his mentor's ability. Rooms, beds, chairs, doors—it seems as if they all came out of nowhere, like bubbles popping everywhere the house to bring out another interior from an another world.

At last, the finishing couch cushion dropped from nowhere, and they're now sitting in a completely different room.

Stood in the center is Howl, keeping the same posture from the start. The glow weakens, and the wind disappears from where it came from, leaving the room in a final silence.

A few seconds ticks from the grandfather clock in the middle of the living room as the others aside from Howl inhales in wonder as their eyes feast on the interior of their new home.

“Moving's done, you can go down now,” Howl spoke, putting Calcifer down the unchanged fireplace.  Markl immediately does so, saying with a big smile, “This is great, Master Howl, it's huge!” He runs around the room, excited, as Heen barks and spins along with him.

Meanwhile, the old witch kept her stare onto Calcifer, saying mysteriously, “Oh, what a pretty fire.”

Sophie looks around silently around the house, feeling a sense of familiarity. She jumps down the table and runs immediately towards the window.

She gasps.

Outside, the same scenery... the same view welcomed her stare. 

The same creaks of old machinery, the same whiff of morbid smoke in the air, and the same black cloud covering the window facing her work desk, it faces the same spot from her father's hat shop.

This new house...

“But this is...”

Howl cuts off her words, “I added on a bathroom, since our family seems to keep growing.” He opens the door to her right, and sure enough, a toilet, sink and polished tiles was inside. He closes it again. Howl speeds towards the other corner of the room. He calls out, “Sophie! Come here!”

“I've added another bedroom, too. Have a look.” He once again opens the door.

She gasped for the nth time this morning.

Inside the room, is the same bed of her own back to when Howl hasn't transformed the whole house yet, the same work desk she sews in, and stacks of boxes wrapped in colorful wrappings, all compiled together.