"Howl, I should like to change my hair color. I want to get rid of this wretched gray hair!"

"Why Sophie, I do believe it is so becoming of you," Howl replied, running a hand through the soft, silvery strands.

"I wish to never remember that curse, even though it brought us together. I just can't help but think...I will be old again like that. Some far but ever closer day. I will feel again the cramp and ache in my bones and all the other small difficulties....I can't help but remember it! It is at the back of my mind constantly." Sophie sighed, taking up the brush once again. She paused momentarily as a shadow swept over Howl's face and his brows came together in concern. "B-but that is a natural process, a part of life. I shouldn't be so childish. So...." her voice trailed off awkwardly. ...so don't get any ideas and run away again.

Recognizing Sophie's efforts to assuage her concern of him, Howl replied, "Haha! I know, what color do you want?"

As Sophie picked through the mysterious bottles of colorful liquids in Howl's messy bathroom she contemplated his expression. Last time she saw it Howl ran off to fight, presumably to never see her again. If that were to happen, she would become a wreck.

Her hands shook violently as she picked up a bottle and tears began to well up over their lids. Concerned, Howl gathered her in his arms, allowing the bottle to break open on the floor, releasing plumes of steam.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, "Listen, I am not going anywhere, now! Don't worry. We can just continue our lives just the way we are." The girl knows me too well.

She wiped her eyes and gave a watery smile. "I will hold you to that, Howl...and I think I was being too childish. I will keep my hair the same...."

(...)

Howl gazed at the beautiful sleeping form of Sophie and cringed at the thought of her source of preoccupation, much like a pesky black cloud on the sunny horizon. And as the Castle continued to drift leisurely past the moon, Howl left her room into the kitchen area, finding himself feeling more and more inadequate. His magic was always something that made her happy, and eternal youth is the one thing unachievable, or forbidden, by magic authorities. Madam Suliman conveniently skipped the chapter in his learning as an apprentice.

As long as I can't grant that magic, Sophie will not be completely happy. I owe it to her. I was the one that dragged her into this unfortunate world of magic. If I can reverse the process of age for us both, we can truly have the happily-ever-after life. And I will search for answers, however long it will take me. And the first place I will look is in Madame Suliman's library. But how to sneak past Sophie...?

And suddenly, he had a solution. Turning to Calcifer, he asked, "Can I ask you a favor?" The flame nodded, and Howl reiterated his thoughts of leaving the castle to do research using a special disguise.

"No no no no no NO! There is no way that will work, Howl!" said the flame, exhaling profusely, sending ashes and smoke over the fireplace. "You are saying that, in order for you to sneak away again, you want to make me look like you, so I can fool Sophie and Markl and the Witch and Heen?! And for what? Why can't Sophie know?"

Howl gave a nervous chuckle. "Look, the former Witch of the Waste is senile. Heen is a dog, Markl is distracted by his studies, and Sophie....well, you know her and me well enough to play the part, yes? I need to do this. I cannot tell you the precise reasons for my leaving, nor Sophie. This is secret."

"Look Howl, your my pal, and nothin's gonna change that, but not only is that highly advanced and dangerous magic, but you are threatening the relationship you have with Sophie. Is it really that worth it?"

Shadows along the walls danced to the oppressive silence.

"Ha. Sometimes I wish you were still bound to me, Calcifer. Well, it is your own free will. And I respect that. But you have never been human before! To feel the simple joys of living in flesh, to have the wind on your face, water running down your skin with no threat at all to your existence. To consume something other than dead plant matter, and to feel the embrace of another human!" Howl's voice rose to an excited pitch. He smiled when he saw Calcifer's eyes burn brighter.

"I have to admit, I did think of that before... To be something other then an energy source. Maybe I can be more appreciated if I was human for a little while."

"So its a deal, Calcifer?" Howl asks, leaning forward eagerly so that he was nose to flame with him.

"Wait just a moment. Whose gonna replace me?" Calcifer asked dubiously.

"Well, I thought of that already. I will just say that you decided to leave for a little vacation. We all know how hard you work. Then I will anchor the castle above the city. Now that we aren't bonded, the castle won't fall apart if you leave it. No questions asked," replied Howl.

The flame grasped another log to burn on, eyes narrowing in thought. It is risky, real risky. But then again Sophie isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, however charming and sweet. She once caused the whole castle to collapse, despite my warnings. "All right all right already. I agree to become human."

Howl smiled as he stood at the center of the room. "Thanks, Calcifer. I may be gone for a long time, that is why this disguise is so complicated. I will be doing very complex research. I want to contribute to the magic community one last time. But enough of that. Right now I will draw in a special circle on the floor for you to sit in as I begin the process." Here he took a long staff with chalk attached to it and a crystal on the opposite end. In long sweeping movements, he gracefully drew several interlocked circles into a complicated fractal-like pattern. "This shouldn't hurt. And the process is reversible. The only conditions you have to abide by is that you will protect Sophie, not sell any magic, and not do anything I wouldn't do, okay?"

"Yeah yeah I know Howl. I will be good," Calcifer replied, glowing brighter in excitement as Howl picked him up and set him in the middle of the circles.

"Just sit tight for a moment," Howl whispered. He took a knife from underneath his cape and sliced off a lock of hair, spreading the individual hairs around the circle; they burned upon impact. Next, he got on his knees and rested his hands along the pattern. The lines began to lift off the ground, glowing vibrant hues of the rainbow, illuminating the entire room and growing brighter and brighter. They began spinning faster and faster around Calcifer, merging together into one circle. A wild wind threw around Howl's cape and as it tossed around other items in the room, vibrating into a fevered pitch. The light grew so bright that it was blinding; Howl had to close his eyes.

After several minutes the wind died down to an eerie silence. A hazy smokiness caused Howl to cough; and a second person coughed as well. Howl opened his eyes and saw a mirror image of himself. He laughed maniacally as an evil scientist would to his creation: it was a success. Calcifer is human.

The former flame glanced down at his new body. I...I have human legs...and arms and hands! He took a hand and outstretched it, looking on both sides, flexing it in an exploratory, clumsy way. He took another hand and felt around his face, poking his nose and tracing his eyebrows. He clutched at his abdomen and blushed at his human reproductive organ. He squished his toes together and tried to stand up.

Howl offered a hand, and lifted Calcifer to his feet. "I did a good job. You are my exact twin! Though I am tired. I will be weakened for a long time.... Let's find you some clothes from my wardrobe, and you can see how you look. But first, can you speak?"

Calcifer opened his mouth awkwardly and his tongue flopped around humorously, trying different sounds produced after certain movements of the tongue. After some more moments of getting adjusted, he tried again: "T-this is harder than it l-looks..." He rubbed a hand over his throat. "I sound just like you, Howl!"

Howl nodded. "Now try walking a few steps."

Calcifer tentatively placed one food awkwardly in front of the other and transferred weight, shaking.

"That's it, keep going," Howl encouraged, slowly letting go of his hand.

He walked with more confidence as he got the hang of it, stumbling sometimes. "Howl, not only can I move so freely, I can sense how I move. I can tell how the wood is so smooth beneath me and I can feel a breeze along my skin, it's actually kind of puckering...."

"That's because it is cold. You have goose bumps. And you are touching the wood with your feet. You are describing the senses of humans. I bet you can smell the smoke, can you not?"

Calcifer stopped mid-step. "Smelling? Is that what I am breathing in? I can't describe it."

Howl picked off a flower from the table vase. "Place this near your nose and breath in. That's the smell of lilac."

Calcifer breathed in the scent, eyes widening. "That is so lovely!I am really likin' this human stuff. Can I eat something? I feel like if I don't consume something I will expire."

At the thought of consuming, Calcifer's stomach growled audibly, at his surprise and worry.

"Humans don't need to be constantly eating something to survive, like how you had to consume wood all the time. Try a piece of bread and cheese. You know you are hungry when your stomach makes noises like that," Howl replied, pulling some from the table, leftovers from the earlier dinner. "Just place it in your mouth, bite down with your teeth, and swallow."

He took the bread in his hand and slowly brought it to his mouth, concentrating. He bit off too much food and started to choke. After that he was okay, biting off smaller amounts and thoughtfully swallowing them. "So this is what its like to taste....how delightful. I can't wait to eat different kinds of food."

"We are going to have to have a lot more practice if we are going to pull this off," sighed Howl. "Let's get you to a spare guest room for now. Follow me upstairs. We have to hurry, Sophie will be awake soon." And I will start my separate journey on my own.

A/N

Firstly I will like to mention that this used to be three bite-sized chapters, but I lumped 'em together and added a few minor details at the lovely advice of missmcweir! I plan to take this story farther. If it seems to you to be slightly ambiguous, you will learn more about things in future chapters, and get a general gist of what's what. Future chapters will be more "meatier" in terms of content and what not.

As a growing writer I would appreciate any and all constructive criticism/reviews as any other user of fanfiction, so do not be shy. I will try my best to keep the characters as they were based off of the movie, but do not be surprised if you see them slowly change throughout the fanfiction (though if it is too abrupt feel free to call me out on it if it is too OOC or unbelieveable). I plan to project Sophie as slightly worried due to her knowledge of becoming old one day, and Howl (being considered over Sophie), will try to find a way to create legit eternal youth. This plot will be multi-faceted and utilize many, if not all, main characters in the movie. Go ahead and hit that review/subscribe button (maybe a gentle coercion? :0 just kidding).

Many thanks!~

Xave