Not necessarily an AU: still has Howl, Calcifer, Markl, Sophie, & Howl's moving castle.
The difference is that Howl & Sophie are brother & sister—who can't seem to get along or agree on just about anything.
We also have Sophie's boyfriend his dog—a Golden retriever.
& finally, we have a young girl who fell from the sky along with her calico kitten, a fairy, & a demon like Calcifer, but not fire, but ice.
Right away, Howl knew this girl was different: she wasn't human & she wasn't a witch; she was something celestial, but not an angel. He just doesn't know what. She can't tell him because she has no memories—of anything. & neither do the fairy or demon—or if they do; they're not saying anything.
Howl also felt a strong connection with the girl the moment their eyes connected.
I DO NOT OWN HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS! I ONLY CLAIM THE STORY & CHARACTERS I CREATE!
· Howl x Cassandra (Cassie)
· Sophie x Derry
· Calcifer
· Kori
· Markl
· Willow-Sky
· Pixi
· Taco
"There they go again." Calcifer sighed, watching and listening to Howl and Sophie fight—again.
"Yep." Markl and Sophie's boyfriend, Darry, agreed.
"I know, Taco—I know." Darry spoke, patting his dog's head when he huffed.
Darry was roughly two inches taller than Howl, with dark brown nape-length hair and hazel eyes.
"What is it this time?" Markl asked, looking at Calcifer.
"Something about how Howl not only left his shoes in the middle of the room; he also tracked mud in—right after she had just got done cleaning. That was last night; she found it this morning after she woke up. So, in retaliation, Sophie turned on all the water, and flushed her toilet while he was taking a shower—thus making it impossible for me to give him enough hot water. So, this is what we have to wake up to." Calcifer answered, looking out the window when it started to hail.
"I didn't think we were supposed to get any type of weather like this." Markl spoke up, looking out the window.
"We weren't. Maybe some rain, but not hail." Darry stated, getting Howl and Sophie's attention.
"Great. Now what?" Sophie asked, annoyed, walking over.
"It's hailing." Howl noted, perplexed.
"I see that, Idiot. But why? It's the middle of August. I mean, sure; we've gotten hail in the summer before, but not like this. This isn't normal hail, is it?" Sophie snapped before asking.
"No, it's not." Howl replied, walking to the door.
"Where are you going?" Sophie asked, following Howl.
"Stay here. You may have powers, but not nearly enough to go out into whatever this is. I'll be back." Howl firmly told Sophie before heading out into the Wastes.
"Sophie—please listen to Howl. He's not trying to be mean or rude when he talks about your powers; he's trying to protect you. He does love you." Calcifer firmly told Sophie.
"Fine." Sophie mumbled.
"Hey; now that Howl's not here, do you want to go over everything?" Derry asked, looking at Sophie.
"Of course." Sophie enthusiastically replied, grabbing her notebook.
With Howl:
As soon as he stepped out of the castle, Howl noticed how dark it was out. He also noticed that the ground was starting to freeze.
"If this ice reaches the castle, it won't end well." Howl stated, watching his castle before rushing inside.
"Howl?" Markl asked, confused, getting everyone's attention.
"Calcifer, I need you to stop the castle and firmly plant it in the ground. Then I need you to come outside and help me; the ground is starting to freeze. The last thing we need is for the castle to go sliding wherever and getting lost and destroyed. Once we find the source, we need to stop it and the ground needs to melt. Markl, Derry, and Sophie: keep everything intact—and Taco from freaking out. Oh, and Sophie: you can rip those plans up; I'm not redesigning and the changing the castle around. Come on, Calcifer." Howl instructed before heading out again—this time with Calcifer in toe.
"Holy shit." Calcifer marveled in shock, looking at everything.
"Do you sense anything?" Howl asked, looking around as Calcifer kept the area heated so that the ice wouldn't reach the castle.
"Nothing malevolent—but I do sense something." Calcifer answered.
"Same." Howl replied, looking around.
Then out of nowhere, he heard it. It was weak, but Howl heard pleas.
Howl heard:
"Wake up! Come on; you need to wake up or you'll crash!" A female voice.
"Please, Princess! If not for you, for Willow-Sky!" A different female voice.
"It's no use! She's not waking up!" The first female.
"Where is that coming from?" Calcifer asked, looking around.
"Stop looking around and look up." Howl instructed, instinctively looking up.
"Is that a girl?" Calcifer asked, stunned.
"Give me a boost—NOW Calcifer! Her life depends on it!" Howl demanded, getting into a crouching position.
Calcifer didn't argue; he did as he was told and gave Howl what he wanted.
Howl went flying up into the air.
With the help of Calcifer, Howl was able to fly for ten minutes and then land unharmed.
He was no longer cursed to turn into a giant black bird and couldn't independently fly.
"Someone's coming!" The second female yelled.
"Mmmm…" A younger-sounding girl moaned.
"Princess! She's starting to wake up!" The first female yelled.
"I've got you." Howl calmly stated, catching a short, thin girl with strawberry blonde hair reaching her mid-back. Howl guessed she was fourteen—maybe fifteen.
Once Howl securely had the girl, a kitten, and two others in his arms, he started slowly landed.
And then it happened: the girl opened her emerald-green eyes and looked into Howl's ocean-blue eyes.
It only lasted a few seconds before the girl passed out, but there was some kind of instant connected just before Howl's feet touched the soggy ground.
"Howl! What happened?! Is the girl ok?! What's going on?" Calcifer asked, rushing over to a paralyzed Howl.
"Sorry. What was that?" Howl asked, coming back to reality.
"What happened?" Calcifer asked again.
"I don't know. But whatever it is; it's not good. I think this girl and her friends here, were attacked." Howl answered as he started walking back to the castle with the girl, a kitten, what looked like a small doll, and a blue Calcifer.
"What now?" Calcifer asked, concerned; he had never seen Howl like this before.
"We bring them into the castle, find out who—and what they are, and keep them safe somehow." Howl simply answered.
"Of course." Calcifer spoke, following Howl. He was honestly kind of freaked out; Howl was sloshing through ankle-deep water and mud—not freaking out.
"My clean floors! What the hell happened out there?!" Sophie demanded, not noticing the girl in Howl's arms.
"Is she ok?" Derry asked, concerned, immediately noticing the girl.
"Who is she?" Sophie asked, suddenly concerned.
"I don't know who she is, but she's hurt—badly. I think her friends are as well." Howl answered, conjuring up a new mattress. He then carefully placed the girl, kitten, doll-sized thing, and blue Calcifer on it.
"Will you allow me to assess her?" Derry asked, looking at Howl.
"Do so." Howl instructed, having Derry kneel next to the mattress to evaluate the girl.
Derry used to be a doctor: he also used to be human. He was nearly killed when Howl and Calcifer found him.
A little over two hundred years ago, Derry had been dating a witch but broke up when she became too clingy and controlling. The witch felt betrayed or something and attempted to kill him; she didn't count on Howl showing up.
Howl and Calcifer made him a deal: immortality for a bond with the castle. He would become their doctor alone—as in, the occupants would become his only patients.
"Do you know anything?" Sophie asked, looking at Howl.
"She's not human. I don't know what she or her friends are, but I know she's not human. Nor is she a witch. I don't know what exactly, but I get a feeling of celestial being." Howl answered, watching Derry work on the girl.
The girl had:
· A nasty gash on her forehead
· Several nasty cuts all over her arms
· Bruises on her legs
· One large bruise on her stomach
"Is she going to be ok?" Markl asked, bringing over a cold, damp rag.
"Thank you, Markl. She'll be just fine. From what I can tell, she doesn't have any internal bleeding or damage of any sort. However, yes; someone put this girl through the wringer. Seeing as there's no waking her, I'm thinking she has a concussion. He head and stomach injuries are the worse of her conditions. Her arms were easy to heal. But her head and stomach—those will take some time. This little—doll-person has a few scratches but will be just fine. The kitten, which is female, seems completely unscathed. I have no clue what this blue thing is." Derry explained, checking the girls and blue Calcifer over.
"How do you know the kitten's female? You didn't look in that area." Markl asked, confused.
"I knew she was female the moment I saw her. I worked at a vet when I was a teenager—before I became a doctor. This kitten is a calico. 99.9% of calicos are female. I mean I can look, but I'm betting this kitten is female." Derry answered.
"The blue thing is a demon like me—except ice instead of fire. The other girl isn't a doll or human; she's a fair—more specifically: a moon fairy. The girl is definitely celestial, but I'm not sure what type. And like all of us, all four of those girls are immortal." Calcifer answered.
"How do you know the ice demon's a girl?" Markl asked, confused.
"It's a demon thing." Calcifer simply answered.
"I thought that angels were they only type of celestial beings." Sophie answered.
"Oh, Sophie. Dear, sweet, innocent Sophie; you haven't been immortal very long, so I wouldn't expect you to know. But I suppose: I still don't know how you went from being Howl's lover to his biological sister. Sorry. But anyway: there are other celestial beings aside from angels out there. They're mainly space based: Stars. Moon. Mercury. Mars. Jupiter. Venus. Pluto. Uranus. Neptune. Saturn. Even Black Holes—but those are dark beings; they're not someone you want to mess with. If you leave them alone; they leave you alone. Not to mention, they primarily stay in space. I can tell you that this girl is a celestial being, but I cannot tell you what. I also cannot tell you why she's here on Earth." Calcifer explained, teasing Sophie a little at first—until she glared at him.
"Whoever or whatever they are; they're in danger. They'll stay here until it's safe for them to leave—or as long as they needs. For now, they'll rest. The only one allowed near them until they're up and talking is Derry. I want updates though." Howl instructed.
"Right." Everyone agreed before Howl headed to his room.
"What's with him?" Sophie asked once Howl was out of earshot.
"I don't know." Derry replied, covering the girl with a blanket…