sophie should just be glad he didn't turn into twinkle again

[polychromatic]

Howl's Moving Castle
In which Howl is caught in a Cat-astrophe of his own making
Howl, Sophie, Calcifer, Morgan
Written for comment_fic
Posted here.
Prompt: Howl/Sophie, turning his son into a kitten (again) usually got him into trouble, but the little guy loved it, however turning his wife into a cat (again dammit) might have been crossing the line.
632 words

"... so as you can see from my perfectly argued and astoundingly eloquent apology, this is all the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding and mistake disguised as a blessing. I'd really appreciate it, Sophie dear, if you would stop glaring at me in such a menacing way. It's really hurting my feelings, honestly."

The black panther's tail twitched irritably, and if the low growl emitting from her throat was any indication, Howl was most certainly not forgiven.

"It was all Howl, Sophie! I told him I wouldn't have any part in it!" Calcifer declared from his safe vantage point high up in the ceiling.

Despite Sophie's proclamations that Howl would someday be the death of her, the infamous wizard was fairly convinced that the reverse was about to come true. Not to say that he didn't entirely deserve it; it was his own fault after all. How could he have overlooked the tiny, miniscule, life-threatening detail that the last time he had turned his wife into a cat, she had somehow managed the ability to morph into a capably dangerous panther when angry? Wonderful woman, his Sophie, always full of delightful and terrifying surprises.

But Howl wasn't a renowned slitherer-outer for nothing. If there was anything he could be proud of (aside from his lovely family unit, of course, number one pride of his still-beating heart!), it was his ability to talk his way out of tight jams. Then again, Sophie had always had the especial knack of pinning him down at the most inopportune moments. "Now, Sophie, be reasonable..."

The narrowing of her blue eyes conveyed the message of "I am already being far more reasonable than you deserve, Howl Pendragon" quite clearly.

Calcifer, the traitor, was cackling gleefully at his predicament and of no help at all. Which left...

... well it was an accident, really. No father as doting as he would ever dream of trodding on the tail of his son-turned-kitten-via-magic. Nevertheless, he did just that as he took a step backward and as he yelped out "Oh, bother!" Morgan let loose a screechy yowl and managed to jump about three feet into the air. The display was enough to get Sophie's maternal instincts tingling, much to Howl's delight, as she immediately responded by shrinking back to the much more manageable size of respectable cat and trotted after Morgan, nuzzling him in concern.

"Aha!" Howl pounced on them triumphantly, scooping Morgan up onto his shoulder and holding Sophie at an arm's length, her ears pinned flat against her head as she regarded him with a scathing hiss, "The tides have turned--"

And right in that moment, Sophie managed to wriggle out of his grasp, boxing his ears quite cooly with both paws and managing to get in one more swipe across his nose for good measure before she daintily made her landing. Morgan, worked up in to a frenzy by all the shouting and hissing and pouncing, nipped him on the ear and then jumped to the ground too, skittering after a piece of yarn from Sophie's knitting.

"Serves you right!" was the sentiment that was practically oozing from Sophie now as she sat back on her haunches. The "If you don't turn us back right now there will be hell to pay" was implicit.

"Well Calcifer," Howl sighed with tragic gravitas, "this is what I get for trying to think of Morgan's happiness. I guess we'd better put it right."

"One day Sophie'll shave off all your hair when you're sleeping, just wait!" Calcifer chuckled as he drifted down from the rafters.

The approving blink and tail swish Sophie made in Calcifer's direction was enough to pierce Howl's soul with the ice-cold feeling of real terror as he envisioned the many sleepless nights that awaited him.