#aranella

heehee , bonus

Roland carries pre-made arrays for emergencies. Normally, he doesn't need them. But that’s going to change.

Roland had always thought his fellow alchemists were never prepared enough. Sure, they always had weapons and combat training, but they always relied on their alchemy first. And it was their defining point, to a degree.

They would always default to their Signature alchemy over any other and had a dreadful habit of not carrying supplies with them. Which often meant they were never able to work on the fly. Especially if they got caught in a fight.

And since it was their Signature, it was criminally easy to disable them if one knew their reputation beforehand.

(So many of them relied on a singular premade array, and if they lost it they were practically helpless if they didn’t take to heart soldier’s training as well. Not to mention setting up counters to their arrays to make them useless.)

They never carried multiple Pre-Drawn Arrays with them. And Roland had seen this come back to bite them on plenty of occasions.

Because of that, Roland made sure to always be prepared. And he did that by keeping backup arrays on his person. Some were drawn on paper in his notebook, some were stitched into kerchiefs that he kept neatly folded in his pockets (and occasionally stuffed in his coat sleeves), not to mention that he always carried the supplies to make more on the spot.

And, if he’d had the presence of mind at the moment, he would have been glad for it when he’d spotted the magical blast of fire streaking through the cavern towards Evan.

Tiny, little Evan, who was standing there in shock, clutching his dagger in front of him like it was a shield. The terrified, cat-child whose world was crumbling apart around him. The child who couldn’t have been much older than his own son.

No, instead he’d ripped the stitched array from its hiding spot in his sleeve (a simple one for molding stonework), slammed it to the damp ground, and pushed.

In the span of a blink, a wall of stone had burst from the ground to shield Evan from the blast.

(And Arenella. Who wasn't dead, apparently. That was good. Also, when had she gotten there?)

Roland, despite the pain and exhaustion from the night pulling at him, kept his hand on the circle and refocused on the “Black Knight” and pushed a fresh shove into it.

Lightning from the array streaked over the ground a second time, raising vicious-looking spikes in its wake. Spikes that made the mouse-monster stagger back in a mix of chock and alarm, and lose its balance on the cliff’s edge. A shot from the pistol still clutched in his other hand, sent it over before the blasted thing could regain its footing. Its roar of pain and fury fading as it fell into the darkened depths.

It was gone. He’d gotten rid of it.

Now they had to escape before any of its fellow usurpers could catch up.

AN: I said I wasn't going to write something for my Ni no Kuni Crossover ideas. That was the entire reason I posted them for other people. I HAVE TOO MANY PROJECTS TO DEVOTE TIME TO A NEW AU. And then this showed up in my docs and I ordered myself to not post it until AT LEAST two days had passed.

...It's been two days. I cannot say if there will be more or if this will be the only bit of writing to appear.

Side note; I've decided that for the version in my head that won't be written (let's see how long I can keep that oath up), if Roland had become a State Alchemist, his title would have been related to him thinking ahead or always trying to be prepared.

So it would be something like the "Forward-Thinking" Alchemist or the "Ever-Ready" Alchemist.

Who reaches out to new neighbors?

Hmm probably Nella?

Who remembers to buy healthy food?

Nelly.

Who remembers to buy junk food?

Bracken.

Who fixes it when the oven breaks?

Bracken cause she probably invented it and Nelly probably tried once and nearly set the place ablaze

Who waters the plants/feeds the pets?

Hmm they both probably would honestly

Who wakes up earlier?

Nella

Who makes the bed?

Nella. Bracken usually forgets

Who makes the coffee?

Bracken though Nella will do it occasionally

Who burns breakfast?

Bracken

How do they let eachother know they're leaving the house?

Uhhh probably by saying goodbye? How else would you do it??

How do they great eachother when one gets home?

With a hug and a nap probably

Who brings home little gifts more often?

They both do it but Bracken probably does it more cause she's always making stuff between projects and things for Nella are her go to ideas

Who picks the movie for movie night?

I feel like they'd take turns honestly

Their favourite kind of movie to watch?

Probably something like a detective style thing where they both try and guess who the culprit is cause they're both pretty smart

Who first suggests the pillow fort?

Bracken

Who builds the pillow fort?

They both do and would probably get Evan and Tani involved with it too if not Batu and Leander as well

Who tries to distract the other during the move?

Probably Bracken? I can see Nelly doing it too I dunno

Who falls asleep first?

Depends who's working the latest that particular night they're both pretty bad

Who is big spoon/little spoon?

"It's okay Evan, show them what I taught you!"