Ever The Contrarian

CHAPTER TWO: LET'S GOOOOO

"So, yeah, I prefer slicing peaches to killing people, but what matters is that I'm alive. Right?" Mercury finished grandly, and Nox, who had been clutching his head in his hands for a while, looked up and frowned at her. Ha ha, my favorite character makes an appearance! the author is a simp, and a simp she shall stay! "How can you be so calm about this? What if more come?"

"YEAH, MERCURY! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM!" the author shouts outside the window. The author can materialize into the text whenever they want, because they are the author. 

"Then we'll just take them on together, right buddy? The swordswoman and the elf! What a wonderful duo! Huzzah, no one's gonna beat us!" Mercury said animatedly, flexing her arm muscles. The main character is delusional - but in a good way, right? Right. Let's go with that. 

Nox rolled his eyes and sighed. The main character's friend was not delusional, it seems - in fact, he was well aware of their odds. 

"What? You don't believe in me? We're gonna be awesome together!" Mercury crowed, and Nox threw a pillow at her. The main character is immortal, though, so it didnt hit her. "Mercury, be real. Please tell me what we're going to do. You have a plan, don't you?" Nox said, and Mercury caught the pillow out of the air and threw it back. "Oh. Uhm. I was thinking, maybe… run?" Mercury said, and this time the pillow came bouncing off the ground, landing at her feet. "But! I don't have anywhere to go! So maybe if someone who went on a lot of financial expeditions accompanied me, I'd have a chance!" Mercury added, and Nox stared at her in surprise, pillow in his hands. "Oh. That is actually… a decent plan. I can't stay hidden forever, anyway." The main character is completely deluonal, and now, the author's favorite character has joined her in being delusional! 

Mercury quickly changed her tune from hesitant to boasting. "Yes! It's a good plan! I had this planned out all along! Haha, I'm so smart!" 

"NO, YOU'RE THE OPPOSITE OF SMART!" the author screeched from the window again. 

"So, should we set off at night? You can take penguin." Nox suggested, and Mercury's mind drifted off to Nox's horse, Penguin. She was beautiful, black with splotches of white. Weirdly, her mane and tail were two different colors: her mane was black, and her tail white. This led to nobody buying her in the town when she was born, but of course, Mercury found her colors beautiful and took her in. Mercury was her rightful owner, but due to a lack of space in her cottage, Penguin lived with Nox. 

"Okay; night, then! See you!" Mercury said, shoving Nox out of her house. "what?-" Nox said, but she grabbed the door off the ground and shoved it into the doorframe, the equivalent of slamming the door if it had not been broken by a certain black hooded humanoid thing. Oh, fate is so cruel. She fished the spare door hinges out of a drawer (she did not even know why she had those, but they had come in handy) and screwed them in place. A moment later, her perfectly new door was swinging on brand-new hinges. cool, right? main characters are insanely lucky! If it was me, meanwhile, I would have had to walk all the way to HOME DEPOT. "okay… now all this blood. what do I do about this?" Mercury asked, surveying the bloodstain from the carpet. Think, main character, think! please, use your brains! She grabbed the towel she had wiped her knife on and used it to mop up the blood, which left it completely red. "All right. Now I have to dispose of this towel since I managed to get all the blood in one spot." Mercury said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully while thinking out loud. "Aha! I'll just throw it in the river, right? the cold water should wash all the blood out." Mercury said. with no time to waste, she threw open her new door and raced down the trail that led to the river. Nice thinking, main character! It had been one of the selling points when she bought her cottage - the cottage had been in ruins and the shed had to be rebuilt, but the river view was just too good to pass. the main character loves nature. As soon as she reached the muddy banks, she chucked the towel into the hurling river with all her might. yeet, in goes the towel. It was instantly swept away. Mercury could see that the blood was already being washed out. "Goodbye, my towel. I just lost 15 coins of investment." Mercury sulked, turning around to run back up the trail. the main character is also extremely cheap because she is poor. As she neared her cottage again, she suddenly saw that Iodine was standing outside. She was crying, and she had a pack of luggage next to her. Both of her knees were scraped. Foolishly, Mercury took it in for a moment. Iodine was always so perfect - it was odd seeing her so out of her element. The main character is not a good friend, but she didnt really need it. "Huh? Io? What are you doing here?" Mercury said, reverting to using her nickname for her friend. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head. Her parent's debt was all paid off. Technically, they didn't need her to pay it off anymore. They didn't need her at all. the main character is also very smart. test why she guessed correctly. "Oh my gosh. Are you alright? why are you bruised-" Mercury said, feigning innocence. The main character is a good actor. She felt sick to her stomach - she had ruined her friend's life without really meaning to. I take that back - the main character turns out to be not - so smart. "They threw me out. An anonymous tip paid off all their debt, so they don't need me anymore. Can I stay at your place for a while?" Iodine sniffed, rubbing her eyes with her sleeves. "Of course. As long as you need to, but… We might not be here for long." Mercury said. "huh?" Iodine sniffled, and Mercury grabbed her wrist. "follow me." 

As soon as Iodine saw the body, she balked and stepped back. finding out your best friend of ten years is a murderer? quite a shock, I guess. After a prompt explanation, with Iodine freaking out more by the minute, Mercury finished grandly with a "So, here we are! wanna join me and Nox?" and Iodine fainted. ha ha. "alright! I'll take that as a yes." Mercury said, catching her friend to prop her up. good reflexes, my dude! I would have just let her fall. She was quite used to Iodine's fainting spells that happened whenever she got stressed, surprised, or anxious - she had a lot of them in her days of studying. school is stressful. The author knows this from personal experience. Mercury hauled her inside and set her on the couch. As she stirred awake, she sat up and rubbed her head. "You won't believe it, Mercury, I had the weirdest and most realistic dream ever. You would never kill someone, right?" Mercury stared at the floor, trying not to laugh. The main character has a strange sense of humor, just like the author. "Of course, the dream was real. I know it's a lot, but you have to decide by this afternoon. I can leave you the cottage and my leftover coins. alright?" Mercury said, hugging Iodine. with a jolt, she realized it could be the last time she hugged her best friend. ("WHO AM I, THEN?! YOU SAID I WAS YOUR BEST FRIEND!" screeched Nox in the distance.) "Give me till tonight. That's when you're going right? Under the cover of night?" Iodine asked, and Mercury nodded. lets go! the classic "Midnight escape" route! we are so ready for this! "Alright. Im sorry, Mercury." Iodine said, and Mercury raised an eyebrow. "wha? what are you sorry about, again?"

"I'm so… useless. You could have sold off the cottage, but if I decide to stay, you'd be passing up a decent amount of coins for me-" Mercury stood up and pelted her with a pillow. turns out, the person who had a big ego just a chapter ago doesnt have such a big ego. "NO! YOU'RE NOT USELESS!" she screeched, and Iodine looked at her in surprise. Mercury stuck her tongue out at her, and Iodine managed a sad smile. The main character is a good friend, because she is willing to do anything to make her friend happy. Mercury refused to accept that Iodine would ever call herself useless - Mercury was much more so than she was. (The main charecter is supposed to have more self confidence, come on! both of them arent useless at all!) 

A few hours later, as Mercury frantically stuffed things in her bag, she stood up and straightened her back. the last cloak had been randoy thrown in - and her backpack was nearly bursting, especially the zipper, but oh well. Main characters cant be lucky all the time. Thats a rule, or the author would just be jealous. In fact, the author is already quite jealous of the main character's luck. She put it onto her shoulder and stepped out the door. "Iodine! See you later. The keys are at the table near the door, as well as a lot of coins. I promise I'll try to visit under some type of disguise, and I'll definitely write to you if I can't do that. bye!" Mercury said, closing the door before tears took over. Wiping her eyes, she set off down the trail. how emotional! I would actually feel bad at Mercury loosing her best friend, if I didnt know hwat was going to happen in the next chapter. Suddenly halting, she stopped to stare at the rock that had tripped her that one time. Had she really been mad about something so trivial? All her problems now seemed so big that getting tripped seemed like a blessing. Oh, how things had changed. It had just been a day, though…. Crouching, she picked up the rock and dusted it off. "you might as well come with me, right? I'll name you Sir Ambrosia." she said to the rock. As it didn't reply she slipped it into the last empty pocket she had and set off. She was definitely ready now - she had something to remind her of her home. aside from her brain. her brain could definitely remind her of home. But, alas, this main character is also painfully forgteful. 

Night eventually rolled by, and Mercury happily walked up to Nox's house, patting her full stomach and hefting a heavy pack on her shoulders. Nox had chosen to live in the abandoned side of town, in the dead plains. The trees didn't have any leaves, and there were always clouds in the sky. dread leaves crunched under her feet (if the trees didn't have any leaves, where did they even come from? the universe had many mysteries.) and Nox's house itself was another story. It was a large mansion, but made of crumbling black bricks. it was starkly different from where Mercury lived - among the lush shrubs and cozy, tiny cottage. Mercury gulped, trying to calm her nerves. Nox's house always made her nervous - although the inside was 10 times better. As the last elf, he had to choose a place no one would ever bother to look at, and the terrifying house was the epitome of solitude. In a bad way, though. Oh well, at least he didnt have to worry about salesmen like the author does. As she knocked on the black door, nox opened it up. The inside of his house was warm, with cream and beige tones on the walls. Most of the furniture was made of patched bamboo and cushions, giving the entire place a calming vibe. In the corner, incense sticks let off a calm aroma, and candles cast a warm glow over the air. Compared to what the outside of his house looked like, she sometimes wondered if she had entered the wrong house by accident. "Oh god. I feel like i'm going to fall asleep whenever I enter your house." Mercury said, slumping into one of the bamboo armchairs. "I don't mind, as long as it's just a short nap. Anyway, is Iodine joining us?" Nox said, bustling out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs of tea. The author would love to have some of Nox's tea. (XD I HAD TO IM SORRY) Mercury accepted hers with a smile and shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't blame her, either. I gave her the cottage and all my coins." The main character is very generous, but doesnt realize it because the main character is also dense. Like the author. Poor author. 

"huh. How generous. anyway, we better get going soon." Nox said, peeking out of the windows. Mercury couldn't see more than a few inches in the black - it was definitely night. because, when its day, you can see more than a few inches. Logic, right? "Alright! Let's go, Mercury. Got your bags?" Nox said, swishing the curtains closed. Mercury hefted the bags back on her shoulder and nodded. "Of course. I'M COMING, PENGUIN! WAIT FOR ME!" she said, racing out of the door before Nox could say a thing. Penguin instantly stopped grazing and jolted her neck up at the sound of Mercury's voice. Mercury and Penguin had a special sort of bond, and an unexplainable one at that. So the author isnt even going to try to explain it. thats what the deifnetion of unexplainable is. Penguin could take direct verbal commands from Mercury, and Mercury could understand her based on her body language. Mercury easily scaled the single-picket fence to Penguin's pasture and rubbed her snout eagerly. Penguin closed her eyes happily, and Mercury fished out a few sugar cubes from a pouch she always kept around her waist. Penguin neighed, greeting her, and accepted the sugar cubes. "I have a pack this time around, but don't worry, you're not carrying it for nothing. There's some more sugar cubes in there for you too." Mercury informed her. Penguin seemed to be able to understand basic fragments of her speech, so Penguin sniffed her backpack curiously at the words "Sugar cubes". The horse might just be smarter than the main character, but we'll see. Nox trotted up to the pasture on his own horse, Sky, who was a creamy peach with white spots and a light beige mane and tail. Both penguins and Sky were Arabians, bred for their speed and stamina. Oops, she'd gotten a bit carried away with the detailed descriptions. The author, I mean. The main character doesn't even know that the author is commenting on every single thing that she does. Mercury tied her backpack to the penguin's side and then hefted herself on. Since she and Penguin were so synced, she didn't need a bridle or saddle. Cool, right? The author thinks so as well. loosely holding Penguin's mane, she said, "Follow Sky if you would, penguin. We're setting off." Penguin nodded and trotted loosely behind Sky, speeding up a bit to walk beside Sky. "here we are! well, be out of town in a few minutes, right?" Mercury said to Nox, the lantern swinging in her hand. It would have been a lot harder to see without the lanterns, which gave them and the horses a few feet of eyesight but came at the cost of illuminating their faces. "Yep. We should go as fast as we can before it gets too early in the morning." As Mercury nodded, Penguin suddenly stopped in front of her. "huh? Penguin? why'd you stop? is something wrong?" Mercury asked, squinting ahead. Sadly, the main character could nto see in the dark. It would be cool if she could, though! Suddenly, Iodine stepped into the light that their lanterns cast. "Io?" ding ding ding! you got it right, Mercury! also, I told you all last chapter that she wasn't going to loose her best friend. Mercury gasped, and Iodine smiled. 

"I'm coming with you."