[Nighttime Frights] Always Bring a Buddy

Countless of missing Succubuns disappearing every other night, and A dead priest of Sulfur whose cause of death was yet to be disclosed to the public. 

This was the most excitement (or horror, depending on how you saw it) that Burrowgatory had ever seen in a lifetime. 

The nightlife here was usually quite tame – meaning that it was normal to see drunk buns passing out on the side of the street or causing a ruckus in the darkest hour of the evening. But the buns of Burrowgatory had not experienced this volume of murders.

None of it seemed to phase Hops’ most stoic waiter, Laplace Godeau. The chatter and gossip regarding these recent events flew in through one ear and out the other when he went about his job. Even his regular patrons that fruitlessly attempted to start up small talk with him tried to ask him how he felt about it – only to be met with the same shrug. He didn't really have time to entertain everyone's silly theories. Morbid for sure, but something like this wasn’t on the top of worries on Laplace’s list. He had a job to do. Bills to pay. Drinks to serve. And a debt that he still needed paying off…

There was only one person that the waxy looking bun could probably question when it came to the latest occurrences around Burrowgatory. Someone who knew everyone and everything. Hops made a business deal with this man some odd years ago to open up a VIP lounge connected to The Rabbit Hole and Wonderland’s Casino, and he seemingly popped up out of nowhere. The carats he made were mountainous and the amount of patrons he received that spent time within his lounge to feel more special than the ‘commonfolk’ was what kept it running.

Everyone referred to this bun as ‘Aster’. No surname. No known ‘real’ name. His fur was a snowy white, his eyes blood red, body covered in crystals that matched, and his canines were sharper than normal. Of course, some buns pointed fingers at him because of his shady dealings with some questionably legal companies, but his hands were clean. There was no evidence that Aster was behind all of this. In fact, it amused him that others thought he would be stupid enough to cause such a boistrous scene.

After hours, Laplace made his way to the back of The Rabbit Hole that was closed off by your typical velvet rope. The bouncer was a large, muscular doll that recognized the waiter immediately and unclipped the hook that divided the lounge from the bar to let Laplace in.

Quiet giggles and conversations could be heard throughout the lounge. It was a more relaxed atmosphere back here in contrast to the chaos that was the casino and bar. Laplace heard a familiar sophisticated accent near the furthest corner where some large, red booths sat behind a table. The waiter approached and arrived upon Aster and three other feminine dolls. Of course.

Laplace cleared his throat sternly to make his presence known, causing the dialogue to come to a halt.

“Oh? If it isn’t my dear friend. Off work already? I thought Hops had you working overtime tonight,” the lounge host inquired, swirling a glass of half-empty red wine in a monotonous motion. 

Laplace held himself back from rolling his eyes; simply standing up straight and keeping his hands behind his back out of habit. “If I may have a moment of your time, sir…”

“Tsk, why the formalities? That hurts my feelings…” Aster sighed melodramatically. “Well, you heard him, ladies… Afraid this will have to continue another time.”

That was their queue to disperse; the other buns groaned and whined, but obeyed nonetheless. They exited the booth and either went to other areas of the lounge or left outright.

Aster patted the seat next to him, to which Laplace begrudgingly took the spot that had been warmed by one of the ladies before him. 

“So, what seems to be troubling you, Laplace? Need an extension on this week’s payment again?” the Envy bun lightly teased, but genuinely questioned.

“Do you truly have nothing to do with the disappearances lately? If you’re lying to me–” Laplace curtly demanded without fear.

Aster scoffed, then let out a boisterous laugh. “Hells, of course not, dear! How many times must I tell you? Even if it was me, do you really think I’d fail to cover my tracks? Whoever is behind this… I can tell that that cute little investigator with his cute little toys is getting closer to catching whoever it really is. In fact…”

The pompous bun leaned in closer to Laplace’s ear, almost making him break his concentration. “A contact of mine tells me that one of Burrowgatory’s most sought after vineyards was targeted the other night. But that ended up being a dead end… Whoever’s behind the murders is still most definitely on the loose.”

Laplace’s gaze fixated on the wall on the other side of the room. It was jarring how well Aster knew all of this. He really was a connected man.

“You’re lucky that Hops let you end your shift early… She must be worried about your wellbeing,” the lounge host mentioned slyly, then took a sip of his wine. “Do stay safe while going home, darling. I’d hate for anything that goes ‘bump’ in the night to steal away my favorite cup bearer.”

Laplace glared at his current company before standing up, brushing his pants off and looking at his wristwatch. The sun hadn’t quite gone down yet, but he needed to hurry if he wanted to beat it. 

“Have a good night, sir…” the candle-esque bun politely stated before leaving the VIP lounge, feeling that red gaze following him.

The work outfit that Laplace always wore was kept in an employee locker room in the back of The Rabbit Hole. He didn’t feel like taking it to get dry cleaned yet, so he left it on its usual rack before showering and changing into the clothes he wore to get here -- grabbing an umbrella he stored in his locker, too.

He clicked the lock on his designated storage before leaving the premises and stepping through the front doors of the bar. Laplace wasn’t about to be foolish and take the employee exit in the alleyway this time…

Upon walking a few steps in the direction he normally walked home, he spotted a rather small, awkward doll looking around nervously. As if they were lost. It was obviously none of his business, but this person’s demeanor screamed ‘Please kidnap me and suck my blood! I’m unaware of my surroundings!’

The candle-esque doll held a hand palm-up towards the sky. As he thought, there was a light sprinkle of rain starting up; as the weather report said would happen around this time. Laplace sighed to himself and walked over to the anxious doll, trying to approach them from the side so that perhaps their peripheral vision would catch him.

One of Laplace’s few hoofsteps caught the brown-furred doll’s attention, causing them to yelp and turn to face him, striking a pathetic defense pose. “P-please don’t eat me! I don’t taste good, I swear!”

Laplace blinked; his brows raising at how goofy that reaction was. “I assure you… I don’t have an appetite for cannibalism.”

The stranger lowered their arms and let out a sigh of relief. “Oh… y-you’re one of the workers at Hops’ bar! Right? Sorry if not-”

“Yes, I am. I was just getting off of my shift… Are you lost?” Laplace inquired.

“Lost? N-no… I know where my home is! I just…” The pink-horned Greed bun trailed off and tapped their index fingers together, “Well… you know… the news reports lately, and I didn’t expect to be out this late… I drank a lot and now I’m worried I’ll trip and fall into a ditch or something and–”

Laplace cleared his throat loudly to cut them off, earning a sheepish grin.

“Sorry… I’m probably annoying you,” they apologized.

“Listen…” the waxy Greed bun sighed, “I can very well watch out for myself, but the way you’re acting is convincing me that you wouldn’t be able to make it home without actually hurting yourself.” He popped open his umbrella and hovered it over the stranger. “If you’re uncomfortable allowing me to accompany you, just say so and I will leave you be.”

The other bun’s eyes seemed to glimmer in awe. “You really… Will you?”

Laplace nodded and looked ahead of them. “You lead the way.”

The two of them slowly started traveling in whatever direction the brown-furred Greed doll went. The taller of the two keeping a steady pace right next to them.

“Um…” the shorter doll finally broke the silence, “I-I’m Prism, by the way. I don’t think I got your name.”

“Laplace,” he answered almost immediately. “Pleasure.” His tone didn’t match the niceties, which might have been off putting.

“Nice to meet you properly… So, um…” Prism continued, “Have you always worked at The Rabbit Hole? Is it a decent job? I mean, you don’t have to answer…”

“It ‘puts carats on the table’, as they say…” Laplace responded plainly.

The candle-esque man was obviously not a talker. Making the walk together a smidge awkward, but it didn’t seem to hurt his new acquaintance’s feelings.

“Haha… I know what you mean,” Prism giggled in agreement. “I mean as long as you’re making a living, right?”

“Mhm…” Again, yet another lackluster response.

The rain seemed to start pouring down harder. Not the ‘raining Furdins and Impups’ kind of rain, but enough to soak through one's clothes. Prism gasped, noticing the white clothing on Laplace getting wet.

 “Um! Mister, your, uh…” Prism trailed off, beginning to blush. The fabric on Laplace’s shirt began showing the skin underneath.

“It’ll dry. Don’t worry,” Laplace assured the other doll without breaking eye contact with the sidewalk ahead.

“Th… that’s not what I… n-nevermind,” Prism muttered in defeat, having to force his gaze away from the obvious.

The two Greed buns walked for another 15-20 minutes before approaching a large apartment complex closed off by a gated door. A keycard reader resided next to it.

“Well, this is me,” Prism said before a yawn escaped his mouth. 

“Ah, good then,” Laplace replied, “Do you want me to walk you to your door? Or shall I leave you here?”

“I think I’m fine now! I can’t thank you enough for this… Is there something I can do to–”

Before Prism could finish, a loud clattering of what sounded like metal hit the concrete near them, causing the skittish little Greed bun to let out a girlish scream and leap towards Laplace for protection. This caused the larger of the two to react; folding his umbrella back in swiftly and pointing the sharp end in the direction of the noise as he stood halfway in front of Prism.

What they both saw made them feel silly: a stray Impup was chasing a Remil around a trash can, which had caused it to fall over. 

The dolls collectively sighed and let their defenses down. Laplace seemed to immediately return to his usual stoic self. 

“Phew, haha!” Prism laughed shamefacedly, “Glad that wasn’t something else, right? Or, someone else…”

“Indeed…” Laplace agreed and stood up straight. “Well, take care of yourself now. Please try not to travel home late at night again.”

“R-right! I promise I’ll try not to…” Prism replied and did a silly salute as if to say goodbye.

Laplace gave him a polite bow before pivoting on his heel to leave the apartment gates. His newfound acquaintance staring longingly at his back; the lampposts lining the streets cast shadows on his large figure like movie still frames getting dimmer and dimmer as he disappeared into the night.

Prism chewed on his knuckle, wondering what he did to deserve such a nice gesture, but on the inside, he prayed to whatever God or demon was out there that this wouldn’t be the last time he saw the other Greed bun again. 

Maybe he would go against his promises and see if he’d get another pass to get escorted home once more…