The (Suspicious) Funeral

Casque sighed softly as he adjusted the cuff links on his button up shirt when he felt weight on his legs and glanced down at his Baaaphie who had leaped onto his lap.

"Horns? You want to come along?" He inquired softly and Horns tilted its head slightly, its piercing red eyes boring into his. Casque huffed out a soft sigh as he recalled how he had immediately gathered his staff into a meeting the moment news broke out about Oleander's passing.

He had tried to drill his insistence into his staff that they were to remain on property and live in the housing for time being as he had been so concerned for their safety especially the ones who travelled daily between their home and work. Quite a small number had voiced their loud protests that had been silenced by one of oldest and longest residing employee: Basilio.*

*"The previous owner of this property would be quite disappointed to hear that Casque's concerns is being ignored. He is right. Everyone's safety should be priority. It is of no cost to us to remain here and the buns you have at your homes would be quite understanding of this temporary arrangements." The Pride had spoken quite sternly and had silenced the protests. Casque had expressed his gratitude to him in private afterwards and Basilio had sighed softly.*

*"I do not like this. It's misery like this but what choice do we have? You know I have been holed up here ever since the first attacks started cropping up. I will attend the funeral when the information has been released." Casque had nodded.

Few days had passed since that meeting and it was the day of the funeral for the Head Priest. Casque shifted and Horns hopped off as the Envy rose to his feet; dusting off his black vest with pink embroidery. When he departed his private residence and headed toward the main building he was slightly surprised to see a small number of his staff gathered. Basilio stepped forward and announced that everyone present wanted to attend. Who was Casque to refuse them this trip? Casque may not have been overly fond of the church and its staff especially their views on demons thanks to his upbringing but that did not mean he could not simply attend the funeral to pay some respects. They piled up in two cars and drove to the Church of Sulfur. Casque was not surprised to see the inside being filled with mourning buns and dolls alike. The Envy could hear his employees murmuring among themselves regarding the attire of others and Basilio hissing at them to shut up. There were plenty of buns in lingerie attire, colourful attire and varying clothing that would have made the Head Priest Oleander so proud. There was a reason there had been a line in the funeral informing the visitors to wear what they wanted to pay their respects; Oleander would want this.

Still. Casque frowned. Usually he would have been able to have some conversations with Jackal and check in on Dove but those two has been rather busy over last few days. Unusually busy. Something was going on and he wasn't sure what it was but it had him feeling rather concerned. With a sigh he bid his staff farewell and told them to keep in touch through the group chat as he parted his ways to hunt down the Envy and Cherubun pair as his staff scattered; his Baaaphie trotting closely by Casque's side.

The Envy was not surprised to find Dove and Jackal up at the front speaking to Mercy but he did raise an eyebrow at the sight of a certain silver-haired dark-skinned Envy; Silver hanging around nearby. Last he had heard; few staff of church were not quite fond of Silver due to his strong negative views on demon. Not that he could blame him for that as Casque also did not look upon demons too favorably. Regardless....

"Hello Jackal and Dove. My condolences, Mercy. I have heard of your close bond to the deceased priest." Casque greeted as he approached the trio and they jerked up in surprise at his presence before Mercy softened a bit.

"....Thank you. It is a surprise to see you here as you are not known for your religious beliefs." They spoke and Casque shook his head "You are correct I am not. However several of my staff are-...Horns get back here now" Casque snapped at his Baaaphie who was sniffing at Silver's leg before immediately returning to his side. Shooting Silver a quick apologetic look, Casque resumed
"Several of my staff are religious and I wanted to show some respects as well as support."

Upon noticing Dove's visible mild discomfort at his Baaaphie, Casque gently nudged his imp out of way so the Cherubun could come around to give him a quick hug.

"Thank you for coming and being supportive" Dove spoke softly as Jackal nodded stiffly. "Are you two doing well?" Casque inquired, concerned for his friends and Jackal injected with a quick
"We're managing somehow. Don't worry I've got a bat I carry when we're out late." Casque was about to speak when the call for funeral's start time came through intercom and he was being shooed off to his seat.
With a frown at the way Dove had winced subtly and Jackal's harsh tone, Casque headed to his seat as he thought on how odd his friends were acting. He could overhear Dove chastise Jackal for her harsh tone toward him and Mercy speaking softly
"He is quite close to you is he not? He appears to know that something more is going on regarding you two. We must be careful not to get anyone catch on that there is more to this." Casque could hear Jackal growl out with a quieter
"Shit, I know Mercy but he's rather keen and observant. We might have to deal with him later" Their voices tapered off as Casque moved away.

He spotted Basilio getting comfortable on his boyfriend's lap; still in his bun form recovering from recent encounter with stress-induced illness. Diego did also look rather upset and Charon's arm was around him, gently rubbing at his side and murmuring into his ear. Casque recognized the other residents of Retina Ranch; Mckenna and Eden seated next to them but he chose not to go over and greet as he slide into a row few rows ahead of the group.
As Casque got settled into his seat, he realized that another friend of his; a certain well-dressed dark Pride accompanied by his signature hat and veil with his Winterswept gently adorning his hat and horns with snow was seated next to him. Lucien. Normally Casque would greet him but this was not time nor place to as the taller male looked quite solemn. Instead, Casque reached out to gently squeeze Lucien's hand before pulling away to pay attention to the proceedings of the funeral; Horns quickly jumping onto his lap and shuffling to get rather comfortable in the small gap between the two dolls and Casque could see Lucien's hand idly moving to scratch between the imp's horns.

He watched as Mercy attempted to give an eulogy but they began to choke up halfway through and Dove had to guide them off platform into Jackal's arms before taking over with their sweet soft voice.

"I did not know Oleander as much as majority of you does but what I do knew of him was that he was always so eager to help others find their way in life, willing to discuss his sermons and offering his comfort to others in need of them. He was quite helpful toward myself and the other Cherubuns especially when they began the place we once called home. He will be severely missed by the staff of The Church of Sulfur and its community. Thank you" Dove stepped away to help Jackal comfort Mercy who was shaking in distress.

Casque eventually told his employees through the group chat that he would hitch a ride back to property and that he wanted to speak to the others a bit longer. He wasn't surprised by Basilio's text that they would stick with their boyfriend and his group as well.

He stuck around until everyone had cleared from the area and went toward the closed coffin. That had been seriously bothering him the entire time; the fact Oleander's coffin was closed. The Head Priest would want his rather sexy body to be on display to the church. Not to mention the fact Horns was rather puffed up and lowly growling at the coffin. Its behaviour reminded Casque of another Baaaphie that he knew of and that gave him a cause for concern.

After one last look around, Casque cracked open the casket; just enough to be able to peer inside to a completely empty casket.

"It's empty. Either Oleander's body was so badly disfigured that it had to be destroyed OR something else happened....that the others definitely know about..." Casque closed the lid and peeked down at his imp who was staring off in a direction toward.... where the others would be.

"Look like we're going to have to ask those three" Casque murmured, remembering Jackal's words from earlier about his keen observation.

As the Envy and the Baaaphie moved closer to where they knew others would be, they could hear voices.

"At least the funeral's over with. It was lovely. Now we have to prepare for tonight....Or well, you four does." Mercy's voice reached Casque's ears as he strained closer. "You should also be careful, Mercy. If what he said is true then we may be in greater trouble than we anticipated. Keep wooden staves near you" Silver responded and Casque frowned.

Staves? What exactly was going on?

"We still got to free those buns we saw last night and investigate more" Jackal growled and then an unfamiliar voice spoke up with "Leave it to me to help. You guys get rest!"

Casque was so tempted to barge in especially with his Baaaphie looking even more distressed. However he knew it wouldn't be wise to so he quietly slipped away to wait for his friends to come out.