A Mission Commences

      A day as somber as could be, ripped straight from a gloomy tale of woe and tragedy. Rain pattered on the roof of the worship hall of the Church of Sulfur in waves, as erratic as can be. Dingy light filtered through the otherwise gorgeous stained glass depictions of Murmur in the windows, casting a dreary aura onto the pews. Only days after the All Sinners Day celebrations had ceased, Oleander’s life had followed suit. Nearly all church buns were in deep mourning or shock that something like this could happen so suddenly. Others who were more into making dark jokes to cope, mused that Oleander had simply fucked to death and that would’ve been how he’d want to go out. It was quite strange that the casket was closed, though. An opportunity for his parishioners to worship his body one final time seemed all too poetic, instead a wonderfully crafted wreath of black and red roses, ivy, and willow leaves adorned the red and black trimmed casket. A quite risqué portrait of Oleander bent over seductively striking what could only be described as a “do me” face sat next to the casket, of which many buns wailed at the sight.

      Mercy had allowed a small portion of visitation before the funeral proceedings would begin. Buns came forth to make their way to the casket and pay their respects, some leaving flowers atop it, others sermons and pamphlets written from Oleander’s own hand, and of course there were all manner of sex toys and paraphernalia. Mercy watched over the seemingly endless line of buns come forth from the pulpit, quietly contemplating the events. Their face was sullen, yet… a sort of anxiety lay behind their eyes, betraying a heart that was clearly somewhere else. But what in Hell could Mercy be thinking of here, and now? On occasion, a bun would come to her and offer their condolences which Mercy simply nodded and thanked them. They were… off, to put it bluntly. But not in the manner one who was in deep mourning would be.

      “Minister Mercy, might I be of service?”      

      The voice sounded eerily close to Oleander’s, and Mercy jumped, turning to look back. They were met with Lillith’s stark white smile, present as it always is. Lillith wore an all-black suit with a deep maroon tie, making the red of their eyes pop as they carefully studied Mercy’s face.

      “Murmur Lillith, you startled me.” Mercy’s hand clutched at their robes in the middle of their chest, almost as if they were trying to keep down some hidden feelings. Lillith offered a hand, and Mercy took it in their own. “My apologies, I was simply wondering if you required any other assistance of mine before the funeral.” Lillith’s voice had changed back to their own, an eerily androgynous voice tinged with malice. Despite how… off-putting they are to others, Mercy had grown accustomed to their quirks and odd behaviors. It didn’t hurt that Lillith is by far and away, the best inquisitor the church has had in recent years. Mercy shook their head. “No no, you’ve done enough. I appreciate you decorating the pews and entrance, truly.” Mercy’s gaze traveled back down to the casket, and they shuddered slightly. Lillith squeezed their hand in response. “Anything you need, I’m always here to serve.” Lillith gazed into Mercy’s eyes. “Always. For you.”

      Mercy gingerly took their hand from Lillith and sighed. “Yes. I know, thank you.” Mercy looked over the buns milling about, waiting for the funeral to begin. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind ushering the congregation to their seats, I’d like to get started.”

      Lillith silently nodded, smiling. They sauntered off the stage and began directing buns to sit, arranging hymn books and decorations where they had been tampered with. A litany of other clergybuns took this as their queue to help begin the gathering.

      Trickling in towards the end of the crowd were two dolls Lillith took special note of. The first, tall with dark hair and envy horns atop her head, leather jacket in tow and a grimace plastered onto her face. Jackal, a friend and sexual companion of Lillith’s littermates, Mikayla. Alongside Jackal was a smaller, paler doll. With soft white locks and a similarly fluffy tail, the only thing more eye-catching about this doll was the halo sat behind their head. This was Jackal’s… partner? Someone Annalise, Mikayla’s partner, would spend time with. Lillith remembers the name ‘Dove’ in passing. The pair of dolls looked around the worship hall with an air of unease. Lillith cocked their head. Hmm. Everyone else seemed to be gloomy, but these two… they were almost fearful.

      “Welcome, welcome to the Church of Sulfur, we’re so appreciative of your presence during this most unexpected of circumstances.” Lillith said from behind the pair in a light and titter-y voice, very evocative of Mercy’s. Jackal turned around expecting the nun to have been the one to speak, and she bristled when she saw a bright white toothy smile staring back at her.

      “Y-yeah, thanks.” Jackal’s grip onto Dove’s hand tightened, as Dove looked to her, puzzled.

      Lillith smiled. “Please, make yourselves comfortable in pew 17 just ahead. We have provided some hymnals to sing along, and should you require anything for your mourning, do let me know.”

      Jackal stared at Lillith who stared back, smiling and unblinking. Dove’s face was full of almost abject fear as they tugged Jackal along to their seats. “Alright.” Jackal whispered. Lillith’s gaze never left the pair, and in fact, Jackal turned around several times to find that the doll was indeed, staring at them still. Even when the funeral goers had stifled their murmurs, Lillith slipped into the pew just behind the pair to watch them.

      After everyone had been seated, Mercy took a deep breath and approached the pulpit. They peered into the crowd and saw countless eyes peering back, full of sorrow and disbelief. Now that Oleander was… gone, it was up to them to keep the church in line. They cleared their throat.

      “Greetings, and thank you all for attending this service.” Mercy began. “It’s hard to believe that Oleander was here mere days ago, giving the All Sinners Day sermon, and now, he’s…” Mercy trailed off. A beat.

      “…Oleander would be so pleased to see so many new faces here, but saddened for the reason. He would’ve loved if everyone had dressed down, too.” Mild, polite laughter from the pews. “We gather here today to celebrate his life, his ideology, and his service to Burrowgatory, both on Sunday mornings and Saturday nights.”

      Mercy continued on with the introduction. Jackal and Dove sat respectfully, though Dove kept nervously shifting in their seat at the mention of Oleander’s name. Jackal put a hand on their thigh to steady them, and they gave her a pained smile.

      “Calm down angel. We’ll be able to talk to them after this, and figure out what to do.”

      “I know, it’s just… no one else knows what happened. Well, I mean, they didn’t anyway but like… they really don’t know. It’s kinda sad…”

      Lillith’s attention was caught. What happened to who, how? What now? They leaned forward in their seat.

      “We’ll figure it out. Mercy will know what to do.”

      As Mercy finished the introduction, several different buns went up to give eulogies. Some heartfelt and tear-inducing, others raucous retellings of their ‘encounters’ with Oleander, and others more vague and ethereal. After the last bun had finished, Mercy took the stand once again. Lillith saw this as their cue to continue their ushering duties, and stood up, moving to the side of the pew.

      “Thank you once more for attending the service, whether we see you every Sunday or you’ve just now joined us. We will be holding a celebration of life in the fellowship hall before the burial later today. We invite you to join us in honoring Oleander’s memory. He would — he would’ve loved to see you all drinking and laughing in his name. Please, go in sin.”

      Mercy left the stand, as ushers began to lead people in their respective pews to the next area of the church. Many whispered and spoke in hushed tones about the service. Lillith eyed Jackal and Dove, who weren’t as good about keeping their words whispered.

      “Wait until we’ve been dismissed and we can head over to Mercy’s office, they said they’d freshen up after the service.” Jackal said, Dove nodding along.

      “Well, he’ll be close by at least.” Dove said.

      Who? Who would be close by?

      It was a few more minutes for Lillith to usher pew 17 up, and as Jackal and Dove passed them, they could’ve seen a curious glint in Lillith’s eyes. But they didn’t, as they were too distracted by trying to act natural. Lillith couldn’t follow them immediately, but as they saw the pair head to the hall, they caught Dove’s eye looking back. Something was definitely going on here.

      Once everybun had filtered out of the worship hall, Lillith snuck over to the clergy offices, unnoticed by any of the mourners. Placing their feet ever so gingerly one in front of the other, hugging the wall, they caught snippets of conversation between Mercy, Jackal and Dove. Something about… going somewhere to ‘end it tonight’? Making preparations, meeting with someone named Timothy. Everything was hushed, Lillith had trouble making out full sentences. When chairs scooted and goodbyes were said, Lillith quickly turned the corner to duck into an empty office. They heard the soft patters of the dolls leaving, and then Mercy heave a long sigh. Lillith straightened their tie and entered.

      “Minister Mercy, what a compelling eulogy.” Mercy jumped in their seat once again at Lillith’s rendition of Oleander’s voice. “Murmur help me… I understand you need to be stealthy for our purposes, but you can announce yourself for me.”

      Lillith smiled. “My apologies.”

      Mercy shot them a weary look before burying their face in their hands. “I need to finish the burial service… but I do have a request for you, Lillith.”

      Lillith’s eyes narrowed. “Pray tell, what would you have me do given the circumstances?”

      “I’ve watched you watching Jackal and Dove. You know something’s going on.”

      Lillith was quiet for a moment, their smile relaxing if only slightly. “Perception is one of my strong suits.”

      “As is stealth. And I need you to use both for my request.” Mercy gave Lillith another long look, searching their face for some invisible sign. “I need you to… follow them.”

      Lillith tilted their head, cocking an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

      “That’s it. Oh, and update me on their whereabouts.”

      Usually Lillith’s missions were more… forward-focused. More actionable. But this? This was almost too simple. It sounded like Mercy was worried for Jackal and Dove, and wanted a silent escort to protect them from… something. That was all conjecture though, and Lillith wasn’t one to ever question the jobs given to them.

      “I am at your disposal, Minister Mercy.”

      Mercy nodded. “I know I can count on you. You can wait until they leave the burial. Speaking of which,” Mercy rose from their seat, “it’s time I put Father Oleander into the ground, once and for all.”

      “Once and for all?”

      “It’s — nothing, it’s nothing.”

      Lillith nodded slowly. “Anything for you, Minister Mercy.” With that, Mercy headed towards a thoroughly unpleasant laying to rest, and Lillith began to prepare for the mission that would alter their future forever.