A/N: Yay, a new story!
Disclaimer: But you haven't even finished your latest one!
CotS: It's called multi-tasking, my dear pet.
D: Either way creeper-girl, you still don't own DGM.
Overall, Lenalee was rather impressed, despite there being only about thirty people gathered in the hastily decorated dining hall. It was miraculous in itself that the higher-ups allowed a ceremony of any sort, no matter how makeshift. After all, exorcists were never given funerals, especially when one of them died a Noah and an official traitor. Especially when those said circumstances were the reason Allen Walker lay in the casket in front of the white-clad mourners.
The priest droned on about immortality this and moving on that, the words crawling around the girl's muddled head until they lost all meaning. She concentrated on each syllable and tuned everything else out. She didn't even notice each white-clad individual standing up from their seats. Only when a slender, smooth hand took her own did she realize what was going on. "Come on," the owner's voice whispered. Lenalee just nodded and followed Miranda to the casket.
It was obvious that whoever had organized everything had very little time to do so. All of the long tables were pushed to the sides, save one that was covered in a white sheet whose purpose was simply to be better than bare wood. In the middle sat the coffin, open for viewing. Everybody had lined up ceremonially and began to quickly file past, sometimes placing a trinket or flower next to the corpse. Looking ahead, Lenalee took dull note of each face: Jonny, hysterically sobbing; a dazed Lavi being led by a disgruntled Bookman; Howard Link, looking as awkward as he probably felt.
Suddenly, Leverrier's face popped into the young exorcist's sight, blocking everything out. The cold dread in her stomach instantly turned red-hot and spread through her body. She prepared to cause any harm possible to the monster, but Miranda locked an arm around her slim waist. "Don't," the woman murmured. "He isn't worth it. Not here."
Lenalee hissed, "How dare he-!"
"He's the reason we're here."
"But-!"
"No." Miranda's tone held a note of finality to it, so Lenalee just dropped it. Within seconds, they were standing at the centerpiece. Shockingly enough, Allen actually looked… normal. His body just lay there peacefully, as if he were enjoying his first restful slumber in a long time. His hair and skin were both as pale as ever, but had an artificial feel to them, as if he were a doll. Lenalee averted her eyes, too distressed to keep looking. Since there were so few people, the pair went by quickly.
Soon enough, the casket was being taken outside to be buried. The weather was sunny and warm, just the way Allen had always liked it. As exorcists piled dry dirt on top of the simple box, it made a hollow drumming sound. The warm, earthy scent invaded each attendee's nose. From behind Lenalee, there was a chocking sound. She whirled around to see Lavi with his hand over his mouth, tears splashing everywhere. She wanted to hold him, say something, but she just stood there staring yet completely unnoticed.
And then it was over. Leverrier departed immediately, probably to get some meaningless task done. A few members of the science team stood at the site for a few moments before they, too, returned to work. More people left until there was just Lavi (Bookman had run off), Link, Lenalee, and Miranda. The inspector turned to the redhead and said something inaudible to the rest. Junior just nodded and headed inside, Link following close behind.
Miranda continued to hold Lenalee's hand, which was the latter's only comfort. The older woman's skin was soft and warm, anchoring her to reality. Finally, Miranda leaned over, kissed the girl's cheek and muttered, "No sense staying out here, I guess."
"I guess not," came the quiet reply. The rest was a blur of scenes, flashes of outside, hallways, and then the Lenalee's room. She looked around at the pure normalcy of everything, from the neatly-made bed to the cleared desk. After a few moments, her eyes slid over to her companion's. At last, she broke down.