CAUSE EVEN BLOOD WILL RUN, LIKE THE TEARS OF A SAINT !
The dead should be left in peace. The dead should not wander among the living, especially not after every other loved one had faded into obscurity as well, one would at least figure that there would be no reason to walk the grounds if there was nothing left to come back to. Unfortunately for everyone involved, despite not being born among the tangled roots and raised under the dark foliage of the swampland, living out her life until its brutal and traumatizing end left behind a unbreakable connection to the land, as if the ghost itself still drifted among the trees and beneath the surface of the murky water beyond death. Perhaps that wasn't entirely inaccurate, one might even have considered the possibility of narrowing it down to the same few trees that the lanky cat had once sat upon. Those trees had grown older of course, to signify the passing of time.

Now, if there was one thing that could be agreed by those who truly believed in wandering spirits and those who simply took a morbid interest in the paranormal, it was the notion that if the dead were disturbed, or there was unfinished business to be dealt with, then the poor soul would be awakened until the problem had been resolved.

Which was, of course, the sole reason the sole survivors of Tanglewood would eventually find themselves face to face with a restless spirit from days long gone. A pathetic little thing, could have easily been mistaken for a child of the swamp that had pressed their luck far too many times with their new captors, at least until the realization had been made that even the most neglected and abused of prisoners were not able to be seen through in the slightest. Even the green eyes laid in the narrow skull were much too distant and unfocused, the inevitable result of being dead for some time, only to be rustled from beyond the grave to see what she had once called her home had been all but strangled by a new violent enemy.

So the ghost sat, silent, by the edge of the marsh water with no visible intent to move, or make known her presence. There was no room for socializing when you were dead.

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — Arrow's first death had, truthfully, been the first major event that Aurum had witnessed after joining Tanglewood. At the time, he had known little of the other, simply stumbling upon the scene to see her coughing and sick, until eventually she was just... gone. It had been quite horrifying for the – at the time – younger lion, and had definitely shaken him to his core. After that, he had resolved to get closer to those that lived within Tanglewood, not wanting to stumble upon the death of a stranger ever again. Of course, when Arrow had returned once before, the lion had been overjoyed, glad to join the several others in rejoicing over her presence within Tanglewood once again. Even if he hadn't known her well, he had never been the type to brush off the return of a groupmate. Unfortunately, her return to Tanglewood had been very brief, and it hadn't been long before she had disappeared once again, lost to the swampland that surrounded them. After that, Aurum had thought very little of her, usually intentionally. Thinking too much of those that had been lost brought only misery, and regrets.

The former proxy never would have thought, in a million years, that he would see Arrow again. Let alone in the form that she currently took. He had been out on a patrol when he stumbled upon her, almost missing her vaguely see through form as he passed by. Initially, he thought that she was just a trick of the light, staring for several seconds as he felt a strange numbness filled his chest. Immediately, her new appearance reminded him of Beck, and he once again wondered where the other resident ghost had wandered off to. Perhaps it was for the better that he wasn't here – he would've been furious at their current situation. Shaking that from his mind, Aurum slowly moved closer to the spirit, his voice thick when he eventually spoke up, "Arrow...? Is that really you, or am I just seeing things?" She looked so sickly, as if she was falling apart, although he supposed that was natural. Ghosts weren't ghosts because they had been doing amazing for themselves. Despite this, it did hurt him to see her in such a state, wishing he was able to help somehow. — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

CAUSE EVEN BLOOD WILL RUN, LIKE THE TEARS OF A SAINT !
A familiar face? Even now? What a miracle, something to lift her burden at least a little. Although, seeing Aurum reminded her, even in this state, that she was probably quite old. She would have very much frowned at the realization, and make a comment about how she would break a hip if she still had a hip to break. Then again, if she didn't force out at least one bad joke about breaking what she didn't have while in such a depressing state, would she even really be Arrow?

Honestly, she'd been expecting to be just an echo of the past that no one remembered, even among those she had once called friends. To even hear her name was...surprising. Like hearing something nostalgic after many years had gone by. She looked up from the water, turning her head over her shoulder to the source of the sound that rang in her ears. "In the flesh, although less...flesh." Arrow lifted one of her front paws to wave through her ghostly form, passing through as expected. The leaves beneath her didn't so much as move when she brushed her tail over the ground, as if Aurum didn't have enough reasons to believe he was hallucinating already. But she was there, alright. Intangible, deceased, but there.

Up she went, onto her paws, blinking as she processed how big he had gotten, bigger than before, anyway. "I didn't think anyone would still remember me. Can't say I left behind anything to remember." She closed her eyes, briefly. Even just mentioning the idea of being forgotten to time left her cold, and her face twisted into a subtle pained expression for only a moment before vanishing as if it was never there when she reopened her eyes. "You don't know how relieving it is to see your face again, Aurum."

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — There was a feeling of regret that lingered in Aurum's chest as Arrow began to speak, although he wasn't sure for what. Did he regret that he hadn't been able to save her, somehow? That seemed as likely a possibility as any, considering how hard the angel fought to protect all those that he considered family. However, he doubted that she would ever hold her death against him, considering the two of them had been so far apart when she had evidently passed. Shoving down that feeling of regret for now – there would be time to contemplate it later – the lion found himself chuckling dryly, "I can see that... I've gotta admit, I didn't expect to see many ghosts around after Beck disappeared..." Part of him was still unsure about what he was seeing, but it wasn't as if he could reach a paw out for himself and check. His paw would just end up going through her, and he would be left at square one with nothing left to show for it. For now, he decided to just trust her words, and believe that she was real.

Wings shifting upon his back, Aurum couldn't help but smile as Arrow got to her feet, surprised by the massive difference in size between the two of them. He had been big when he had first joined, but he had still barely been an adult at that point in his life – things had changed a lot since then, including his rather impressive height and general muscle mass. Deciding it was a good idea to he polite, the lion sat back on his haunches, shaking his head before he spoke, "You left plenty to remember, trust me. I've been here quite a while now, and you're one of the faces I always looked up to when I first joined." He noticed the flash of pain across her face, and he couldn't say that he blamed her for it. After all, so much had changed, and the both of them had lost so many. Letting out a sigh, he muttered briefly, one eyed gaze down on his paws, "I can only imagine... trust me, I'd be singing the praises of you and everyone else who isn't here anymore, if things weren't so dire at the moment." He was unsure of how long Arrow had been lingering, but if it was for a while... she had to know what was going on, right? — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

CAUSE EVEN BLOOD WILL RUN, LIKE THE TEARS OF A SAINT !
Beck. Sweet, cynical, troublemaking Beck. It felt like just yesterday that she'd stumbled into the territory to be greeted by the stark contrast of Beck and Morgan. She'd certainly admired the ghost kid, nearly following him like a little lost puppy when she was still learning about things, getting to know the place, as a much younger Arrow. It was sort of funny that she was walking around as a ghost now. "I severely underestimated how much it sucks ass to be a ghost. Beck had touched on it, briefly, but it's not like any of us could have really known." She chose almost immediately to not tell Aurum about how muted everything felt, that hot and cold were mere afterthoughts, that even as he reached forward and stuck his paw through her, she only felt something vaguely similar to touch, and it left her feeling empty and distant. Sometimes she could still taste the overwhelming, sickening amount of blood, even though she had no more failing organs to self destruct and rip themselves apart in the deep recesses of her core.

Her smile could have matched Aurum's when he admitted looking up to her, her of all people. The crude and stupid, "hold my beer and watch this", rat bastard that she was. "You're gonna get me all emotional, big boy. I just woke up." Did she know much about the angel? No. Did she still respect his inhuman patience and talent for adopting every kid that ever needed someone to look up to? Absolutely. She could have been a lot better, a lot smarter, if she had met the lion under much different circumstances. She was absolutely not a good role model for the kids. It only made it sadder that he was struggling, that they were all struggling.

"I think that's why I'm here." Arrow looked up at the intertwining branches of one of the trees, then back at Aurum. Her chest felt tighter. "People don't just come back. I didn't wake up to the sound of birds and bugs for no reason. Guess my soul ain't happy with the distress." Her bony shoulders sank, and there was a bitter taste in her mouth as the realization sank in that she didn't get to come back on her own, and didn't get to speak with any of the people she cared about more than words could describe on top of it all. It was a cruel joke and twist of fate is what it was. Sparked by the events that had unfolded above her silent bones buried somewhere beneath the land. She looked like the very personification of misery. Her voice quivered in a way that felt so unnatural to her, as if she'd cry at any given moment. "I just don't know why it was only me."