Worm's usual confident and powerful footsteps had changed to an almost lethargic and stilted amble as he slowly made his way up the steps of Poet's little house, his pale blue eyes seeming overcast. He had only been here a few days, and he hadn't even met Arrow properly before all of this had happened, but he had seen her around his new temporary home, and he could tell that she was someone that was expected and loved by everyone here. And now she was just... gone. She had died right in front of him, slipping off into forever sleep just as easily as she would take a nap. It had knocked the air out of him easily, and he wasn't sure what to do with himself honestly. It made him think about his own mortality, and even worse – Poetking's. Arrow had been deeply beloved and respected by practically an entire group, but that hadn't stopped her from dying. How was his love and protection supposed to stop Poetking from...?

Shaking his head quickly to get rid of the thoughts circling like buzzards, he lumbered his way up the last step of the porch, slowly pushing the door open with his head. Looking around for his brother, he growled softly, an unfamiliar ache sitting low in his chest that made him sound almost choked up as he called for the younger lion, [glow=#793B29,1,400]"Poet...? I told you I was going to come over..."[/glow]

As soon as Worm could see Poetking in front of him, the tiniest bit of weight was lifted from his chest, providing minor relief from the crushing emotions he was trying his best to shove as far down as he could. Poet was here, Poet was happy, Poet was safe, and he was alive. Even if he had been sure of that earlier, it still felt like a miracle that it was really true.

Taking a few steps farther into the room, Worm opened and closed his mouth, struggling uselessly for words, before the huge lion lowered himself to the ground, laying before his brother like a subordinate. He tried his best to keep his voice even and emotionless as he explained, his light blue eyes watching the other lion carefully, as if he was also about to start coughing up blood and dying before him, [glow=#793B29,1,400]"One of the members of the group here died. Her name was Arrow. She had been around for a long time. She just... dropped dead, like she had fallen asleep. I was there when it happened. There was nothing anybody could do."[/glow] His gaze seemed to drift far off and unfocused, thinking back to the moment not that long ago when he had just been asking Arrow if she had been in any fights recently, and all of a sudden, she was gone.

Worm watched carefully as his brother lowered himself down to his level, and his heart warmed slightly as Poet put his head on his paws. It reminded him of a brief time when they were cubs and they would just lay together and talk quietly.

Stretching his neck out, Worm touched his nose gently to Poet's head, purring very softly as he closed his eyes, not wanting his brother to see the sadness in them, [glow=#793B29,1,400]"I didn't... I didn't know what to do to help. Nobody did. I wish I knew more about her. Maybe I can ask someone what she liked, and leave something for her at her grave.... I wonder if they do funerals here.[/glow]" I wonder if I'll have to bury you next. The words went unsaid, but the thought still lingered in his mind like a dark cloud, gathering and thundering, beating away at his defenses.

A low and sad chuckle left Worm as he felt Poet's paw on his head, and he mumbled weakly, his usual gruff and powerful voice just sounding tired and worn, as if he hadn't used it in years, [glow=#793B29,1,400]"I'm always worried about you, Poet. You should know that by now."[/glow] You're still so small, you haven't even grown up yet, you don't even have your mane. I'm supposed to protect you, I'm your big brother, and I can't even do that. I'm going to lose you and there's nothing I can do about it and it hurts. Please don't leave me. You're all I have left. I can't go through losing you. I'll lose myself. So many thoughts go through his head in that moment, but the only one that he manages to vocalize is short and sweet, muffled only slightly by the ground beneath him that his chin is laid against, [glow=#793B29,1,400]"You could end up dropping like that too. It's... it's scary."[/glow]

Wormwood frowned immediately when he noticed how upset Poet got, silently scolding himself and slowly getting up to his paws. The larger lion slowly padded across so that he was beside his brother, laying beside him and pressing their sides gently together as he rumbled softly, [glow=#793B29,1,400]"I'm sorry. I'm just saying that I have my reasons to worry about you. After all, if I didn't, I wouldn't have followed you here... well. There's several reasons I followed you here, but me being worried about you was definitely the biggest one."[/glow] He pressed in ever closer, sighing and shaking his head a little bit as he rested his chin on the ground again. All he really wanted right now was his brother here, with him, and it didn't matter if they were back with the pride, or here in the swamp.