The sound of his footsteps thumping grew softer as he kept running, not knowing of what just happened. She once more turned her gaze to her hands to see they were solid, and she almost slapped herself in the face trying to touch it.

I’m physical again? All she had done was want her body back, and she had it.

Rustling in one of the trees brought her attention to the fact she was now physical, and alone, in the forest of the Veil, in the dark, in what must be the middle of the night.

Reia scrambled to her feet, reaching her hand out in the direction he’d gone.

“Orph—” She didn’t get to finish her shout before a Demon tackled her to the ground.

Her scream was cut short when fangs bit into her throat as claws sliced across her chest. Burning pain invaded her senses, and Reia fought and struggled as she felt herself being eaten alive. The sound of her skin tearing, her own gargles, were the last thing she heard alongside the snarling and smacking of lips.

The creeping chill of blood loss washed her under, numbing her of pain, until she faded from the world.

When she opened her eyes once more, she found herself staring up at the canopy of trees swiftly moving over her.

She turned to find she was floating above Orpheus once more.

I’m back? She really thought she’d die permanently that time. Holy crap, I don’t want to feel that ever again. Getting eaten was now even higher on her list of how she never wanted to fucking die – and it had been high on her list to begin with.

Orpheus was running and she didn’t know how to stop him. No matter how much she called out to him, how much she begged for him to stop, he would cry and shake his head. The singular bell sounding off seemed to make it worsen.

She needed her body back. He needed to be able to see her, smell her.

However, the moment she willed for her body, she would begin to sink through him again. She’d fret, wanting to stay ghostly, and she’d begin to float again.

She could also separate from him as she floated, but she needed to stay with him if she wanted to stop him. He was

moving too fast for her to get in front of him and the one time she had, he’d run through her midsection without actually seeing her completely.

And the sounds he made to anything she tried to do to in order to stop him made her realise she was haunting him.

He didn’t realise it was Reia, and most likely thought it was just a trick of his mind.

She wished she could become physical and land on top of his back but no matter how she tried, she kept sinking through him instead.

What do I do? she thought, resting her cheek on her folded arms as she lay over him while facing down.

A large white bird came into view in their path as it stood there, halting Orpheus completely as if he was afraid and making him shuffle his feet to stop. It turned to them, its eyes seeming to meet Reia’s rather than his, before it flew off.

The Witch Owl? It had looked like the human-sized owl that had once dance-walked across their yard in the rain.

Orpheus was huffing loudly, panting misting breaths through his nose hole and fangs. He stepped forward slowly now that she was gone.

He was moving again. This is my chance!

Before he could start running, Reia floated in front of him.

His head reared back as he stumbled away. Then he twisted his head at her ghostly form as she floated there with her feet hovering above the ground by an inch.

“Reia?” he asked in a voice that was so full of hope it was damning, as he leaned in to sniff her.

His snout passed through her and he whined, shaking his head before turning away.

“Orpheus,” she quick said, stepping in front of him once more. “I’m here, please don’t run.”

“But you are not there.” He reached his claw forward to show that it went through her body. “You are not real. I must find you.”

Her gaze swept over his from entirely, and she felt so much pity for him. Oh, Orpheus... His body was quaking and trembling all over like a frightened, injured animal, but it was his glowing orbs that had her sad for him.

It looked as though the bottom of them were broken, like they had been made of glass, and a glowing liquid was slowly trickling out of them. It dripped into the empty eye holes of his skull before going down the sides of his cheek bones to drip into the air, almost floating before they disappeared.

It looked as though he was weeping.

“I’m here.” She placed her hands around his snout while trying to make them not go through him. “I can’t be with you right now. You’re in the forest, it’s too dangerous.”

He stepped away from her and lowered himself with confusion.

“But I cannot hold you like this. Where is your body?

You’re a ghost, Reia. This isn’t what I wanted.”

She refused to allow him to get away by following him.

“Can you take me home, Orpheus?”

He shook his head. “I already searched there.”

“I promise you everything will be alright. Only when we are home can I be with you.”

He whimpered lightly in response, his head turning to look in the direction he’d been heading like he wanted to keep searching.

“Please?” His head turned to her once more at the sound of her plea. “Don’t you want to keep me safe?”

Actually, as Reia was right now, she was as safe as she could possibly be in the Veil. Nothing could ever harm her like this.

“Home?” he asked, hesitantly stepping forward slightly.

“You will be at home with me?”

“Yes. At home I’ll turn physical for you.”

He tilted his head at that, but started to walk. He stopped if she wasn’t in front of him, like he wanted to see her, stare

at her, look through her, as he made his way back to their cabin.

It was slow, and he stayed low as though he was uncertain.

“I miss you, Reia,” he said softly, reaching out to touch her again before bringing his hand back when he couldn’t.