So what would happen if your character has a mate and they just randomly stop logging on and stuff. Would you pretend like they died? Would you not mention them? Does the little heart icon your character has go away? Are there any examples of this happening? I was just thinking about this.
Generally, unless the mate has been made an NPC character, all players assume that character has simply left the pack or the area, as is what happens when any character goes inactive. While it should not be assumed that the character has died (they might come back, after all!), the remaining mate might be able to assume they abandoned them; it's best to be able to talk these things out before a player has to leave, but if they simply drop off the face of the earth, that's usually the assumption.
The mate heart does go away if the character has fallen inactive, since they aren't a part of 'Souls anymore.
/ninja'd by Sie