Do you know what life is like without your eyes?

Eyeless Jack had been alone for a while now, scavenging the area with a fierce desire to seek what was clearly not there. While most of his mind sharply barked at him that this excursion had no purpose, no conclusion, and was thus a waste of valuable time, there had to be some degree of argument from Eyeless Jack himself. It was comical, to hear your mind tell you that your time is being wasted and yet to feel a part of you that wishes to dispute this further. Was he truly arguing with himself? Had Eyeless Jack gone mad? Ha! To be one with the world which he scoured, you must already be mad - but madness as a good thing in his world, a trait coveted by all.

The forest was a place that was checkered with so much life, and yet that was why it was still, lifeless, like a body without a pulse. Trees towered in the sky and birds chirped, blissfully unaware of exactly who they were dedicating this symphony to, and it was nothing of interest to him. This was not life, it was just a mockery of it. Not the Eyeless Jack was extremely fond of life. Life was a twitchy source, an easily breakable vase balanced on a small ledge. One wrong move and it came tumbling down. Sometimes there were vases that needed to be broken, though.

Not always was the Eyeless killer without a companion. He recalled fondly the days of skulking through the shadows with a companion, another just as mad - and thus just as sane - as him trailing close behind, desperately attempting to keep pace, and never straying from where he stepped. He would stop and show her something, and she would smile at him.

Nearby was a mysterious statue, perhaps something placed deep within the woods by that which truly staked its claim over it, or mayhap it was total nonsense. There were some questions forever unanswered, more than he liked.

The statue was an artifact recalled by Eyeless Jack, and back when he had first come upon it, he had been stricken by its grace, its presence, the way it voiced its existence loud and proud, yet had no reason to be. It did not need to exist, yet it chose to anyways. The statue was of a large stag, majestic in its glory, but torn, damaged. The creature's right antler has been savagely ripped apart, some cruel figure deeming the statue too glorious and thus tearing into it to forever tarnish it. Yet, even as its most prominent feature was forever tarnished, the stag still stood strong. One hoof was pushed forward and its eyes seemed to glow with pride - which you could imagine would be hard to do when you're made of stone - and its chest was puffed out. Arrogance was the wrong word, but instead the stag had dignity, and honour. Yet the creature which one filled Eyeless Jack with so much lust now enraged him. He never wanted to look at it again, for it was a reminder, but he could not convince his gaze to falter. Even without eyes, he could still see the stag, in its infuriating glory. Damned creature.

It was not so much the stag itself that brought force his inner ferocity, but memories of when he was last nearby, her specifically. He had brought her to see the stag, believing she would cherish it as he did. He had adored it, its pride, the way it sought your envy, and its very beauty. He had scampered through the forest that night, ushering her to come with him, and she had been willing.

When he has approached the statue, she skittered up from behind and paused, staring at the stag with an unreadable look. The only emotion Eyeless Jack could define from her was shock and it didn't translate properly. He flashed a hopeful look her way and she merely turned to him and asked why the stag was missing an antler.

Eyeless Jack did not take that as hostile, and merely attempting to explain it had been this way when he found it. He attempted to continue with the same notions presented prior, the beauty, the grace, the pride the stag still held despite missing its most cherished cosmetic.

She did not respond well. She instead insisted the stag was hideous. She said that the stag could no longer be proud of itself because it was missing something so very important to its form. She said that all stags needed antlers, large and perfectly constructed ones, and that those without them were strange, incorrect. They were, in her eyes, an affront to nature, and as such this stag statue appealed the same. Without its antlers, the stag was wrong.

It was at that moment Eyeless Jack felt himself bristle. He failed to see why the stag was still not beautiful. Yes, it was missing a large chunk of its antler, but it still saw itself as beautiful and despite its flaw, it should still be perceived as such. So with a harsher-then-intended tone, Eyeless Jack asked if there was anything wrong with him. She seemed to be caught unaware by this - she clearly did not know what he was implying - and asked what he meant. He was perfect. Eyeless Jack laughed, cruelly, and startled her. He asked her if he was so perfect without eyes and she failed to see why this mattered. Eyeless Jack released a dark hiss, and smiled a little. He told her that the average person has eyes and that like the stag, he was flawed because he did not have them. He asked again if there was anything wrong with him, and when he once more replied no, he accused her of being biased and left.

He had not seen her since that day, and it was depressing to think such a thing. He wanted to see her just one more time, to speak with her, to patch the quilt that had been so fiercely torn. The argument had ended far too abruptly that day, painful, and Eyeless Jack needed to revisit it. Once more. Just once. Please.

That was secretly why he ventured out here - or maybe it wasn't - to finish what had started. Eyeless Jack had began reading the final chapter, but then someone had ripped the book from his hand, just before he could read the last few pages. No story, good or bad, could be left unfinished. Even if the ended was laughable, Eyeless Jack had to know it. He yearned for this information more then anything, but was unlikely to receive it.

Perhaps time was being wasted. Eyeless Jack had work to do - very important work, thank you very much - and lulling around a darkly forest clearly wasn't going to make progress in it. His supplies were low, and Eyeless Jack would be damned if he was going to increase he palate now. Clearly his parents had failed to teach him to be willing to try new things - or maybe he was just a disobedient little child adamantly refusing anything even remotely new. Regardless, he wasn't going to change now. With the thought of food in his head, he instinctively reached for the scalpel at his side, moving his skin slowly over the blade as not to cut himself. He wrapped his fingers around it and brought it up to his eyes. Average eyes would've thought the blade to be virgin, never tasting flesh, but that was not true. It had just been a while since it had been given a chance to feed, and like Eyeless Jack, it was starving.

Eyeless Jack had not even taken a full step - even a half step was not yet in motion - when his train of thought was interrupted. It wasn't so much a large interruption, not another train slamming into the side. No, it was more like a dog had thrown its body against the car. Distracting, maybe startling if you were watching the correct location at the precise time, but hardly something everyone would notice. Except, Eyeless Jack saw this dog, or rather, he heard it.

"Jack?" A voice had said his name. It was quiet, and some might have overlooked it. Not Eyeless Jack, though. To him, his name was spoken loud and clear, and by a voice he assumed he misheard.

Yet when he turned his attention up it was not so. There she was, beautiful, alive, standing in front of him and near the stag, and looking at him. Her eyes were beautiful, glowing green, and he remembered how long he had spent staring into them like a fool. She was here, with him.

"What are you doing here?" Eyeless Jack asked, taken aback by the meeting he assumed would never happen. He had just about given up looking for her, and now she had come to him.

Eyeless Jack was disconcerted further when she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him. She was sharp, strong, but did not strangle him. When he pictured a meeting with her once more in his head - although it was more like a full motion film in his eyes - he had never intertwined a scene where she hugged him. He did not believe she would be so forthcoming, so loving. It was like that night had never happened. It was like she loved him again. After a few moments, Eyeless Jack returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling against her shoulder. The embrace was long and warm, but was eventually broken.

She looked up at him with her bright eyes as the hug ended. He could see no ill intent within them, and Eyeless Jack knew that glow well. She appeared fully sincere.

"Jack, I've been trying to find you for so long. I couldn't remember where this forest was, I couldn't, but I remembered tonight. I've been desperately trying to find you." she explained to him, quick, a tad emotional, but every word rang sincere in his ears. It seemed she was not expecting to make much headway in her journey.

"I was looking for you too." Eyeless Jack said bluntly. It was not so much an admittance rather the statement of a fact. He said it out loud, and there was nothing more to it.

Joy flickered through her gaze upon hearing Eyeless Jack had been searching for her as well. She felt hope, a chance to speak with him. "Jack, I wanted to talk about what happened that night... here." She needed not go into detail, and that was for the better. No one needed a reminder of that. It would be very bad. "I feel like we... we were too abrupt. We didn't solve anything. We just had half an argument, and stopped, and we never found a resolution. We didn't make up. We need to revisit that night, Jack, and we need to solve it."

"I agree." Eyeless Jack answered. Even though the lack of emotion in the response was powerful, it was overlooked, whether on purpose or accident would never be known.

She seemed happy about this as well, having most likely assumed Eyeless Jack would adamantly avoid such a debate. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that!"

"First, I need to ask you something." Eyeless Jack interrupted coldly. His attention was on her, although without eyes it was challenging to deduce what he was focusing on. "Do you think I'm perfect?"

She was caught off guard by his question, it was clear in her eyes. He waited for her interpretation, her response. He felt eager to see how her words would guide her. Would she weave through the cones, or knock or over? "Yes. I mean... I mean, no one's perfect. I don't mean you're perfect. Everyone has flaws. However, you are a wonderful guy, and you're perfect in my vision." Perhaps he shouldn't have laughed here.

"So I'm flawed?" Eyeless Jack pushed, trying his best to hide the snark, the growl, to keep himself appearing a tame dog who would surely not bite should the leash be unhooked.

"Technically, yes, but not in a bad way." she replied. From his view, she was beginning to find these questions difficult. They were disorienting her quite a bit. She would mess up, create an error, fail, and when she did, he would call her out on it. "Like I said, we all have flaws, but you don't have anything major. Its just little quirks that aren't so much wrong as just misunderstood. I like you regardless, Jack. Whatever your personality is, I like you."

With a cold shake of the head, Eyeless Jack responded, "That isn't quite what I meant."

"I don't follow." she answered nervously. This much was already evident.

Eyeless Jack took a step forward. "I meant physically. Am I physically flawed? Am I abnormal, strange? Is something wrong with me physically?" He couldn't help but grin, awaiting her answer, awaiting the error, awaiting the miscalculation in judgment he could call her out on. He awaited it all on the tips of his toes and with bated breath.

"What are you...? Are you still...?" Finish your sentence, girl. Finish it. Tell me I'm not flawed. Tell me I'm perfect. Tell me I'm not a fault in the laws of nature. "Jack, no, you're-"

"Hypocrite!" Eyeless Jack howled at her before she could finish.

"Jack...! I...!" she attempted.

"Be quiet!" barked Eyeless Jack, giving no chance for further thoughts, for her to defend herself. "You are such a liar." He yelled no more, but the dark manner in which his voice echoed out of his mouth was no kinder. "That long time ago you told me the stag was flawed because he didn't have his antlers, backed up by the notion the antlers are common for his kind. When I asked you if I was flawed because I didn't have eyes, you told me I wasn't - but why am I not? I am, to some degree, human; I'm human-like, anyways. A known trait of the species is eyes, yet I am not flawed because I don't have them." She tried to speak, but he would not let her. "So what you're telling me is humans don't need eyes? They aren't a staple of the race, according to you anyways. Humans don't have eyes. Eyeless humans are normal. Then perhaps you'd like to be eyeless too? After all, it's normal!"

She backed up nervously as Eyeless Jack lifted up his scalpel a little, staring into the shimmering blade. "Jack... no! I'm sorry, Jack! It's strange! Ok, Jack, it's very strange! It's strange you don't have eyes!"

Eyeless Jack responded poorly. "Oh, so now I'm strange? Now I'm not good enough for you? Good. Good. I'm glad we had this talk." He strongly seized her, holding her tight. "So, tell me one last time. Your answer is very important here. Is my lack of eyes strange to you?"

After several painful moments of pointless quivering, she cried uncertainly, "N-No?"

Interesting. "Really? Good to know. Then you won't miss these." Eyeless Jack hummed.

The action was of a pain incapable of proper description, but the cruel act was able to be explained nonetheless. Eyeless Jack lifted up his scalpel, excitement rushing through his system, and he moved it towards her face. She sobbed loudly as he moved towards her and he held her rigid as he began forcing the small blade underneath her left eye. A thick and thoroughly damp liquid began to careen out from the opening and roll down her face as he dug into the depths of the socket. He kept his work slow, precise, and removed each nerve and muscle which kept the eye connected. He worked with a surgeon's precision and care, but with a far less loving intent. The howls she released as he performed his work would be horrifying to most, but were normal for him, an experience he had been through many times. It was unnecessarily slow as he carved out her eye like a Jack-O-Lantern, and the fun was only half over, because he got to reply the entire scene on her second eye. He made a mess of her as he worked to cut out the second eye, and with a subtle shift out the scalpel, he pulled the right eye out. He held it in his hand for a few moments before dropping it. Her eyes were still beautiful, even when carved out of her skull. He then released her.

She collapsed, quivering and sobbing, as soon as he no longer held her. "It's so dark... It's so dark..." She repeated this over and over. Eyeless Jack shifted and she moved her head up. Still trying to look around. Adorable. "Jack?" Eyeless Jack said nothing. "Jack? Where are you? Jack?" She lowered her head. "It's so dark. Where am I? It's so dark."

"This is what life is like with no eyes, hun. For you, anyways. Me? I can still see."