Sorry for the late update!

The room was dark, too dark. It was the kind of darkness only the wee hours of morning could give. It was safe for Will to assume that it was a few hours until dawn.

Coffee. Will thought as he sniffed the scent that wafted into the room

Why would someone be making coffee at this early hour? He wondered. He heard a door open and footsteps enter his room. What seemed funny was the fact that he couldn't see any shadows or movements. Even in this total darkness, he would have at least been able to see small movements or shadows. At that moment though he couldn't see anything.

"Will?" A voice asked. He was able to recognize it as his mentor's Halt.

"Halt?" Will replied hesitantly.

"Thank Gorlog's nostrils you're awake!" His mentor, or what he believed to be his mentor, sighed in relief then he felt a hand on his.

"Why are you making coffee this early in the morning?" Will continued. "Do we have another mission this early? Should I get dressed?"

"Can you see me, Will?" Halt asked, ignoring the questions of the young boy whose tone was getting more and more panicked by the second.

"If you turned on the lights, I'd probably be able too." Will joked lightly, a reprieve from his earlier panic.

Halt fell silent for a moment. "It's morning, Will."

"I can see that it's a few hours before dawn… Do we have a mission this early? Why didn't I hear about it until now?"

"No, I am making breakfast." Will could hear the slight hesitation in his mentor's voice but his naiveté made him brush it off. He just couldn't shake off some worries in the back of his mind yet.

"Then why is it so dark out?" Will asked. He turned his head towards the small window in his room in Halt's cabin. His vision lightened slightly, but he still couldn't see anything. He blinked, hoping what he thought wasn't true.

"Halt?" Will swallowed as the worries started to settle in his mind and he knew he was starting to face reality "Why can't I see you?"

"Will," Halt began. He wanted to break the news to Will as gently as possible. "When I found you unconscious… I was too late…" Halt trailed off

"You are blind." He continued after a moment of silence

"What?! It couldn't have happened just like…"

"Blind," Halt repeated with much more forceful tone as if to tell Will to face reality.

Will fell back onto his bed, letting the reality settle in. He knew he had to accept it. He wanted to believe that Halt was pulling his leg he tried everything. He opened his eyes as wide as he could. He tried to focus on anything, any area on the darkness he saw. It was all black and that's all he'll see for the rest of his life. He felt hot tears begin to form in his now useless eyes. All was silent. Finally, Will spoke.

"How? How Halt?" Will asked.

"You were hurt in the head with a club. We were worried that you might have significant brain damage, but thankfully, your noggin is fine. Will was now aware of a dull thud in his head. It slowly started coming back to him. The fight, the club. He remembered being knocked out, then nothing.

~3 Months Later~

Will slumped on the ground, defeated.

"I can't do it Halt! I can't see you!" Will began to sob in defeat.

Halt put his hands on his apprentice's shoulders.

"Will, you can do it, you just have to believe. True, you can't see, but you can listen, smell, touch, and taste."

"How would tasting help see you move through the woods?" Will asked.

"I don't know, I guess you'll need to figure it out." Halt smiled gently. "Let's practice shooting now." He helped Will up from the ground. The apprentice felt around on the grassy ground for his bow.

He was so close, Halt thought. So close to being the best Ranger. Halt sighed.

Will fumbled around with his quiver, trying to get and arrow out of it. He started to get flustered. Halt, seeing his apprentice struggle, intervened.

"We'll try another day," he said. He put an arm around Will, and they walked back to the cabin.

In the woods surrounding the cabin, a person watched the two Ranger's.

"Yes, I think we will try again another day."