OPEN not a lot, just forever

[Reygan]

Reygan had taken his bandages off three days, one night and a half a sunrise ago. The tri-colored feline was counting every single second he could feel outside air touching his skin where the fur had used to grow. At first, his only complaint was that the pattern on his face was going to be uneven forever. Now, Rey knew that was small fries compared to what else he would be dealing with for the rest of his natural-born life. And maybe beyond. There was no proof that ghosts didn't walk around with scars too.
Still, Reygan had only caught glimpses of what he looked like while changing the bandages over his now empty eye socket. He figured it was bad... One couldn't lose an eye and walk out the other side a supermodel, but Rey had a little part of him that still hoped maybe he wouldn't be ruined forever.
Tracing around the edge of the groups lining Amespring, Reygan found a puddle up ahead. It couldn't be that bad. Nobody had run screaming from him yet, so that meant it couldn't be all that bad. Doing his damnedest to avoid shoulder-clipping anyone in his pursuit of a clear body of water, Reygan was dismayed to find that the puddle was rather muddy and murky. It reflected the clouds and sky, so it would do fine. Reygan hadn't gotten the courage to ask anyone to borrow a shiny stone or a mirror. 
Tentatively and as inconspicuously as possible, Reygan walked around the edge of the puddle. He wasn't looking to be the guy who stared into puddles for fun. This was just for his peace of mind so he knew what he was dealing with and then he was going home to... well, stare at the wall. That was a more appropriate activity than starting into puddles.
He could see the tips of his ears in the reflection now. Thank the stars, they were unharmed and symmetrical. He took a few steps closer and glanced over his left shoulder and his right, cursing himself for looking like a fool. He had done it without thinking, looking over his right shoulder like he could see anything out of the barren socket. Once satisfied that he wasn't the local fool on display, Reygan peered into the puddle and recoiled. His fur slowly stood on end and he heaved in a few raspy breaths before he tried again. His face slowly came into view in the murky water and Reygan sucked in a breath that refused to be let out. His lungs burned and the view in this remaining eye got cloudy with unshed tears. It was bad. Why hadn't anyone just told him? The pink of his skin was wrinkled and creased with scars and his eye socket was squinted closed and sunken in an unsightly way. The scar covered half of his face from his brow to his jaw and upon stepping closer, Reygan got a view of the two scars running across his neck. Reygan tried to swallow the lump growing hard and painful in his throat, but his legs couldn't support his weight anymore. His back legs folded ungracefully underneath himself and the breath left Reygan's body in a very embarrassing gasping sob.
The reflection of his face was marred by a tear dripping unevenly into the pond and sending a ripple across the surface, kicking up mud.

— TAGS

[thomas r.]

Honestly, Thomas thought the scarring made Reygan look pretty sick now, in the most positive use of the word. There was something about gnarly scars and wounds that just put a little more respect on the individual for him. Hell, even his own older brother had a pretty scarred face from his countless run-ins with unsavory people. Surviving whatever it was that caused something so gruesome, it was amazing to the canine who practically lived for adrenaline and wild stories. He could only wish he one day came out of the battlefield with some crazy shit like a missing eye and totally screwed up face!

Coming across the cat today was definitely an accident, he had been on his way to do one thing or another, for once without his older brother who told him to bugger off for the day. A casual greeting sat on his tongue as he was about to unceremoniously interrupt whatever it was Reygan was doing with the puddle, but his paws and thoughts completely faltered as he watched him suddenly just breakdown into tears. Uh oh. He glanced around him, wondering if anyone else was closer to deal with this and saw that, no he definitely was the closest. Well, he didn't want to make himself known now just to leave so he finished fully approaching the cat and his puddle-mirror, which was quickly muddied from the movement. 

"Uhhh...hey-hey, man. What's up? You, uh, okay over here?" he asked, choppy and unsure. He had zero clue how to comfort others, but it was too late to back out now and damn it, he would try at least.