General Anubis

AKA: Craptain Jack Spare-Ribs

+++

"I was JOKING. Obviously you can-" He paused. "And have gone longer than 2 weeks." Leo finished. He could take an educated guess that she had gone a lot longer than 2 weeks, considering the hints she gave all over. And the way she ate. She had practically trained herself to eat as much as she could, while she could, so that when there wasn't food, she could still keep on going. The way people did stuff suggested a lot about them, and the way she did stuff suggested that she had been abused and mistreated as a child, that she was used to not eating, and that she had been taught that tough was the only way out. "Because eating is more important than remembering the awesome story." He scoffed jokingly, glancing at Mari as she let out a small chirp and croched down, staring at Axl. She then leapt onto the metal dog's head, claws screeching on the metal for grip, finally catching hold and perching happily. Axl let out an unamused huff. "Why would you create this nuisance just to annoy me?" The dog grumbled, and in return, Mari started a low rumbling sound, almost like purring, her golden eyes closing.

"It was disrespectful, and I know that NOW. Why couldn't you have read my mind and stopped me from saying it?" He asked sarcastically, the slightest bit worried that it would actually happen. Maybe they should lock the door. And bar it. And that's when he realized with a wince and a mental 'oh shit' that Simara could teleport. Helpful. "Full of em, eh? Why are you near ME, then, because that is a TERRIBLE idea." He snorted, rather dead serious. As he studied her paper a little longer, he really started to appreciate the full extent of the planning that went into it. So beautiful, in a way, although he was absolutely crazy to say it. Even on paper, everything looked like it would work perfectly to make a horror show of a lifetime. Beautiful. "You need to help me come up with ideas like that." He chuckled, then grinned maniacally. "I think it may be the other way around. There's quite a bit you don't know about me, and if you haven't noticed, I don't scare easy." He commented, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darker light, yet again. "No intentional injuries, mm? How about unintentional intentional?" He joked. Leo would never purposefully hurt Glory, besides a smack or two, for whatever reason it may be. She could try and murder him and he still wouldn't be able to bring himself to hurt her. Leo sat down on the floor with a slight wince as his leg wound sent pain shooting up every nerve in his body, trying to ignore it, and failing slightly. 1.3 seconds after he sat down, Mörderin was in his lap, purring happily in her grumbly way and nestling her small snout into his leg. Jaws was still asleep, so it wasn't like he was going to move. "No no no, ladies first. I'll set the bar far too high for your capabilities." He teased, the look on his face all but daring her to do it.

Lieutenant Dwyer

"Well good, you aren't all that stupid," Glory retorted, rolling her eyes. When you go for up to a week at a time without food consistently, you get fairly used to it, even the longer stretches without food became tolerable to some degree. "Well, yes, it is," She huffed. "Do you really think its all that important to remember every squirrel I've speared with a sharpened stick, or all the wild hares I chased? Most of those stories SUCK, you know. HOWEVER, I find the rare occasion my father wasn't trying to kill me WAY funnier. Once, I fell out of a tree - trying to catch that damn squirrel - and broke my arm in two places. I told my father exactly that, and you know what he said? 'Well, stop going ta those places, you fawking idiot.'" She actually had to try not to laugh at the memory, as it'd happened so long ago that it didn't bother her so much anymore. She didn't let it bother her, really. It was one of those 'If I don't laugh, I'll cry' type things. She watched, amused, as Mari jumped on poor Axl's head, then looked back at Leo as he spoke. "Gee, I dunno, maybe because I can only shock people, blind them, un-blind them, and make them question their eyes?" She answered sarcastically. Fairly decent way to explain her abilities, with a few things left out, like 'make people wish they were blind'. "Well, MOSTLY full of good ideas," Glory retorted. Actually, his choice to hang out with HER was probably a worse choice. She glanced back at the Flesh Weaver before setting it down on her desk. She had everything about it memorized already, no need to look at anything she'd written down. "Gladly. I hope you aren't too fond of sleeping, as you may notice it doesn't come so easy anymore," She told him. Fair warning, really, as much of the things she could come up with were enough to keep younger students awake for days, though she had faith in Leo that he wouldn't be TOO bothered. "Likewise, leannan, and there's always something that scares people," She said, an almost dangerous look on her face. "Go for it, you wouldn't," She challenged. She was certain he wouldn't - couldn't - but neither could Glory. "How sweet," She said, waving one hand and darkening the room further. She held up her hand, palm up, fingers spread as though holding a ball, and electricity sparked to life in her hand, arcing between her fingertips. "The Flesh Weaver- you've seen what it looks like, but not what it can do," She started, her voice low, a certain unsettling quality to it. She'd gone to great lengths for the Flesh Weaver, giving it its own lore that its victims would never hear, though doing so helped her bring them to life. A good portion of what she told Leo now was made up on the spot, which was often how her best work came to be.

"The Flesh Weaver is a malevolent beast borne from forbidden rituals, ancient texts, and forgotten corners of reality. Its creation involves weaving together the flesh of different beings, both human and animal, using arcane symbols and texts, though the details have been lost. It can freely manipulate its form, elongating limbs, sprouting additional eyes, reshaping its features, and even grafting parts of living things onto itself. It can even manipulate the bodies of living beings, twisting and contorting people into something horrific. It unravels the threads of reality, creating rifts to other planes, using this to appear in unexpected places, making it impossible to track. By touching its victims, it unwinds memories, fears, and desires, reshaping them into nightmares, and driving its victims to insanity.

"Villagers speak of missing livestock, their remains found sewn in eerie patterns, and sailors tell tales of a shipwrecked crew who encountered the Flesh Weaver on a desolate island. Only one survivor returned, forever haunted by the creature's whispered secrets. Those who've survived an encounter with the horrible creature carry scars - both literal and metaphorical. Some find their bodies marked with faint black stitches, others suffer from recurring nightmares, hearing the monster's dissonant chants in their sleep.

While it in itself is terrifying, arguably the worst thing it does is pry into one's mind and corrupt whatever lies within. What might it find in yours?" She finished with a question. She didn't fully expect an answer, but that was fine.

(Enjoy, this is 920-something words long :3)

(I'm frigging reading this at 12 am, okay, and I have to say, I'm not scared of much. Not the dark, not heights, nor cramped spaces, I love spiders and snakes- if you ask, I'd probably just answer that I'm scared of losing my loved ones. HOWEVER, sitting here, in the pitch black, reading your crafty story is sending shudders up my spine. I swear, I am SO FRICKING glad this thing does NOT exist xD

On that note, enjoy my 514 word response cause i tired XD))

-

General Anubis

AKA: Craptain Jack Spare-Ribs

+++

"Glad you finally realized." Leo rolled his eyes right back, then let out a hearty snort. "I never said to remember every animal you hunted, just the cooler ones that managed to take a chunk out of you." He reiterated what he meant, then lifted his eyebrows slightly, staring at her as he tried to decide whether to start worrying about her traumatizing childhood again or find what she said slightly funny. He was finding it HARD to find it funny, though. "I don't know whether to ask if you're mentally okay or laugh with you, so I'm moving on." He finally said, honestly at a loss. "Gee, why can't you give a normal answer?" He rolled his eyes, then grinned. "Honestly, I'm 98 percent sure one of my best ideas ever was hanging around you, so that don't leave much room for how good stuff could be, and a LOT of room for how horrible my others ideas were." He commented, chuckling. He sure had learned a lot, in a way. "Sleeping always comes easy. Usually. Bet you can't change that." Leo was 60 percent sure she could, but he didn't mention that. "Well of course there is stuff that scares me, Schön, but not the kind of stuff you think up." He answered with a scoff, letting her take the lead in the beginning idea. Most likely whatever she had wrote on that paper. The Flesh Weaver.. ahh yes. As she started weaving an intricate tale, he listened with imagination wide open and interest showing plainly on his face, obviously gathering material for his own pranks later on. She sounded quite like a female Shakespeare (yes I know the timeline) as she rambled on about one of the most interesting tales he ever heard. It was honestly much more like an intricate story than he thought it would be. As she neared the end, he did ponder what HIS deepest fear might be, and he wasn't quite sure. There were a couple tentative answers, but he didn't know for certain. "If that's all you got, then I'm impressed and unimpressed. Least scary thing ever, but very interesting story. Love the narrarating. You should become a voice actor, I'm not kidding. You really made the image come to life, you know? I can almost see it ripping people's minds apart. I applaud the effort. Very nice story indeed. Now, are you going to get to the try and scare me part, orrr....?" He couldn't resist a cocky grin.

(the dark, heights, and cramped spaces are some of my favorite things xD I love the feeling of falling, I'm usually the thing that goes bump in the night, and I like being in boxes and such lmao. I too am glad it does not xD)

Lieutenant Dwyer

"Well I took a chunk out of most the animals, not the other way around," Glory said, then thought of something. "There is this..." She started, shrugging her left shoulder out of her shirt to show him the near-perfect scar of a wolf's jaws. The thing had bitten her, and she stabbed it through the side of the head and killed it, then had to pry its jaws off her shoulder. "Now he's up there," She said, pulling her shirt back over the scar and pointing to the wall where its gray pelt hung. "No no no no, it's fine to laugh. I kind of deserved it, thinking I could chase a squirrel up a tree and grab it, then go crying to my father," She said, not sure which was the bigger mistake. She managed to find someone who was able to set the fractures properly, and it healed fine, AND her father hadn't gotten too pissed, so it all turned out fine. "Because I'm not normal," She retorted. "So... all of your ideas are mediocre?" She said, grinning. Most of them, at least, since he hadn't come up with The Bone Collector or the Flesh Weaver."I guarantee it won't, at least tonight. You can have fun wondering if every little sound is something coming to feed on your fears," She said, almost a little innocently, as though her creations weren't terrifying in the slightest. "Really? Because the stuff you know I think up is far different than the things I could think up for you specifically. I just try to keep my spook-ems broad enough to make a good majority of people wet their pants," Glory said. Honestly, with the amount of things she came up with, she'd gotten rather numb to any living - or otherwise - creatures. There were plenty of things that made her nervous, sure, but the true pale-faced, wide-eyed, trembling sort of fear wasn't something she experienced much... anymore, at least. She'd become pretty unphasable, mostly her own doing. She frowned at Leo and said, "I see how you are. Compliment me, insult my creations, and not even try to beat them. It's your turn, y'know. Unless..." Her face changed from a frown to a sly grin as she continued," You're too big of a chicken." No way he'd back down, but he probably couldn't top her work. She'd spent WEEKS on much of it, and she was fairly certain he wouldn't put that sort of dedication on terrifying people, though there was always a small chance he had.

(back down to 470-ish words lol)

(Sorry for the delay, I just flew a plane.

So you're like a cat? XD))

-

General Anubis

AKA: Craptain Jack Spare-Ribs

+++

"I can relate to that. Guess I've just been attacked more than you." He snorted, then his eyebrows lifted slightly as she revealed an amazing looking scar that obviously were from a wolf's jaws. "Good job." He chuckled, then resisted a quiet snort, not wanting to dig himself into a hole he couldn't get out of. "The believing you were faster than a squirrel in a tree part makes me question why you're insulting my intelligence and not the other way around." He commented drily, nodding. "I know you're not normal. We've established that." He answered, then let out an amused laugh. "You wish. I'm not sure if you'll be able to handle what I have planned." He smiled menacingly, then yawned, waving his hand. "Yada Yada." He drawled. Leo then lifted his eyebrows just slight, his face twisting into a smile. "I'm disappointed that you weren't trying your hardest to scare me. Your quick witted mind should be able to swiftly think up anything that could scare me." He scoffed, shaking his head in fake disappointment. "You almost seem like you want me to chicken out. Scared of the competition, Glory?" Leo lilted, smirking. He then settled back into a conformable position, making darn sure he didn't awaken Mari. Now he had a decision to make. One he already knew the choice he'd decide, but still wanted to ponder anyway. He knew none of his scary creations would even make her flinch. Not even his Mental Murderer, which he loved. He could try, but she was used to scary looking things. Scary feelings. She was a master of the mind. He knew exactly how to scare her, to really scare her, but he would never do it. It would be more than cruel. That's why he was at a partial loss. He couldn't scare her without doing stuff he didn't want to do. That meant he'd have to settle on disappointing her, taking the fall, absorbing the insults, and moving on. A very small, quiet sigh escaped his lips, but he then moved on. A second later, blindingly bright light flashed, then everything went pitch black. Not dark, like she could see, but like he sucked all the light out of the room. Nothing seemed to be there. He couldn't see, obviously, but she could also not see. He then closed his eyes, and sent her into a dream. Physically, her body was obviously still in the room, though he could've teleported her somewhere else. However, to her, it would feel like waking up. All around her, walls stood, but not formidable walls that couldn't break. The walls of an old, rundown house. Long hallways and many doors surrounded her, but all it all, it was just a run down house. She was in the living room, with an old ratty sofa and a shattered mirror. That's when the Mind Murderer came in. About 12 feet tall, hunched over to fit through the doorways. Two black globes in the eye sockets, seeming to ooze with the black slime, but only around in circles, never down the taught face. Stretched, greenish skin covered the bare body, somewhat in a human shape. Its spine and ribs and hips all stuck out terribly, like a malnourished child. Its mouth was an empty black hole. Its breathing was low and raspy, gasping for each breath, barely able to make it through. Its arms were normal, except for blue veins bulging out here and there, with the same stretched greenish skin color and the bones showing under the skin. All through the body, the pale bones barely showed under the stretched skin. On the creatures hands, long gnarled fingers stretched, and on the end, claws, thin, brittle, and about a foot long. Only on the right hand, however, not on the left, which only had broken, sharp fingernails. As it moaned and staggered along, towards her, it kept its empty eyes focused on hers. Glory could probably faintly see a door off to the side, which was boarded up. Just like all the windows. When the Mind Murderer got to her, it slowly reached out its long claws. This whole time, it had been moving at a slow pace. It would've been extremely easy for her to just run away. As its hand raised, the claws extended slightly, the parts that had been in the fingers slowly dripping blood down and onto her face. It then set the four finger claws on her head, the thumb claw right in the middle of her forehead. Squeezing slightly, she would be able to feel pinpricks of pain, then dull pain throughout both her arms and her face.

With a swipe of Leo's hand, everything disappeared, the room brightening back to the state she had it at before he started. Obviously an illusion, but nevertheless, she had four small pinpricks of blood on her head, one on her forehead, and then shallow claw marks lining both arms, and three on her face. "Usually it'd break the bones of the victims, suck their eyeballs out, and inhale their souls, but I stopped it before it could actually kill you. You're welcome. Meet, the Mind Murderer. I've used it a couple times, and there was one particular time that I LOVED. This cocky Corrupted said he wasn't scared of anything, so I started this. He was so convinced that it was all in his mind. Then it killed him, slowly and painfully, breaking every bone in his body before sucking out his soul. Gives the Murderer a personality, am I right?" He asked with a wicked smile.

(Omg really? that's so cool!! :D

yup basically xD)

Lieutenant Dwyer

"Probably because you have more meat on your bones," Glory said with a wry smile. She glanced at the wolf pelt again, she HAD done a good job, plus the wolf served a purpose now - looked cool and kept Glory warm in winter. "Hey, I can climb a tree damn fast," she huffed, "Besides, I was like... 7 or 8." Younger than most kids broke their arms that badly, but Glory was far from your average kid. She only rolled her eyes at his next words, then snorted. "oh please, I've inflicted WAY worse on others than you could possibly conceive," She retorted, though his confidence was ever so slightly concerning. "Where's the fun in that? You know I like to play with my victims for a while," She said. She'd've loved to torment the Corrupted further, had Leo not gone and killed him, though it was probably for the best, as Glory might've gotten carried away and forgotten to stop. "Not at all, I'm just confident you'll lose," She replied, grinning mischievously. She squinted briefly against the bright light, then, nothing. Not just dark, but empty. Nothingness, her room somehow completely devoid of light. Her pupils dilated until her irises were little more than thin emerald rings, but still nothing. There was no light whatsoever, aside from the faintest pinpricks from Axl's eyes, though even then it seemed like the glow was being actively drawn away and turned to nothingness. Then, suddenly she was in an abandoned building, a house by the looks of it. She watched as a tall, gaunt figure with long clawlike fingernails, deep black fathoms for eyes, and a hollow mouth like that of a deep-sea dweller but worse came through one of the many doors. Keeping her gaze fixed on it's, she slowly sidestepped over to the broken mirror, picking up a long, sharp blade of glass. She straightened slowly, holding the glass like a dagger, though careful not to cut her hand. It all felt like a dream, but also not, and she didn't want to find out if injuries would actually hurt her. Glory tried to take note of everything in the room without taking her eyes off the creature, but there wasn't anything useful, and all the doors and windows were boarded up. There were hallways, but she had a feeling they'd either loop back around to what looked to be the living room or stop at a dead end. She held her ground as it approached, seeing no way out, though took half a step back as it reached out, blood dripping on her from its long claws. She scowled at the monster, unbothered by the mild pain of its nails, but annoyed at it. It was tall enough that she couldn't reach it with the glass, nor could she move out of its grasp without furthering her injuries. Her hand holding the shard of mirror trembled slightly, not from fear, but anticipation. One little move from the beast and she'd drive the shard into its haggard, malnourished body. Then, all at once, it was gone, and she was back in her room as she had before, but with one difference. She swiped the blood off her forehead with one thumb, and said, "Not bad. I find ripping the flesh right off their bones to be better than removing eyes, as they have to deal with exposed nerves AND having to see what's tearing them apart, but as long as they die slowly, anything works." His Mind Murderer was pretty impressive, ranking among maybe the top 10 of Glory's favorites, but still not better than her creations. She stood, grabbed the jar of cookies from her desk, and then sat back down, setting the jar between herself and Leo, then munched on one. Cook usually had an assortment of cookies in the jar, but it seemed like the most recent batch was sugar cookies. Not bad. She thought for a moment about what to tell him next, but couldn't decide. He could pick his own fate, then. "Pick one- one or two," She told him.

"Which, now that I think about it, isn't such a good thing. I'd prefer my meat stay on my bones, thank you very much all the animals that think I'd make a tasty meal. I bite back." Leo huffed, then let out a snort. "But faster than a squirrel?" He grinned. "You'd be a fool to think that." He finished, then rolled his eyes. Of course, again with this 'I'm WAY better at torturing people than you'. Why was that good to boast about?! Still, his methods were fun and attainable for him.

Now, of course, he knew that she wasn't going to be scared, of course. And he also guessed that she wouldn't be too impressed, so he was ready for the insults- he did admit, she was MUCh better at making up terrifying monsters than he was. "Oh come on, it removes the eyes right before it sucks out the soul. That way they can see everything else." he scoffed, shaking his head. How could she not have guessed that? "if they die slowly, I'm happy." He then added with a grim smile, thinking about the people he had used this method on. It was QUITE effective. He took a cookie after she was done, relishing in the sweet, sugery flavor. He then mentally worried about how far she was willing to go, put it out of his mind, and a sly smile came across his face. "Sounds like you're pushing me to pick one." He teased, wondering if she' even get it or not. Stupid jokes like that got him weird glances all the time. No one ever seemed to understand how he saw things. "Two." Leo finally answered, wondering what it was going to be. One of her former terrors? A new one she wanted to try out? He wasn't quite sure, but the look on her face suggested it wouldn't be good. He'd prooobably be fine though.

-

(Sorry it is so short- I'm in a time crunch!)

(no worries! Hope you aren't too busy to read a novel, though! xD)

Lieutenant Dwyer

"Well, you don't seem to have done a great job at keeping the meat where it belongs," Glory replied. She scowled at his next words, and said, "Wheesht. You ought to know I was - and still kind of am - a cocky little bastard." That... was true. Overconfident, and nobody to humble her any, which led to a good few injuries. After she broke her arm, however, she SWEARS the damned squirrel was staring down at her mockingly. "That still doesn't make it better," She said, "Blindness is relief. Best if you can force them to watch everything right up until the moment they die." That was the one torture method Glory avoided like the plague since her methods leaned heavily on their visual attributes, and giving the subject the release of blindness was comparable to killing them right away. Not fun, for Glory at least. She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Pick one of the following, amadan." Somehow he managed to be frustrating, but not exactly annoying. "Ahh, two, terribly choice," She said, grinning dangerously.

"The Mirror Ghoul...... a dangerous wraith which dwells within reflections, tempting unsuspecting souls to cross over into their twisted world. They're created from strong feelings of loss, despair, and grief, they haunt places that've held the most trageties, and try to drag sorrowful souls into a dimension far worse than this one. Mirror Ghouls use the promise - or even faces - of lost loved ones to entice people to their world, which is said to be akin to our reality, though plagued with hopelessness and pain, and with no escape. Once inside, you're trapped, and doomed to slowly turn into one of the wraiths that brought you inside in the first place, only catching glimpses of this realm through reflections- the only tie between our world and theirs," She said, and a dark, shadowy figure appeared in the full-length mirror behind her. It appeared feminine, though its head was tilted downward, long hair covering the face. The world behind the figure was bleak and gray, with no colors in sight, and the figure was the same. It - she?- looked up, directly at Leo, long hair parting enough to reveal Glory's face, though different. None of her usual mischief in her eyes, only a tired despair, tears flowing down her cheeks as she cried silently. Not-Glory tilted her head up further, showing her throat, slit all the way through and dripping a dark, thick fluid. "Come with me, leannan," Not-Glory choked out between sobs, the tears mixing with the colorless blood on her neck. The reflection shimmered slightly, then faded out, returning to that of Glory's somewhat dark bedroom. A rather unfair tactic, but she was pretty sure she won, though at what cost?

(hmm, not as long as I'd expected, but I'm pleased with it :3)

(I'm never too busy to read one of your amazing novels XD)

-

General Anubis

AKA: Craptain Jack Spare-Ribs

+++

"have too! or, at least, growing it back, I guess." Leo huffed, sounding offended. He wasn't, really. Nothing much could offend him. Like, truly offend him. "Kind of? KIND OF?" He burst out laughing. "Dat right there is the darn funnist thing I ever heard!" He hooted, his grin wide. Kind of... hehe. She was the cockiest little bastard HE'D ever met, but in Glory Speak that apparently translated to 'kind of'. "Miss Illusion, not everything is about visualy scaring them. Sometimes what people can't see scares them more than what they can. Why do you think some idiots are afraid of the dark?" He asked, then smiled innocently, looking pleased with himself. He definitely recognized THAT Scottish word. "You're the one who said it." He answered cheerily, then rubbed his hands together in mock anticipation. "Ooo, I'm sooo afraid." He groaned, waving a hand in the air. "How thus terror shall overcome my feeble mind, body, and soul." Leo finished with a teasing grin. As she started explaining, he almost started hoping it wasn't just a lecture, but the words did intruige him. Another good idea he could've come up with... but didn't. As she spoke, he wondered who she had used it on. Sounded like a pretty scary tactic. And a nice story to go with it. As a figure appeared, he glanced up, not expecting her to actually use it- but duh, of course she would. Now, anyway. He observed the figure in the mirror, his mind flashing back to what she had said. One of your past family, dead or forgotten.. there was no way she knew about any of his relatives; he never gave away an ounce of detail about his past. Who was this? Curiosity pricked at his vision until the grey hair moved aside, then it quickly flashed into wariness and a slightly upset look as well. Of course. She used what he refused to. He had purposefully decided against trying to do this, to use himself against her, and here she was, stirring up this illusion. He knew it wasn't real, obviously, but it didn't help the feeling, the bile that rose in the back of his throat, or the haunted thoughts drifting in his mind. It didn't help the tinge of betrayal, or the way he felt when the souless illusion stared at him. The words made his jaw tighten, as he always internlly treasured and stored every time the real Glory had said that to him. It was special, in a stupid little way, and mental pain, horrible things sprouted up in his mind. What would happen if she died. If she wasn't here anymore. If he couldn't save her. If it was HIS fault. If he wasn't fast enough. If he couldn't do anything. How she would die. When. By Corrupted hands? An accident? Fighting to the death beside him? So many possibilities, not enough answers. Leannan. Lover. Something special. Proved they cared about each other in some way shape or form. Now the word felt murdered by the haunted expression on the 'Mirror Ghoul's' face. All throughout his racing thoughts, he kept his face emotionless- too blank, really. If he could pretend his parents dying didn't bring him joy, and if he could pretend the one person he thought he cared about so long ago didn't matter anymore, then he could pretend this didn't bother him in the slightest. As the illusion disappeared, he glanced at her, offering a slight smile. "Impressive." His voice was 1/1,000,000 of a hint different than it had been before. So small of an incriment, it most likely wasn't noticeable, unless someone was looking for it. His smile so genuine, though the very slightest bit tighter than normal. So small of a difference, you'd never be able to tell unless you were looking for it. "If only all your ideas were that good." He teased, glancing down at Mari, who was still asleep. Leo's golden eyes were a fragnment darker than usual, the slightest bit haunted, like he had seen a ghost- but far, far worse. So slight you'd never be able to know.... unless you were looking for it.