Anton's the sort of man who takes everything very seriously. I think it's related to his magic; he's a Gist user - all his determination and hatred and rage combine and are released as a ghost like image that destroys everything - it's a dangerous discipline, if you let out the Gist for too long it takes control and the real person is reduced to a spirit living inside a monster. Whatever the cause, he often verges on solemn. Larrikin loved to wind him up, whispering jokes during dangerous missions or making wild claims and insisting he seriously believed them.
There was this one mission, all the Dead Men together. Imagine the scene: it's 1850, the last three days have been spent huddled in a French field. Everyone's wet and hungry, excluding Skulduggery, and waiting for the order to strike. Suddenly, Larrikin decides it's Anton's birthday and nothing can be said to dissuade him. Anton's trying to argue with him while everyone else is practically falling over from laughter.
Our targets are passing by. And Larrikin starts singing a happy birthday song and tries to give Anton a hug. Now, Anton is not a hugging type of person. Larrikin's going for the hug and Anton's grabbing him to keep him quiet and they end up in an intense, but completely silent, wrestling match. Finally, Anton gets him into a chokehold so he's lying there in the mud, face turning red, and then he manages to pull out a very crushed bun. He'd been hiding it for three days. He stuck a candle in it and declared it was Anton's birthday cake.
That was the only time we ever saw Anton Shudder smile while on a mission.
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There was this one mission, all the Dead Men together. Imagine the scene: it's 1850, the last three days have been spent huddled in a French field. Everyone's wet and hungry, excluding Skulduggery, and waiting for the order to strike. Suddenly, Larrikin decides it's Anton's birthday and nothing can be said to dissuade him. Anton's trying to argue with him while everyone else is practically falling over from laughter.
Our targets are passing by. And Larrikin starts singing a happy birthday song and tries to give Anton a hug. Now, Anton is not a hugging type of person. Larrikin's going for the hug and Anton's grabbing him to keep him quiet and they end up in an intense, but completely silent, wrestling match. Finally, Anton gets him into a chokehold so he's lying there in the mud, face turning red, and then he manages to pull out a very crushed bun. He'd been hiding it for three days. He stuck a candle in it and declared it was Anton's birthday cake.
That was the only time we ever saw Anton Shudder smile while on a mission.