For the first time, that ever-familiar snarl seemed to visibly quiver. Perhaps it always had, he never before dared to look it in the teeth.
Its menace had waned over time – he caught glimpses of it on occasion – but to examine it more intently meant risking being completely swallowed.
His reflection peered back at him across pearl mountains and flesh valleys, it was too late to look away now, he had to reclaim his essence.