Carmilla, lacking experience and not knowing any maneuvers to handle this, let go of Shock's hair to try and pry her hands away from her neck. Unfortunately, that didn't really help, and worse, it simply made it even easier for Shock to gain back the advantage.

~~~

Lillith watched Lock, examining his body language. She nuzzled up against his cheek in an effort to comfort him, then stared at the treehouse wall, as if she could look through it at their respective sisters.

"What do you mean, worst nightmare?"

She may be a denizen of Halloween Town, but the use of the word "worst" made it obvious it wasn't an entertaining kind of fear he was talking about.