Pounding. His head was absolutely pounding. It was agonizing how the pain was dragging, scraping, shredding him from the inside out like the alcohol inside of him had ripped his stomach to shreds and was working on hammering it's way free from his head where he knew the moment his eyes fluttered open he'd be in a wrose agony than he wanted. And yet his eyelids trembled lightly before squinting between them to stare tat the pink sheets beneath him, the fabric soft against his fingers and cheek yet his mind could hardly appreciate it when he was scrambling out of bed just barely managing to knock a bin away from his bed only to lunge for it as his stomach heaved upwards. It squeezed tightly, gurgling and restless as Angel retched into the bucket that he held tightly with his hands while his lower hands rubbed at his disputing, anger stomach while he gagged at the scent radiating from the trash after he his stomach took enough pity on him to allow him to breathe before he was puking into the can once again. Angel had known that last night drinking to excess hadn't been the answer but he'd drunk, drunk, drunk whatever it was that Husk was giving him after dinner and he had known better that being known out drunk wouldn't drown away the jealousy, the envy that had been roaring in his head and scratching underneath his fur. He'd known it wouldn't just give up that easily.
Even now it simmered in his chest at the thought of Vaggie no doubt beaming with that ring settled on her left finger right now as they go over details of the wedding with one another. "Stupid shit." Angel spoke between gritted teeth as he put the trash can down with a thud and he let himself sway backwards hitting the bed sheets that he then wriggled and squirmed to get underneath as he scowled up at his ceiling with the blankets tight around him. "They'll even probably look at stupid shit like magazines, at music and venues, and what fucking flowers they want at the wedding, who's going to be there and all of that stupid stuff they do in the movies." Angel rubbed at his eyes tiredly but the sting was behind his eyes like it had been since last night. A knot in his throat refusing to be broken up.
Was he really this petty? This jealous that his friend was going to be happy? God, maybe Val was right. Angel was selfish and he always had been for wanting everything along but never wanting nothing. Angel took deep breaths to help calm the roiling storm that was his stomach as he clutched at it with his second pair of hands over the blankets of his comforter and his dress twistd underneath him when he moved cuddling into his blankets shutting his eyes for a moment. How long had he cried last night? These ugly feelings inside of him were too hard to ignore sometimes and while he knew Charlie would be relieved she had finally asked her girlfriend that burning question he wondered if he'd be able to keep up the joy and enthusiasm he'd given last night in his drunken stupor. He had been jovial, he had been considerate, and complimented the blushing couple whenever he could and had laughed with the best of them at the stupidest of jokes. Yet by the end of the night when he stumbled for that room of his he had instead curled up on the floor next to Fat Nuggets' bed where he buried his face into the velvet material and had cried so heartily that his throat ached. He knew without a doubt his hoarse voice would make many look twice at him but what could Angel say? That he had been so torn up by jealousy that he had gone to his room for a loud drunken sobbing fest?
Yeah, that'd go over real good. Angel refused to ruin Charlie or Vaggie's joy, even if the moth could be a bitch sometimes and Angel knew if he had to force this wedding down his throat then he'd do it with a grin on his face that would make even the biggest fakest smile Alastor has look small in comparison. Angel lifted his hands up wiping the moisture from his vomiting spell from his eyes and scrubbed at his eyes fiercely as he rubbed at his stomach carefully in case any harsh movements would cause it to tighten up and force more out of him. He rolled over onto his side curling his legs slightly towards his tumultuous, angry stomach noticing a glass of water along with two pills next to it; one was large and white, the other a tiny blue pill in comparison. Who had lefti t there? Charlie? Vaggie? Or had it been Husk? He didn't know who it could have been, when it could have happened, and he reached out carefully pinching then palming the pills before throwing them into his mouth and taking his cup gulping the water down quickly then sighing out as he curled up on his side waiting for the nausea to kick in or for the pills to be accepted by the sensitive system it had entered. Angel then shut his eyes, took a deep long breath through his nose then held it down in his lungs. He didn't hate that his friend was marrying, he didn't hate that Vaggie would literally be the princess of her story tale and that she would get her magical ending and Angel wouldn't.
It wasn't that kind of situation. It was more that he wished he himself could have been swept of his feet, treated like the princess of some romantic story that he'd read during his life on Earth and that is what drove him a touch batty when he willingly entered that party knowing good and well what Charlie planned on doing. It kind of felt ridiculous now that he was jealous of them but he merely couldn't stop the emotion from burning and sizzling inside of his heart from the images he had of last night along with the images his brain could sublimate about what he knew a happy marriage had to be. The whole excitement that must come with planning a wedding. To know that you'll be bonded with someone for all time. Angel groaned at his thoughts, concern bubbling up that he could possibly be far to dramatic for so early in the morning when his hangover felt like it would either force him to vomit his internal organs out or it would implode his head from the pain trying to claw it's way out. Way too complex emotions and thoughts. There was a tugging on his blankets making him groan at the movements but the feel of tiny feet running across the bed afterwards had him twisting slightly only for tiny hooves to press into his thigh gently then with more insistence as the tiny demonic pig climbed over Angel's legs. He wriggled against the blankets so his hind legs rested against the top of Angel's stomach, just below his chest fluff, and his little snout nuzzled into his throat with a snort leaving the pig. Angel couldn't help the smile, the giggle that left him, as he hugged the pig to his chest while he shut his eyes for just a moment to focus on the warm and shape of the pig in his arms. It was almost like holding a baby.
"That's because you are my baby, you know that?" Angel mused out loud opening his eyes again as he looked down at the little pig who seemed to perk up at his owner's attention and the spider smiled as he caressed the top of his head down to the ack of his neck softly making the pig squeal. If there was someone he could depend on, at the end of the day, it was either Cherri or Fat Nuggets. Both of them even. They knew how to pick him up and make him happy without even intending to do so. Well, maybe Fat Nuggets did it intentionally but Angel was happy and very thankful for the little demonic pig. "I love you, Nugs."
The pig was cradled in Angel's arms so snugly that the little guy began dozing off, something that made the spider smile warmly at the pig as his hand stroke down his spine over the spikes carefully and softly while the pig rested his snout on his chest fluff like Angel were merely one giant pillow for him to sleep upon. Angel peeked at his alarm clock with a yawn on his lips, frowning at the time before feeling Fat Nuggets adjusting himself in his arms, and he let out a slow soft sigh that turned into a large yawn that had his jaw aching and cracking lightly from the intensity of the yawn. Snuggling down into the blankets with Fat Nuggets resting in his arms was a small chunk of happiness that he needed, wanted and loved so desperately that Angel actually saw the pig as his little son, a baby for him to coddle and dot on whenever he needed it or snuggled him when he wanted it. Laying with his top arms curled protectively around Fat Nuggets the spider kissed the tip of his little snout awkwardly, after positioning his head and face down towards Fat Nuggets' tiny face the little pig squeaked out a little snore making Angel smile as he pressed his cheek against his head while he squeezed the pig to his chest. It was so easy to place his paternal needs onto a little pig like his for he knew that no one in their right mind should be popping kids out in Hell but there was those large families that did so. Angel would rather pour his love and affection on his little pig than popping kids one out after another.
That was why he was thankful he wasn't one of the actors that Val often fucked with. There was high demand, for some weirdos, to have a fetish satisfied such as pregnancy porn and being an Overlord Valentino could change someone's junk if he so desired and if that's what the protocol that day was calling for but Angel Dust? He was never touched with that. He made so much popularity for the moth that there was never a need for Angel to star in pregnancy porn for no one wanted to see the spider bloated with god knows how many eggs, no one wanted to see him getting bigger and no one wanted to see a scene of sex triggering labor. He was grateful that he was never needed for that side of pornography but some part of hi malways feared one day Valentino would come up to him and would shatter his world by making some random fucker knock him up just for the sake of two to three weeks of pregnancy porn from the spider and that fear was a rational one. Why would anyone get turned on by pregnancy porn? He had no clue but he just had to thank his lucky, lovely stars that Fat Nuggets was the only one claimed as one of Angel's metaphorical children. It was terrifying seeing those actors swollen up with babies that kicked, punched and ripped their ways out of their mothers only to go missing at some half baked orphanage Valentino would drop them off at to be neglected or adopted off to some shit parents who only used them for an income. It never surprised Angel when he walked down a hallway to hear muffled sobbing as an actor had been pushed to their limits, had been beaten or, horrifyingly enough, had discovered their pregnancy tests were positive. Angel never, ever, wanted to be in a situation like that.
A wheezing squeak brought Angel's attention down to the pig in his arms staring up at him with wide black eyes that had a concern shimmering in them that had the spider loosening his arms and stroking the pigs head gently and peppering it with kisses. "I'm sorry, Nugs, I didn't mean to squeeze ya. Daddy's sorry, Fat Nuggets." After what felt like a moment or two of convincing the pig that he was sorry for his tight hold on the animal Angel had decided that, with his stomach settling, he could perhaps go downstairs to interact with other demons. He clenched his jaw throwing the blankets off of himself then swung his legs over the side of the bed making the pig grumble at the sudden movements when Angel pressed a kiss to his snout. "Let's go eat, Nugs."
He adjusted the pig letting him sit on his hip, the animal squealing at the precarious position and thus he began squirming against Angel's hip until the spider was forced to put the pig down where he then watched Fat Nuggets rush towards the door to their hotel room making the spider sigh out while shaking his head. As much of a baby as he felt Fat Nuggets could be the pig refused to sit on Angel's hip but about ninety percent of the other time the pig was coddled and held every minute he absolutely could be when Angel's arms weren't tired or when the spider had come home from an exhausting day and they both needed a cuddle for the night. If there was one thing that Angel knew he wanted he knew he at least, at some point in his life, wanted a lover. Someone who would look at him the way Vaggie looked at the princess when she was bouncing with excitement through the hotel with a new idea. And he knew, if he ever found that lover, and they married that he wouldn't be opposed to either having Fat Nuggets as their child or having a child of his own. Yes, pregnancy terrified him but it was the way Valentino went about it. The way the Overlord thought of pregnancy as a money gainer was what terrified Angel and he had to admit pregnancy hadn't left a shining impression on the sinner in the first place because of how it was treated like some terrible disease around the studios. Angel never wanted to be the type of person who sobbed with fear at being a parent but would rather laugh and cry tears of joy at becoming a parent, the much better response when you were with someone you loved.
Angel followed Fat Nuggets out into the hall where the little pig snorted and squealed as his tiny feet propelled him quickly down the hallway with Angel hot on his heels giggling under his breath at the sight of the little pig running fast as his hooved feet could take him. He laughed when the little pig butted against someone's legs, grunting loudly before Angel could get there but his laugh died off his lips at the contemptuous, even scornful red eyes staring down at Fat Nuggets with a glimmer of a hungry threat growing in those eyes as well. Alastor. Dammit! "Uh, good morning?" Angel got out as he walked up to Alastor, bending down scooping Fat Nugget's up and squeezing the pig to his chest.
He felt chills skitter down his spine, fearful ice spreading through his stomach, when those red eyes finally lifted from Fat Nuggets to Angel with a reserved expression in those eyes of his as his fingers twirled his mike behind his back. "Good morning, my effeminate fellow! I know Charlotte won't speak upon it but Angel I would prefer it if you kept that pig," The word was spit roughly but the smile on his lips never dipped in the slightest bit as one long finger pointed at the pig."was put on a leash or remained off of the ground to run as it pleases. It is quite rude to let any pet run around to it's leisure, wouldn't you say?" The crackling filter over Alastor's voice had cracked and slipped a few times with his restrained irritation, those view slips causing Angel's arms to tighten around the pig. "Now, Charlotte told me to collect you for breakfast! Let us go, shall we?"
To say Angel was surprised when the shorter demon offered his arm to the spider would be like saying someone was surprised to receive whiplash from something they had denied. Angel was floored, completely and utterly, to see that red arm sticking out for him to tuck one of his four hands into and when his lower hand reached up his fingers flinched at the gaze following his movements as he slipped his hand into the crook of his elbow. He looked at Alastor curiously while they stepped into the elevator together, one long finger pressing a silver button causing it to glow as the elevator doors shut and Angel tilted his head while Fat Nuggets eyed Alastor warily. "You're getting good at using the elevator, Smiles. Been practicing while everyone's been sleepin'?"
There it was! The twitching corners of that wide smile before it spread a touch wider somehow only this time it was colored in mild irritation much like the expression settling in those eyes of his. "It isn't too hard to use an elevator, dear! Any simpleton can use an hoist! If you'll remember they used to have attendants for these things so it was never necessary for anyone to use the buttons themselves. Not that I was around long enough to see a device such as this being used quite eagerly although I never had a need for it. Why take something like this," He eyed the walls scornfully for a moment before continuing.",when you can use your legs on the stairs just as fast if not faster? So yes, Angel, I know how an elevator works." Alastor replied with irritation bright in his voice while Angel looked away awkwardly wondering if he should merely explain that he had been joking, not criticizing the Radio Demon but he felt the conversation had ended effectively the moment the red demon had finished speaking.
So Angel merely pinched his lips together as he stared up at the numbers flicking by slickly while Fat Nuggets wriggled uncomfortably due to the tight grip on the pig but Angel wasn't going to release the pig any time soon around the Radio Demon for he knew Alastor would cook and devour his pig in a heartbeat. He'd threatened it countless times before in the past anyhow and even if they were empty threats Angel didn't want to risk it. He peeked at the Radio Demon out of the corner of his eye only to see the dear ears twitch as if sensing the stare of Angel's and eyes slid towards Angel from under rather dark lashes causing Angel to panic while looking away. Flustered he stared down at the ground wondering just what he could say to the man by his side without him getting offended in some way at something the spider would or could say. "So last night was fun, huh?"
"It was...interesting." Alastor mused before looking up at Angel, that ever present smile turning conspiratorial with a hint of confusion. "However, I must say I can understand dinner parties with such announcements but just know that if I ever, and that's a very loose reference I am making, got married I sure wouldn't do it in front of others. I wouldn't be able to. A party all for one little question? Quite an overreaction that they were searching for when other's create parties such as these but I can somewhat understand why they are done." Angel gawked at the Radio Demon openly, his lips parted with his jaw hanging ever so slightly. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Are you telling me you didn't see the romance in somethin' like that?" Angel demanded even if he felt a twinge of shame in his chest, especially after his bouts of jealousy, but he had at least seen the utter romance and the feel of connection with the two women who had included the hotel along with it's few residents in a moment such as that. "Alastor, you are such a dried up old man sometimes! If you can't see the romance, the sense of community and-and almost familial sensations with all of that happiness and joy about last night then you don't understand anyone at all! I know I sure as hell would like to have a little party like that when I get proposed too! You've gotta start opening your eyes to romance, Alastor, or you'll die alone."
"Angel, my dear, I must inform you that no matter how much of a "dried up old man" I can be explain to me one thing." Angel stared back at the Radio Demon defiantly, outrage sparkling in his pink eyes as he met that gaze without flinching in the slightest bit as the elevator came to a smooth stop, time seeming to pause while holding its breath and Angel felt his heart pound out a few solid beats of icy fear as he pressed himself against the wall yet his hand remained in the crook of Alastor's arm. His eyes burned to a feverish, glowing pitch until the lights flickered above them and the red eyes burned at the spider demon as that wide golden smile inched higher. "If there were all those feelings for you last night then why did you drink yourself into such a drunken stupor, Angel?" The lights flickered once again with long black outs like someone blinking their eyes, taking their time opening their eyes once more and Angel felt the words that had been building on his throat but shriveling once they made it to his tongue. What could he say? What was there too say? "Why did you look as though you had jealousy eating you alive? Well, my dear? Tell me, Angel, why did you look so very envious of the two of them?"
He hadn't thought on what others would think of his actions after getting smash down drunk with the bartender, dancing until his feet ached and then this morning feel like his head would cave in from all of the pain due to his hangover this morning but there was a fear inside of him like no other. It was mounting inside of him, choking his throat until he was sure he'd scream out if he had to spend one more moment in this flickering elevator with the Radio Demon and so he pulled his hand from the crook of his elbow and pressed his hands against the elevator doors while squeezing Fat Nuggets tightly making the pig complain in response. "I want to go now. Let me out." He whispered the words when he wanted to yell them and, thankfully, the Radio Demon released his terrifying hold on the spider long enough for the doors to the elevator to ding gently.
The lights flicked on in a solid glowing white light as the elevator dinged and Angel turned rushing out of the elevator ass fast as his feet would take him. He ran to the buffet of breakfast foods for both himself and Fat Nuggets but rather than being excited he was shaking. His legs, his hands even, were shaking gently with the intensity buzzing throuhg his mind and throuhg his limbs while Charlie began questioning Alastor from behind him but the spider didn't want to stop, didn't want to explain for he wanted as much distance between himself and Alastor the Radio Demon. He had to put that space between them. He had been seen through last night. Had he been that obvious? Had the jealousy, the envy, devour him so thoroughly that it had shown and shimmered on his face last night between the drinks that kept on coming? How had Alastor noticed but Charlie of Vaggie hadn't? Was the Radio watching him when he didn't know it? Or had he just known Angel was that predictable when he began drinking? So many questions so little answers, the idea of the Radio Demon watching him so closely had his hands shaking with hard tremors breaking the light shakes and Angel struggled to keep his breathing down as he ran into the kitchen grabbing both the bag of feed for Fat Nuggets and his bowl. He didn't want to eat anymore, he didn't even want to be on the same floor as Alastor at that moment and so he tucked the feed bag under his second right arm and held the bowl in his left while he ran out of the dining room back towards the elevator with Charlie calling out his name with Vaggie chewing Alastor out now.
He looked over his shoulder only to find curious burning eyes on him that sent his heart racing with icy chills spreading through his limbs with every single beat of his heart it felt and the spider demon raced for the elevator doors which gratefully slid open the moment he smashed his fingers into the button there and ran inside. He pressed the button for his floor and placed Fat Nuggets down when the shaking in all four of his hands began too much to hold the pig with and he transferred the feed and food bowl to his dominant upper arms and pressed his second pair around himself into a tight hug underneath his chest fluff while Fat Nuggets began chewing at the hem of his pants. The pig seemed so unfazed by the whole encounter that Angel wanted to shake the animal and scream in his face about how dangerous that situation had been but he kept his words to himself as he leaned against the wall of the elevator. Alastor was a scary son of a bitch when he wanted to be and especially when he saw, knew personally, the truth about another person which is why his words were so terrifying to Angel. He wanted to know, wanted to beg, for answers on if his jealousy had truly been so damn evident but he kept his lips pinched and kept himself pressed against the wall across from the doors. It was times like these that he was happy the hotel room of his had a little kitchenette for him to make his own food if he so desired. Perks of being the first resident he figured.
The doors slid open with that familiar ding allowing Fat Nuggets to run right out of the small space down the hallways towards Angel's door, the spider taking his time in leaving the elevator then walking down the hallway towards the squealing and running pig of his. Angel already knew he didn't want to be alone with Alastor if it meant truths were to be shoved down his throats, truths and observations that he didn't want to know about. He didn't want to even THINK that his jealousy, his envy, had slipped past his control onto his face or had been evident in the way he had acted last night for if he did think on it all he could think of was the pity he'd get from Charlie or Vaggie and he didn't want that at all. He didn't need pity. He didn't want their pity. He was Angel Dust for fucks sake! He was one of the most famous pornstars in Hell, he was more talented on a pole than anyone in this building and he was the hottest thing that had fallen into Hell and he could control himself long enough not to let others into his head, he knew that much. Angel would go back to work tomorrow, where he would be forced to drown himself in dick, in drugs, in alcohol and he would forget about all of this by the end of the day that when he wobbled home he would be a complete mess to those who viewed him the moment he got out of the car. He would look satisfied, he will feel satisfied and he will be blissful. This was his mantra, his creed and he would believe it until all of those things refuse to work anymore.
He wasn't normally snotty or holier than thou about his porn life, as many detested and looked down upon people who did porn, but Angel knew he shouldn't give two shits about what others thought of either him or his profession yet living here with Vaggie and Charlie had begun softening his edges. He didn't terribly care about others opinions but he could feel inside of himself that he would or could take tiny blows from other people's words leaving him upset or bothered by it for the rest of the day and the only reason he could think it bothered him would have to be because the spider had been living with Charlie and Vaggie so long that they were rubbings off on him. They were making him Care about what others thought of him and he didn't like that one bit. He couldn't afford to care what others thought, couldn't afford to let himself become soft like that for the moment Valentino sensed this chang he would no doubt put Angel through hell. Angel let out a breath as he approached his door, Fat Nuggets dancing in front of it, jumping on his little hooves as Angel reached out pushing the door open allowing Fat Nuggets to run inside ahead of him only to begin circling the small area in the little kitchenette where his bowl would go and Angel giggled at the sight of it. It was honestly like having a little puppy or cat sometimes when it came to the pig and so he focused on getting inside the room to plop the bowl down and fill the feed in the bowl for the pig then turned away to put it away in the cabinet and settle down on his bed again where he would scroll through his phone while on social media.
It would be the best thing to do after his little interaction with Alastor but he knew that Charlie would come knocking on his door, worried about him locking himself away from the rest of the hotel and worry about him being sick or hurt or something of the sort until Angel opened his door to join the real world. Angel wanted nothing more than to shake off the ugly, residue feeling of his feelings from last night and the horrible sensation in his chest that came with Alastor's blunt truths and he wanted nothing more than to scrub at his skin until the jealous, the envy, welled up and he could wipe it away. He found his feet carrying him towards his small bathroom rather than his bed like he had intended, knowing that a long hot soak would be exactly what he wanted. He wiggled his toes while he stepped into the bathroom, leaning over the tub twisting the faucet and watching the water burst against the bottom of the tub as he rested two fingers underneath the gushing water to keep tabs on the temperature as he fiddled with the hot water and the cold before plugging the tub. He reached behind himself with all four hands to unzip the gold dress, slipping his arms through the straps then letting it drop down his body into a pool of golden fabric onto the bathroom floor and he reached up uncliping his bra sliding it off then reaching down to his hips pushing the matching panties down stepping out of them. He shivered lightly as he caressed the soft fur around his stomach and hips he reached out with his second hands to test the water only to feel warm shivers move over his skin as he smiled gently.
He stepped into the tub where the water swirled around his lower calves and he squatted down feeling the water rising around him due to the additional space being filled in the tub and he allowed the water to run into the tub as he laid out groaning softly as the water pooled across his stomach. He then laid back letting the thick fur of his chest flatten down like cotton candy and once his thighs disappeared under the water he leaned forward with a slosh as he turned the water off before sinking back into the hot water. He scrunched himself up small inside of the tub as he slid down to his lips gently in the water while trying to submerge every bit of his fur underneath the water to revel in the hot water as he shut his eyes. It would be so easy to soak out all of these negative, ugly emotions inside of him and he would give anything for them to leak out of him into the water where he could drain it away but they festered in his heart anymore making him squirm under the hot water as his wet fur drifted softly in the water much like his hair would. After a moment of silence, Angel opened his eyes when Fat Nuggets' tiny hooves clicked against the floor as the pig ran for the bedroom and Angel couldn't help but smile softly at the tiny sound. He sighed out as he leaned his head against the back of the tub gently while he shivered under the water creating small ripples in the water from the movement and Angel wondered, for just a moment, if Alastor would seek him out again to continue the conversation. Or well, find the root of his negative emotions and the thought had him squirming under the water fighting the way his heart stutterd over it's beats with the icy anxiety flashing through his stomach and he couldn't help but wish he wouldn't be in a situation where he had to be alone with the demon.
Sure, he joked and flirted and pushed Alastor's buttons whenever he wanted and however he wanted to do so he knew there was an instinct beneath all the smiles, snickers and giggles, that was cold with a primitive instinct to put distance between themselves and Alastor. It was the natural instinct some people picked up on when they were around a serial killer such s the Radio Demon and Angel's instincts were screaming at him to never be alone with the Radio Demon in such a small space again. But he had been so close to Alastor that, without even meaning too, his mind had committed to memory just how thick the Radio Demon's lashes had looked and not black at all like he had thought when viewing them from a distance but rather they were a deep red that appeared black from a distance. They had been fascinating lashes to stare at, silly to think so, but Angel swore that the deep red of those lashes had been more curious than the rest of the red demon and he felt like an idiot for having even something small to admire about the Radio Demon who now had all the assumptions to use against Angel. Assumptions that could ruin his friendships with Vaggie and Charlie. He felt a surprising tightening in his jaw from his teeth clicking together in outrage of the red demon's behavior in the elevator and he couldn't help but find anger at himself for never hiding his emotions well enough but he knew already that if he had too he'd threaten the serial killer. Not smart, not in the slightest bit, yet Angel felt like he could fight God some days so surely it wouldn't be a big deal for him to march up to the Radio Demon and force him to keep his mouth shut. It wouldn't be a big deal, right? Right? However Angel couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be one of the stupidest decisions of his life.
