“No, he wasn't a pig. He was a lonely, hurt man who didn't know how to cope in a world that had turned its back on him. [Astrid]”

“My friend died. (Astrid)Died how? (Zarek)Mmm, he had parvo. (Astrid)Isn’t that a dog’s disease? (Zarek)Yes. It was tragic. (Astrid)Hey! I resent that. (Sasha)Behave or I will give you parvo. (Astrid)”

“Yeah, well, I’ll be glad to birth it if it means I can name him something normal. (Zarek)Yeah, yeah. This from a man who whines like a two-year-old when he stubs his toe. I’d like to see you survive ten hours of childbirth. (Astrid)”

“Astrid or Aphrodite, she is my Circe. only instead of turning a man into an animal, she has made the animal human--Zarek”

“Why you in a dark hole, Astrid? Did you fall? (Simi)We’re hiding Simi. (Astrid)Hiding? From what? (Simi)Thanatos. (Astrid)Pfft. Why you hiding from that loser? He wouldn’t even make good barbecue. Barely take the edge off my peckishness. Hmmm…How come there’s no food here? (Simi)”

“As a child, he had hardened his heart and learned to take their punches. He had learned to spit back and take down anyone who cast a jaundiced eye or who made a comment about either him, his mother, or his sister.He’d told himself that he didn’t need anyone’s love or caring. And so he had learned to live like a feral animal, always ready to strike out when someone tried to touch him.”

“He was surrounded and they were hungry for what few brain cells he had left. But you know what? He wasn't about to give in or give up. If he was going out, it would be the way he had come into this world.Fighting for every single breath.”