Last night, January 23rd, 2021, my long time icon and more recent friend  arakaraath, died from heart failure. He was...something else to me. While I may not have been as close to him as many have, the past few years I was close to him meant the world. He was the definition of a gentle giant. Large in the community, but very approachable. Although it took me nearly six years to actually contact him, the last six have truly been great. In many ways, he is why I'm so big on taurs and multi. His art was a huge influence on my character, and even his good nature is who I've largely inspired to be. And there is one story in particular that comes to mind when I think of him:

Back in high school, when I was still technically an underage fur, I had a tradition. I did indoor track for my school. I ran the 2-mile event. I’d run and be done. Then after the race, while I was cooling off, I’d rest up against a pillar or wall, and on my iPad, read Ara’s comic. Getting caught up week after week, for a comic that had been submitted years before. Very rarely did I break that. When I finally gained the confidence in college to contact him, that majorly changed things. It boosted my confidence even further. In a way, I feel like he was with me through those years. Boosting my confidence as a person and fur right when I needed it most. I would wait between seasons to continue reading his comic, year after year.
To this day I don't think I've ever finished his comic. Definitely something to get back to.

Ara, you are and will be extremely well missed.