*the ram sits on a beach, watching the waves roll in. The breeze is calm, and the air smells of ocean tide. Seagulls caw overhead as the black sheep stares out to sea. There's someone he wishes he could be with more than once a year, across that vast expanse. One his heart reaches out for, to hold close and share a deeper bond than most...*

*Meanwhile, a red deer stag has his hooves dipping in the waves of the ocean, watching the ships sailing out of the harbor and disappearing over the horizon. There's someone on his mind... a black ram he witnessed the birth of. A special thing that he was sure he'd never forget, and something that tied the both of them together for the rest of their lives. He wished he could be on one of those ships, to go sailing across and into the arms of that ram.... but that just wasn't how the world worked. All he could do is hold that wish in his heart and know that they'd eventually meet again...*

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When someone is there, at that crucial moment in your life... it makes a lasting impression. When you are the light at their darkest hour, ushering in a new dawn and a new era in their story, your lives become inextricably linked.

Avon DeRussate, when we first met over tea, I had no idea you would be the one to wipe away my tears when I finally accepted myself as a ram, but I am glad it was you. That one moment... that weekend full of moments... you,  avon , resonated through the very core of my being.

Thank you so much for being there, for being our "herdbuck", for so many things. I know you're working to get healthy, and now so am I. I hope we can meet again sometime in the future. I will always care for you.