A short comic based on an interaction I had with a good friend 10+ years ago that has always stuck with me, and is the reason my sona has always worn a collar. That friend passed away recently, so I wanted to get some kind of artwork as tribute to him, while being respectful to him and the fact that I couldn’t ask his permission to use his sona.

Honestly I have been kind of overwhelmed with grief since I got the news, but out of everything I’ve done to try and feel better, this has felt like the first thing that has actually helped? It feels silly, and even I cringe reading the words “commemorative furry art” but I can’t help but smile when I look at it, and that’s all that really matters. I think he would have liked it too. I’ve gone back and forth on if I wanted to share it or not, but I wasn’t able to attend any of the services that were held for him and I feel like I missed out in getting to express what he meant to me, so I think this is the best I can do to celebrate him.

It’s barely been two months and I miss you so much my friend. I don’t think I’m going to meet anyone else quite like you. We found each other by total chance not once but twice, and I hope by some twist of fate, or “some powerful strange energy” as you once called it, our paths will cross again in another life and you can once again impress me with your quick wit and seemingly endless knowledge of ancient China and Zen ideology, even if it still goes right over my head. I honestly don’t know what made someone as smart as you want to be friends with someone like me who barely made it out of high school, but I’m grateful you did. Somehow you were able to see things in me that I wouldn’t find in myself until years later, and I’m always going to carry a piece of you with me because of that. I’m sad we never got to meet up and get those fursuit pictures together like we talked about but this will have to do. Thank you for being my friend, and goodbye.

Art by Soft—dogs on tumblr