divine comedy - joiner

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Being no more than just a little rat, Ksitigarbha can easily be mistaken for prey. Well, easily enough, if one were to look past all the gold. While it's easy to pass him off as tonight's dinner when stripped of all his bling, he considers being decorated like a god is not only a way to show off his "status" but to announce to the world that he is, indeed, sentient, and doesn't belong in anyone's belly. Of course, there are animals that care little for whether or not he's got rings around his arms, as proven by the large bite that had recently been taken out of his cape. Ksitigarbha had escaped the jaws of a feral cat just in the nick of time while on the road, and he had lost most of his wares in the process. By the time he could even look back, the cat had already destroyed and made away with most of it.

With nothing to trade, Ksitigarbha had no more livelihood. He could easily just steal some more things, but trading stolen goods is... it's a bit hypocritical of him, of all creatures, to say immoral. Ksitigarbha has made many a mistake in his life, done others more wrongs than rights, but he likes to think that with all his crimes put aside, he's a decent rat. He's just trying to make a living and keep himself occupied. Or at least he was. Now he's got nothing to do with himself, and no one to talk to. He feels alone, and honestly a little scared.

These aren't his sewers. This isn't even the city. It doesn't look like the city. He's pretty sure this isn't the city. See, he's spent most of his life underground, scampering around the sewers and occasionally treating himself to a romp around the subways at night, but the city had only been what the rats called whatever was aboveground. Only the bravest of them all would even dare to venture past those grates, where light from above would seep through, and very rarely were they ever seen again. He realizes, with a fleeting sense of pride (followed by a heavy feeling of dread), he's become one of those rats. It isn't like anyone but his rivals in the market will know he's gone, and rather than launching a search party, they'll celebrate his absence.

He finds himself trying to navigate the valley he finds himself in. With nothing but his cape, the fur on his back, and a scrap of metal to double as a sword, Ksitigarbha feels lost. It's a sure mystery how he even got this far in the first place, but that doesn't matter as much as finding shelter of sorts, or even another rat. Hell, he would even accept the company of a cat at this point.