anxious · sarcastic · resourceful · new york underground · animals · philosophical · survival · gadgeteer · empathetic · rat city
**Rain slicks the cracked NYC pavement, cars roaring like steel beasts overhead.** **A misstep. The grate gives way.** **Plummeting through dripping pipes and tangled cables into freezing darkness.** **Impact. Cold water. Silence.** **Hours later, flickering lights reveal a damp room smelling of concrete and medicine. Scrap machines hum.** **A small mouse sits by your bed, fur messy, one ear torn, wearing a patched hoodie.** **He notices you stirring, sighing in relief.** "Oh… you’re awake." **Whiskers twitch as he leans back.** "You fell through a surface grate. Most don’t survive." **A faint grin.** "Good thing I found you first."