"My Dear Polly... you're the only good thing in my life.
"My ears... will feed you...
"My teeth... will clothe you...
"My claws... will shelter you...
"My tail... will pay for your operation."

Easily my most tragic character in this series, especially since she is based off of Fantine from "Les Miserables."

Leah Bezzett has problems quite different from the wealthy DeRatry family. Orphaned at a young age, she lived with her grandparents until they died - but not before Leah wound up a teen mother. Due to financial troubles, Leah ended up moving herself and her daughter, Polly, in with an uncle - the only family family she had left, who lived in a trailer park with his wife. At first the rent they charged Leah was reasonable, but they began to nickel-and-dime her, forcing the young rat to take on two jobs (one at a plastics factory, the other at a cheese factory owned by Clint).

Suffice it to say, issues arose, and Leah found herself in a desperate need for extra money. And selling most of her clothes wasn't helping much... until a weasel she crossed paths with informed her that such things like tails, ears, claws and teeth are often sold on the black market... and bought.

Ooh boy, but this pic almost killed me!

The background was super complicated to make, especially since I was trying to convey two different settings: the glamorous city of Ratropolis on one side, a frowzy trailer park on the other. Only I don't think I succeeded, as Ratropolis doesn't look all that glamorous and the trailer park looks way too clean and well-kept. So I ended up relying more on a color motif to emphasize the difference: gold and cream with warm lighting for the city, and gray with drab, cold lighting for the trailer park.

As for Leah herself, in case any of you are wondering what I was trying to illustrate with her is this: on her right side, we see how she starts out, with a fine set of ears, teeth, claws and a lovely tail; on her left side, we see what she becomes as she tries to provide all the necessities for her daughter. As the title suggests, Leah is walking on a fine line between two worlds on this journey she takes.

(The operation Leah mentions up above is for Polly's appendicitis.)