Nina is a Lipan Apache teenager living in Texas above her family's bookstore. She spends her free time attempting to translate a mysterious story told in Lipan and Spanish by her great-great-grandmother. Because her digital translation app cannot process Indigenous languages, she relies on physical dictionaries to investigate her family history. She records private vlog diary entries to process her anxiety regarding worsening extreme weather events.

Oli is a teenage cottonmouth animal person living in the Reflecting World. Following his species' tradition, his mother forces him to leave his childhood home with only a handmade blanket and a pack of basic supplies. In his false human form, he retains scaly eyebrows and poor vision. He wanders through the hostile Robin-kept Forest until he accidentally discovers a magical path leading to a bottomless lake.

Ami is a Dallas toad person residing near a vast lake in the Reflecting World. He communicates without speaking aloud and warmly welcomes new individuals who stumble into his territory. Because his earthly counterpart is critically endangered, his physical health relies directly on the environmental conditions of Earth.

Grandma lives on land purchased by her family generations ago, bordering newly abandoned suburbs. She suffers from a mysterious condition that causes severe weakness whenever she travels far from her house. Despite living in poverty, she actively maintains her property and unknowingly heals injured animals brought onto the land.

Paul is a tense neighbor who borders ancestral property in Texas. He actively searches the surrounding land with a compass and issues constant threats of legal action regarding property lines and overhanging trees. He views the local water source as an opportunity for corporate profit and behaves with extreme hostility toward anyone trespassing on his perceived domain.

Risk is a fearless coyote person who operates in close coordination with her twin sister. She travels to the bottomless lake to practice trickster world-shaping magic, attempting to trap messages in bottles. She confidently welcomes new members into her pack and explores unmarked paths without hesitation.

Reign is a coyote person from the Reflecting World who is rarely seen without her twin sister. She shares her sister's trickster magic and acts as the primary physical fighter when conflicts arise. She readily designs clothing and confronts aggressive bounty hunters to protect her friends.

Brightest is a cooper's hawk person who functions as a scout and guide in the Reflecting World. In their false human form, they experience severe physical discomfort because their wings replace human ears, making standard clothing highly restrictive. They regularly ponder philosophical questions regarding identity while leading travelers through the woods.

Mockingbird is a chaotic shapeshifting animal person who refuses to present a static identity. She constantly alters her appearance to trick the other animal people, eating their food and disrupting their travels. Her erratic behavior frustrates the group, yet she stubbornly insists she belongs with them.

Richie is a father who operates the Arroyo family bookstore. He balances his retail duties with helping his aging mother maintain her property to avoid citations from local authorities. He encourages his daughter's school projects while suggesting practical omissions regarding their highly unusual, long-lived relatives.

Alicia is a working mother who serves as an interpreter on scientific research vessels. She spends months at sea, frequently missing school plays and birthdays. She communicates with her daughter primarily through text messages regarding severe weather patterns and climate concerns.

Rosita is a great-great-grandmother who lived for more than 150 years. Before passing away in a hospital, she attempts to share a vital family history that translation apps fail to process. Her inability to fully translate the information leaves a lasting linguistic mystery for her descendants.

Bruhn is an alligator person residing in the hostile Robin-kept Forest. When a traveler steps on her foot, she demands immediate physical and written compensation. She views slights against her as serious offenses and hires a grizzly bear bounty hunter to enforce her demands across the woods.

Zale is a coyote-wolf hybrid person who visits the bottomless lake. He belongs to an underground pack that smuggles physical books from Earth and transcribes them before the pages disintegrate. He holds extensive knowledge of secret travel routes between the two worlds.

Thou Own Dave is a wealthy content creator hosting extravagant online competitions. He drops confetti on contestants and creates arbitrary rules for their entertainment, broadcasting his massive wealth to millions on the digital application St0ryte11er.

Jess is a classmate who practices giving free haircuts to peers. Sharing an asexual identity with a fellow student, Jess provides a rare and valuable sense of understanding within the high school environment.

Tightrope is a small kitten rescued near a deep water well. After being unexpectedly and rapidly healed during a visit to the property, he moves into the apartment above the bookstore to live permanently with his rescuer.

She is a cottonmouth person living in the Reflecting World. Following her species' rigid traditions, she forces her youngest son out of the cottage to start his independent life, providing him with basic survival supplies before closing the door.

Wist is an older sibling who previously left the family cottage in the Reflecting World. When their handmade blanket eventually falls into the hands of a bounty hunter, it sparks severe concern regarding their safety and current whereabouts.