Jack serves as the deuteragonist and primary love interest. He’s a round and dynamic character who embodies the heart and hardship of the Faraway Inn. When Calisa first arrives, he’s overwhelmed and lonely, single-handedly trying to prevent the inn from collapsing in the absence of his father, Thomas, and the withdrawal of Auntie Zee. He’s fiercely loyal and responsible, driven by the desperate hope that his missing father will one day return. This singular focus motivates all his actions; as he explains, “the Faraway Inn needs to stay in business so [his father] has a place to return to” (158). This immense burden makes him initially guarded and wary of Calisa, whom he sees as a potential disruption. His initial hesitance to help her when she’s stuck in the porch or to answer her questions about the inn stems from a deep-seated fear of upsetting the fragile balance he struggles to maintain.

Beneath his worry, Jack is fundamentally kind and earnest. His early conversation with Calisa about cheese reveals a gentle and slightly goofy nature that he keeps suppressed under the weight of his responsibilities. As he comes to trust Calisa, his vulnerability emerges. He shares the painful story of his father’s disappearance, his own failed attempts to find him, and his profound loneliness, confessing, “It’s been just me for a long time” (159). His relationship with Calisa is a source of renewal for him, allowing him to share his burdens and rediscover hope. He’s a supportive partner, respecting Calisa’s abilities and encouraging her even when he’s afraid for her safety. He represents the found family that Calisa builds, and in turn, she becomes the partner he needs to face the inn’s future.

Jack adds realism to the inn’s magic. While he’s a competent handyman, able to fix a porch, repair a roof, or unclog a toilet, he possesses no magical ability himself. His skills are essential to the inn’s physical survival, representing the mundane work required to sustain a healing place. However, he’s powerless to fix the inn’s core problem: the failing portals. His partnership with Calisa creates a necessary synergy between the magical and the practical. While Calisa revives the inn’s magic, Jack restores its physical structure, demonstrating that both are required for the Faraway Inn to thrive. His journey is one of learning to accept help and realizing that he doesn’t have to carry his burdens alone.

Auntie Zee is the formidable 82-year-old innkeeper and a round character who functions as both an initial antagonist and an eventual mentor. As a powerful traveler cat witch, she’s the magical anchor of the Faraway Inn, but her abilities are waning with age. Her physical appearance, resembling a “walnut,” and the inn’s state of disrepair are external manifestations of her internal exhaustion, wounded pride, and despair. Her initial hostility toward Calisa stems from resistance to change and fear of disappointment. She has resigned herself to the inn’s failure, believing it’s pointless to fight the inevitable. Her pessimism is a defense mechanism; having lost her family connection with Calisa’s mother Kate and watched her inn decline, she pushes others away to avoid further pain.

Despite her gruff and unwelcoming exterior, Zee is deeply protective of the inn and its purpose. She establishes that her bed-and-breakfast “has always been a place for people who needed to escape” (20), revealing a core mission of providing sanctuary that belies her gruff behavior. Her strict rules against asking questions and opening doors are not arbitrary but are measures to protect her guests’ privacy and safety. Her identity as the cat, Portia, is the novel’s most significant reveal, explaining her mysterious disappearances and her constant, silent observation of the inn’s happenings. The transformation is a magical healing process that also renders her vulnerable, symbolizing her diminished power and her need for help, even if she’s unable to ask for it.

Ultimately, Zee represents the past and the struggle to accept a changing future. She has carried the burden of the inn alone for decades and is too proud and tired to imagine another way. Calisa’s arrival forces her to confront her own limitations and the possibility of a different future for the inn. While she’s a largely static character in her core personality, her relationship with Calisa evolves from rejection to a grudging respect and finally to mentorship. By accepting Calisa as her heir, she ensures that her life’s work will continue, finally embracing the help she desperately needs and healing the familial rift that contributed to her isolation.

Mulligan is a recurring guest at the inn, a supporting character whose dramatic and poetic nature provides both comic relief and emotional depth. A thin man with a theatrical flair, he’s first introduced while making a “potion for the wounded heart” (48), which he reveals is simply hot chocolate. Mulligan’s personal quest is to reverse a spell that turned his beloved partner, Zef, into a stone gargoyle. His persistent, often-failing attempts to restore Zef mirror Calisa’s own process of recovering from heartbreak. He becomes one of Calisa’s first allies, offering her a space to speak about her pain without judgment and validating her feelings of loss. His sorrow is profound, yet he never gives up hope, embodying a resilience that inspires Calisa.

Kendra is an imposing and elegant guest revealed to be a sea witch from the Eastern Seaboard. She’s initially critical of Calisa and the inn’s state of decline, valuing the bed-and-breakfast as her one “restorative retreat” from the immense pressures of her duties. Her imperious demeanor and sharp demands underscore the high expectations of the inn’s otherworldly clientele. Kendra’s character serves a crucial plot function when her portal to the ocean fails, creating a crisis that forces Calisa and Jack to confront the true extent of the inn’s magical decay. This emergency directly leads Calisa to discover and embrace her own portal-opening abilities. Kendra represents the vital importance of the inn as a sanctuary; without it, beings with immense responsibilities have nowhere to rest and recover, with potentially disastrous consequences for their own realms.

Melidor is a young dryad guest who is hiding from the familial and cultural pressure to plant her seedlings and embrace adulthood. Her deep connection with nature is so profound that she can hear plants scream and communicate with animals like beavers. Her behavior is initially perceived as erratic, as when she angrily confronts Calisa and Jack for “hurting” the plants while gardening. However, she quickly proves to be a gentle soul who simply needs space to grow at her own pace. Calisa’s empathetic advice helps Melidor find the confidence to make her own choices, reflecting the theme of The Restorative Nature of Retreat Spaces. Melidor’s decision to plant her baby dryad seedlings at the inn symbolizes its role as a nurturing place for new beginnings, reinforcing its identity as a sanctuary for growth and life.

Thomas is Jack’s father and the inn’s original groundskeeper, a character whose presence is defined by his three-year absence. He disappeared after venturing through a portal to find a “remedy” to save the inn’s decaying magic, and his presumed loss is the source of Jack’s deepest anxieties and motivations. His unexpected return, facilitated by Calisa’s newfound power, is a pivotal moment that brings profound relief and joy. Thomas provides crucial exposition about the nature of traveler-cat magic and the dangers of its overuse, confirming that Auntie Zee is in peril. He’s a character defined by his love for his son, his loyalty to Zee, and his dedication to the inn.

Steve is a small dragon, or “draco minor,” who becomes Calisa’s loyal animal companion. Initially the “unwanted companion” of Kendra, he’s abandoned at the inn and quickly forms a bond with Calisa after she treats him with kindness. His presence is one of the first overt signs of magic that Calisa accepts without question. Steve’s physical development from a winged lizard into a creature who can breathe fire parallels Calisa’s own magical awakening. He functions as a silent, comforting presence and a surprising protector, embodying the unexpected and wondrous aspects of the Faraway Inn that Calisa comes to love.