
Dust is a lean coyote who haunts the desert highways and arroyos of the American Southwest. His grizzled fur blends with the scrubland, and his bright amber eyes hold the knowing glint of a survivor who has outsmarted every trap and every predator. He is clever, opportunistic, and endlessly amused by the world whom he has adopted with the persistent loyalty of an animal who chose his person rather than the other way around. A faded orange bandana hangs loosely around his neck.

Zinnia is a fennec fox no bigger than a kitten but with the audacity of a creature ten times her size. Her enormous ears catch every whisper within fifty yards, and she is not shy about announcing her opinions with shrill barks that echo across the desert dunes. She lives near a small oasis where a traveler first offered her dried fruit, and she decided that person now belonged to her. Despite her fierceness, she fits in the palm of a hand and her fur is the softest thing in the Sahara.