Ripley loved the Santa Ana winds – a force of nature so confused you realized the universe didn’t get everything right either. She loved the heat that floated off something that should have been cold.

Rory earned perfect marks in all his Pride classes – stalking, jaw strength, pouncing, sprints through tall grass; all the best qualifications to be king of the lions and master of the hunt. But he could never pass the art of camouflage.

Wally was the only flamingo among his flamingo friends who turned green instead of pink when sunburnt. His mother told him he was special, but even that falsehood couldn’t undo the damage of childhood teasing.