Devon Ortega

Devon is a large brown bear. He has a sturdy but average build, with his solid physique largely stemming from his species rather than lifestyle choices. He wears a backwards black baseball cap, a maroon Pueblo shirt, and blue jeans.

In contrast to Cam, Dev is much more outgoing and risk-taking. He can be curt, and sometimes oblivious, but is kind and respectful, and shows great concern for Cam's safety. Dev has a strong interest in the paranormal and a curiosity about the afterlife, and enjoys going on amateur ghost hunting investigations.

Devon may have Sonoran heritage. He was born in October of 1995 and grew up in a state that was prone to tornadoes; even as an adult he vividly remembers the sounds of the warning sirens from his childhood. Devon's father owns a cabin and often took Dev there to go ice fishing while he was growing up.

When Dev was twelve, a close relative of his named Lupita drowned in a manner that Dev blames himself for, which deeply affected both Devon and his mother. At some point, seemingly because of Lupita's death, Dev became fixated on the paranormal, and when he learned about Echo's long history of strange events it became a dream of his to someday visit. According to Cam, he wants very badly for ghosts to be real.

Dev dated girls in high school so people wouldn't get 'suspicious,' and seems to have only come to terms with his sexuality in college.

Devon majored in mechanical engineering at the University of Pueblo, and before graduation he secured a six-figure job with Fort Allen Robotics, the most valuable industrial automation company in the country. During college, Dev's friend Arturo aided in setting him up with Cam, in order to help Dev get over being dumped by his first boyfriend, a fox named Jesús. During their first dates, Dev tried to impress Cam with his advanced coursework, which embarrasses him in hindsight, but the two appear to have hit it off quickly.

He and Cameron live in Fort Allen, but Devon is anticipating that his job will soon transfer him to Bonneville City. Dev initially planned to visit Echo in 2019 with a friend named Larry, but it fell through, which led to him proposing that Cam come instead to try and sense the town's ghosts.

In the days before leaving for Echo, Dev downplays his desire to look for supernatural phenomena in the town, and for Cam's sake he attempts to make their upcoming trip feel more like a fun vacation.

Dev and Cam survive, albeit not without lingering mental and physical wounds. Cam is able to retain some latent psychic ability to detect malevolent presences, and at one point while they are visiting Dev's family home after their ordeal he senses something under the back porch. Dev confirms that strange sightings have taken place there throughout his life, but also tells Cam to try and ignore it, and although he shows a glint of his old interest in the paranormal it is clear he wants the remnants of their time in Echo to go away like it never happened. Dev is wracked by nightmares of "guns, chains, and death" and frequently awakens panicked, and residual thoughts of Brian still make him angry.

Dev tries to dissuade Cam from resuming his old job remotely but Cam insists in order to restore some normality to his life, only to then have a breakdown after a demeaning interaction with a customer. Cam is diagnosed with schizophrenia, likely partly as a result of his trauma and drug use in Echo, and Dev helps him switch psychiatrists after his first round of antipsychotic treatment causes brutal side effects. Dev also supervises Cam while he takes his medication; they two agree that Dev should do it for at least a year but Cam seems to resent this, leading to an argument in October 2020. In a reversal of his former stance on psychology, Dev tries to remain optimistic and supportive about Cam's treatment, while acknowledging the potential for him to continue relapsing, but Cam snaps back with angry hopelessness. Their fight gradually deescalates from bitterness to sadness and Dev comforts Cam while steadfastly reassuring him, and they realize with wan humor that they both forgot Dev's birthday the previous week. Dev tells himself that the difficulty of Cam's situation more than justifies his lashing out, and he empathizes with Cam despite feeling like he is watching his life fall apart.

One day, while trying to write a letter to his employer to request a delay on his relocation, Dev suddenly finds himself about to pass out and short of breath. He considers alerting Cam but doesn't want to distress him, only for Cam to come in anyway and help Dev calm down from his likely panic attack. The incident inspires sympathy in Dev for Cam's panicked episodes and he considers therapy and medication, but finds he is scared to seek them out and tells himself the incident was not severe enough to justify such measures. Instead, he resolves to get himself and Cam gym memberships in the hopes that exercise will help.

In the summer of 2021, Dev and Cam visit Artie, and Dev explains that he is about a year into a Masters in Robotics at the University of Deseret. His long-held sense of imposter syndrome causes him some discomfort when Artie praises him for his effortless academic success, but he enjoys catching up with his old friend. He also tries to lighten the odd tension that seems to exist between Cam and Artie.

By March 2023, Dev and Cam are married. Many of Cam's symptoms have improved but both he and Dev are still afraid of his persistent anhedonia, and Dev is deeply saddened that Cam has abandoned his musical interests. With hindsight, Dev berates himself with the possibility that he could have stopped Cam's psychosis before it truly spiraled.

The two walk together through the snow one evening, bantering playfully, and Dev observes how odd it is that Cam is now usually the one cheering him up. Cam asks Dev if he ever found what he was looking for when they went to Echo; Dev replies that it doesn't matter, and that he needs to instead focus on what he has, and on Cam. He assures Cam that his waning cheerfulness is just a result of time passing and changing them, and although he bitterly regrets not making different choices in the past he promises that he will always be a home for Cameron.

Cam tries to offer Dev some hope by revealing that he senses a specific energy around places connected to spirituality, and Dev kisses him while feeling an overwhelming mix of grief and love. Dev resolves to start fresh and do things right, and whether there is something or nothing awaiting them, he feels content to wait with Cam until they find out.