She snatched her hand away when he reached for it, curling her lip at him in distaste. “Go back to the cabin boys, Etho. We don’t want you here. You got that? We don’t want you.”

He shrunk back, hurt. Those soft vulpine ears pressed against his white hair, and his two-toned eyes met hers. Maybe he saw something there that contradicted the hateful words coming from her mouth. Maybe he was just stupid. Both were equally likely. “There’s really nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“No, Etho, I-”

“Nothing at all?”

--

After Etho fails the Villain's loyalty test, he pleads for Gem's forgiveness.

Missa couldn’t remember a time where Philza had been so clingy before. He was typically relatively stoic, hands clasped by his middle and kept to himself. Now, though, it seemed as though he was taking every opportunity to slip his clawed hands up Missa’s arms, hold him close, ruffle his hair. Not that he was complaining – Missa would take whatever he could get before Philza eventually decided it was crossing the boundary of ‘platonic’.

Now, it was language class, and Missa was seriously starting to wonder if Philza knew what ‘platonic’ even meant.

-- After Bagi unknowingly suggests that Missa goes on a date with Antoine, Philza is a lot clingier than usual. Missa wonders whether 'platonic' is an entirely accurate description of their relationship.

“Why does it feel like everywhere you go, you spawn some kind of competition?” Pearl said, her tone teasing but light, her grin creeping over her face. Mumbo’s eyes widened minutely, shifting uncomfortably and pulling at where his Taskbook clasped to his belt. Oh, poor guy couldn’t be less subtle if he tried. Feeling ever-benevolent, Pearl decided not to pry on that particular sore spot. “Do you have something to prove, Mumbo?”

Mumbo spluttered, shaking his head frantically and fixing his tie. “No! Of course not!” he looked around shiftily, pointedly avoiding Pearl’s dark eyes. “I think we should change the subject.”

After the tower-off, Pearl is determined to find out why Mumbo seems to spark a competition wherever he goes. She initiates a contest of willpower that poor Mumbo would never be able to win.