Damien hanging on to Gerald's arm like the figurative damsel in distress is something of a giveaway, that's for sure. And all those thoughts about how comforting his presence is, even if he's a bit chilly... People really can't blame us for seeing slash!

What I like about Ciani is that she manages to be a strong character even though she's been stripped of her superpower throughout. This is a woman who's been weakened, enough to make her companions cringe every time they look at her. And yet she's the one who manages to find simple but effective solutions they couldn't have thought of. It would have been so easy to make her a simpering girl in need of propping up at every turn, but out of our foursome, she very often seems the most stable to me. It's like losing her adeptitude has just made her resort to common sense and it doesn't even make that much of a difference.

Maybe Hesseth is obeyed because this is her area of expertise? Dealing with smelly, weird humans isn't something any of the rakh seem comfortable with, so the others may defer to her because it means they won't have to bother?