Jamil and Leona

Jamil and Leona overlap at the conclusion of Book 2, where Jamil joins Trey and Ruggie’s other victims in asking Crowley to allow Savanaclaw to participate in the tournament. When Crowley says, “Are you saying…you wish to forgive their crimes?,” it is Jamil who responds, “No. That’s the last thing we want.”

When Leona says, “I wouldn’t even need to be awake to handle this sorry pack of wounded herbivores” Jamil replies, “Wow. Now THAT is audacious.”

When Leona is not pleased by Jamil’s plan for Fairy Gala, Jamil reminds him of how it is that Crowley pressured him into agreeing in the first place to force his participation (Jamil: “You’re free to say no, but I think you’re the one with the most to lose if we don’t succeed.” – Leona: “The headmage just HAD to go and open his big mouth”).

After Ortho has Leona play a video game that is popular with housecats and literal lions Idia and Vil begin to tease him while Jamil silently reflects, “They close in like sharks smelling blood in the water,” but Jamil himself does not hold back from insulting Leona later on in Tartarus, commenting on how a mistaken password of “dour lion” was “so spot on” (Leona: Everyone’s a comedian, huh?”), referencing Idia and Vil “having a field day at (his) expense…” and later saying, “I’ve always judged those around me as stupid, incompetent, lazy, or just plain good-for-nothing,” to which Leona responds, “Wonder who that last one was aimed at.”

Despite being so mindful of hierarchy Jamil also insults Leona before, during, and after Fairy Gala (“I question if the two of us are good enough to cover how bad Leona is” – “Nobody would guess you just barely learned how to walk properly on two legs”), and when Sally refers to Leona as “a well-mannered young gentleman” he responds, “Are we talking about the same person?”

In an early vignette Jamil notices Leona in the school cafeteria and silently reflects, “From what I hear, he’s a prince of some kingdom or another. He certainly acts the part of one of those indolent, haughty royals.”

Apparently able to deduce that Jamil is thinking unpleasant thoughts about him based on his facial expression alone Leona confronts Jamil directly and says he cannot imagine what Kalim is thinking by keeping Kamil nearby: “He just doesn’t get that any one of these nights could be his last, huh?”

Jamil responds, “You think I would hurt Kalim? Outrageous! I have served him loyally since we were children, and not once has my mind wandered to such heinous deeds,” to which Leona replies, “Uh-huh. You keep tellin’ yourself that.”

When the group at STYX splits into three teams Jamil and Azul are left to choose between Riddle and Leona. Leona says, “Snakes and octopuses are both schemers that use others as a shield when push comes to shove. I don’t care who comes with me. Just pick someone.” Azul selects Riddle, leaving Leona for an unamused-looking Jamil.

Their descent begins with Leona throwing one of Jamil’s hair accessories into Tartarus to check the depth, but after Jamil asks, “Was it really necessary to use one of MY belongings for that?,” and Leona responds, “No need to whine about it” Jamil shifts his tone, replying, “Me, whine? Oh, I wouldn’t dream of doing that. It’s an honor to be of service to you” (Leona: “I don’t buy that shady smile for a second”).

Jamil repeatedly tries to sacrifice his own safety to protect Leona from threats (real or imagined), insisting on playing a video game instead of Leona because the controller could be “rigged to electrify anyone who touches it.” 

When Leona comments on the cold Jamil offers to make “magical adjustments” to his jacket and give it to Leona, and when Leona asks why Jamil insists on scoping out a dangerous area alone Jamil explains, “You’re the second prince of the Sunset Savanna and a housewarden. It only makes sense that I should take point. Besides, I’m much quicker on my feet—oh, not that I’m suggesting you’re slow, of course. I’m worried, okay? I wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility if anything happened to you…”

Leona is not amused as Jamil continues to physically protect him from harm but Jamil declares, “He’ll be in for a very rude awakening if he keeps acting like this. And then he’ll rue the day he ignored my advice.”

Jamil continues to sacrifice his own safety to protect Leona, even though he acknowledges himself, “I can’t keep burning through my magic reserves like this.” Leona acts on his own regardless, opening cages despite Jamil’s repeated demands, with Jamil saying, “There’s no telling what could happen to you.”

When Leona saves Jamil from a hidden Phantom Jamil reluctantly admits, “No matter how much of a hassle this is, it’s still tactically sound to keep working with Leona. I’ll just have to swallow my pride and deal with it.”

When Leona stays behind to fend off the Ice Titan and Jamil goes to find the Thunder Spear on his own he seems to come close to registering himself for the weapon, but does ultimately choose to fetch Leona as he had been bade. 

Afterwards Jamil offers to carry the spear on Leona’s behalf and argues when Leona tells him no, finally compromising Leona’s patience. When they are attacked by Phantoms that Jamil blames on Leona (“Maybe if you hadn’t shouted just now…”) Leona tells Jamil that he is on his own, only to then immediately save Jamil when the Phantoms target an injury Jamil incurred from protecting Leona earlier on.

Jamil says he will “formulate a plan to ensure (he’s) more useful next time” and Leona calls him out for being pushy rather than thoughtful or careful, for looking down on others and making excuses for himself. Jamil struggles to respond at first, but later Leona goads him into losing his patience, saying, “What do you know about me?,” and Leona guesses, “You think nobody gives you credit because of Kalim?”

Jamil gives a vague confirmation (“…I’m vice housewarden. Kalim, such as he is, was made housewarden. That’s proof enough”), and Leona points out that for all that Kalim is “not very bright or that adept with magic,” he has charisma that Jamil lacks in the form of his family fortune, a power “more tangible than magic” with “no uncertain or ambiguous factors,” telling Jamil, “There’s nothin’ more embarrassing than someone who makes excuses after waiting so long their prey gets away.”

Jamil volunteers to “walk away right now” if Leona sees him as a burden and Leona responds, “Seriously? Why you gotta swing from one extreme to the next? Were you repressed growin’ up or something? You can do better than that. Just get an accurate read on your own abilities, and figure out the best course of action.”

Leona again cautions Jamil for being arrogant and resigning himself to his fate, giving Jamil a lot to think about (“Is he right about me…?”), possibly because Leona describing Jamil as arrogant and pushy and Jamil later questioning if he has made Leona’s life more difficult is a parallel to Kalim and Jamil himself, with Kalim being arrogant, pushy, and making Jamil’s life more difficult by trying to do what he thinks is right contributing to the Jamil’s difficulty with handling him, much as Leona is forced to handle the arrogant, pushy Jamil doing what he thinks is right in Tartarus.

Later, Leona comments on how a tired Jamil is no longer hiding his emotions, which he says is “a lot better than (Jamil’s) usual sycophantic attitude,” an opinion about Jamil that he seems to share with Azul.

After Jamil seems to start to apologize for making things more difficult for Leona, Leona responds, “You can’t let some random quip destroy your self-esteem. You know better than that. I can’t tell if he’s thick-skinned or just the opposite. Man, what a pain…”

Najma comments on this as well, telling Jamil, “You can take silly things ways too seriously sometimes, and you can be so stubborn.”

Jamil admits to himself that Leona has “got more than magical talent, too. He also has a vast breadth of knowledge and calm judgment,” and wonders, “I thought I could protect this guy?”

Having accepted that he was wrong about Leona, Jamil goes to him and apologizes, saying he has been looking down on others when he has yet to catch up to his peers. “Which means…I have more room to grow than anyone else, right?” (Leona: “Listen to you!” – Jamil: “Didn’t you say shamelessness was a strength?” – Leona: “Hey, I’m into it.”)

Leona teases Jamil by giving him orders as though to an underling or servant until Jamil finally stands up for himself. Leona says, “I figured you wouldn’t mind me bossin’ you around, seein’ as you’re actin’ so meek an’ all,” even following with, “You sure you wanna turn me down? Joining me could have its benefits,” as though investing Jamil to his side much as we have seen done by Azul. 

Similarly to his responses to Azul’s invitations Jamil says, “I reject your offer in the strongest possible terms!,” and, “I’m not about to accept a life spent attending to someone else. I never have, and I never will!”

In Book 7 Leona references their adventure in Tartarus together, saying that Jamil has made some “impressive progress,” and, “Guess you’re not stupid enough to repeat the same mistake. Good to know.” Jamil responds, “It’s called personal growth. I’d appreciate if you didn’t look down on me just because I’m an underclassman. I’ll show you what I can really do!”

During the Nightmare Before Christmas event Jamil reveals he had been watching Sebek’s confrontation with Skully from afar without choosing to intervene. When Sebek says, “You could have stepped in to help me” Jamil responds, “I saw Leona already en route and figured it’d be fine to leave that part to him.” Leona replies, “Yeah, you guys all give me extra work.”

When Sebek declares that he deserves the credit for Skully’s capture, Jamil and Leona come together to tease Sebek about doing nothing but being rescued. Leona says, “I suppose I could always tell Malleus about the pitiful way he was rollin’ around when he was a pumpkin,” and Jamil agrees with, “Now that’s an excellent idea.”

When Skully becomes upset Leona says, “Wow, Jamil, I think you took the bullying a bit too far.” Jamil replies, “It’s not like YOU weren’t giving the guy a hard time either!”

Leona and Jamil seem to share equally unflattering opinions about RSA, with Jamil saying, “I could see someone from that school going, ‘Ooh, those pretty pens you guys carry have a magestone on them?’,” and Leona responding, “Just imagining it is making me annoyed.”

Leona and Jamil come together at the end of the event to confront Sebek about his lack of gratitude for their involvement, goading Sebek into saying “…you have my thanks” in small font. They also both tease Sebek about looking for dependable with Zero and finally looking like he belongs in his clothes, to which Sebek responds, “These two make everything so difficult…”

When Leona unilaterally decides that Kalim will be joining the tournament of the Cloudcalling event Vil asks, “But is Kalim our best choice?,” and Leona responds, “It’s better than forfeiting. If we knew where Jamil was, that’d be one thing. But we don’t. Kalim is our only option.”

Leona then tells Kalim to keep the situation a secret from everyone and “especially Jamil,” and Vil observes, “…lf Jamil were to find out, he’d definitely put a stop to this.” Lilia adds, “He might faint when he sees Kalim in the ring…”

Kalim says he “can’t wait to show Jamil” his outfit for the tournament and Leona says, “You can show him after the tournament. More time then. If you like, you can even take it back to Night Raven College. Jamil will love that.” Vil says, “I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed to have been kept out of the loop” and Lilia adds, “Poor Jamil. He’ll be gritting his teeth while Kalim brags.”

At dinner Leona refuses to let Kalim eat a grilled skewer of shrimp the same way that Grim does (“He ate it shells and all”), saying, “Think of poor Jamil.”

Leona similarly vetoes Kalim’s decision to participate in a physically intensive game at Playfulland, saying, “If you hurt your hand, SOME people’d never let me hear the end of it,” possibly in reference to Jamil.

At the end of the Cloudcalling event Jamil immediately identifies Leona as the person who swore Kalim to secrecy, When Leona says that Jamil would make a great player in the tournament Jami responds, “I NEVER want to visit Sunset Savanna again.”