I can see it. There's enough of a difference between them that it kind of makes sense for them to have been rivals as students, especially when the question of whether either of them would be picked to become a Talwyn master was resolved. But once that particular hurdle was out of the way, and once they had worked with each other on an even footing for a while, I think it's equally natural for them to mellow out and not let the silly bickering of youth stand in the way of realizing that they make one heck of a team. Besides, I kind of get the impression that Masters like them are, intentionally or otherwise, a bit cloistered from the general population, so you'd kind of have to make friends with each other as that's who you interact with the most often. Though maybe I'm wrong about that. Either way, though, it is nice to see them getting along!

As younger women, Isabelle was definitely more ambitious and more focused than she is in later years when she mellows a good bit and comes to see the wisdom in Lauren's approach. When they're both competing for effectively the same spot no doubt she pictures her own methods as superior and her relationship with Lauren is as a competitor, not someone to work alongside. When they are forced to rely on each other both come to realize there are times when you need a scalpel and times when you need a hammer, and together they can accomplish more than either by themselves.

No doubt they are kept busy by their duties. They interact a lot with their students, the military, and the president, but it is nice for them to just be two people with each other.

amazing how two people er animals start out as rivals but eventually become friends

For a while I hadn't been certain what side Isabelle would end up on (when I was selecting who would be with the antagonist and who would not) but Isabelle, her role definitely evolved more than most of the others, I think.

Isabelle looks like she would be a good one

It would seem my muse agreed with you. ;)

yaay :3

That's so cute.

Thanks! I see you have an icon now!

Indeed. You like?

I do!

Thanks.

I can tell exactly what they are discussing just by looking at this one picture:
"Man, Jam is such a great monkey. I'd sure love to swap bodies with him!"
"Same!"

Oh you. :)

Rivals don't necessarily need to be 'enemies.' Many times rivals int he arena are best friends in the real world... so makes perfect sense

Oh yeah, just like antagonist doesn't necessarily mean 'bad guy'. It just means they oppose the hero. In their case, they're probably always going to compete at least a little, but they come to realize how much the other makes sense as they work together.

Nice one here.

Thanks!

Just goes to show that, sometimes, the difference between a rival and a friend is just a bit of time. And perhaps a touch of maturity. I dunno how much time is supposed to have passed between now and the training montage in the comics you've posted, but I kinda get the impression from some of your other art and things that enough time has passed for the two of them to kinda mellow out and go from raw students to the top of their respective disciplines. Just mostly repeating what has been said already, I think, but it's a testament to their strengths as characters and the strengths of the world you've built that there's room for so much personal growth for both of them.

I also really like that Isabelle's mastery over ice is contrasted by the fact that, once you get past her competitive nature, she seems a very warm and caring gal. It's kinda nice to see a character whose personality isn't dominated by the tropes associated with the elemental magic they work.

No doubt this is at least a year later, but it could take place anytime thereafter. For certain between then and now they've been through a lot, and they've been forged in the fires of responsibility, but here they are now. I've always been a fan of worlds that evolve with the characters and vice versa. People don't live in a vacuum so neither should our stories.

Yeah, a lot of folks tend to go for the 'ice queen' mentality, but Isabelle while she does follow the trope slightly being an ice related species, her personality pretty much came about as I wrote the short stories which will consist of the first and second collection, and she came to be much more drawing from the strength of ice rather than its coldness.