Lilie & Pike

Lilie and Pike are Ahiru's friends at the girls' room and at ballet school. 

Individually, Pike and Lilie fulfill the function of friendship in different, but complementary ways.  Pike takes a tasking hand to Ahiru and demands consistently that she improve herself whereas Lilie accepts Ahiru the way she is and comforts her in her flaws.   As a pair, they work together to encourage Ahiru to do her best and to be herself, but also set her up to see her fall.  Lilie in particular find Ahiru's cluelessness adorable and tends to rejoice in--or push her into doing--anything that will make Ahiru uncomfortable.

Fortunately or unfortunately, neither Pike's admonishment nor Lilie's coddling have much of an effect on Ahiru.  Free-spirited and rarely even listening, Ahiru does everything her own way.  She appreciates her friends the most when they stand with her through something that is difficult, such as her demotion to the probationary class, but unfortunately both Pike and Lilie tend to vanish during the most dire situations when Ahiru looks for their support.

In their defense, Ahiru is not much of a communicator.  Though Ahiru is there to help her friends in their time of need and values their companionship, she is also in the habit of thinking alone and keeping her problems to herself.  Meanwhile, Lilie and Pike jump to the wrong conclusions about what Ahiru's problems actually are and therefore tend to comfort her in a way that helps their own self-esteem more than Ahiru's.

Interestingly, at the beginning of the series, Lilie takes the limelight for sheer energy, good looks, and comedic effect.  She glows in a social situations, particularly outdoors, but becomes a little sinister as her love of drama--especially at the expense of her friends--manifests itself.  Early in the second arc, Pike manages to dominate an entire episode, and--despite first impressions--is revealed to be somewhat thoughtful and arguably prettier than Lilie.

What practical or metaphorical purpose to these characters serve is left for viewers to decide.