Astraea familia home, Ais had grown instantly attached to Gamelia, they'd started training in the ways of spirit magic. This led Ais to discover more control of her own abilities than she thought possible.
"Big Sister? I'm confused, why does it feel so much easier to use my magic?" Ais asked, snuggling up to Gamelia for their mandatory break.
"Because, you're no longer suppressing who, and what you are." Gamelia answered, smiled at Ais' cute expression, running her fingers through the golden hair. "Before, you were casting magic thinking you were only human, resisting your natural flow. Now, you are casting as a half spirit, in short, you're no longer fighting yourself, allowing you to bring out more power."
"Is it really that simple?" Ais asked, blinking confusedly.
"Yes, it is." Gamelia nodded. "The only thing one has to do to grow stronger, is to believe in themselves, and who they actually are. For instance, Riveria, she would be stronger if she stopped fighting her identity as the elven princess. Not that she needs to abandon her pursuit of adventure, only that she shouldn't abandon who she is in the process." She continued.
"I think I understand?" Ais said, tilting her head to the side.
Bell, Tiona, Tione, and Zaria came over.
"Hey there, Ais! Wanna come train with us?" Bell asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, big brother is going to give us a special lesson!" Zaria beamed.
"Huh?" Ais blinked, and turned to face Gamelia as if asking if it was okay.
Gamelia giggled, and nodded with a smile. "Go for it Ais."
Ais smiled, and jumped down from Gamelia's lap. "Alright. I wonder what my big brother will be teaching?" She said, and then the five kids ran off to the training grounds where Ceraunius was waiting for them with a chuckle.
"Big brother, what are we going to learn today?" Tione asked, her mood towards the ridiculously strong man having improved her overall mood.
"Will it be how to get bigger boobs?" Tiona asked, with a large grinning smile, and a hand raised in the air.
"Why would that be what we learn?" Ais asked, tilting her head.
Ceraunius couldn't help but chuckle. "Nope, we aren't learning that today. Besides, Gamelia is the best teacher for things like that." He shrugged. "I only know that eating good healthy food is key." He chuckled.
"So what are we going to learn today?" Tione asked again, while Tiona dejectedly patted her chest with a pout.
"The secret to this training is actually Ais. She's going to give all four of you a boost using her wind magic." Ceraunius said, holding up a finger.
"Huh? So we're getting a spirit magic boost!" Zaria beamed.
"That's awesome! I can't wait to feel it. I bet it'll be like a cool breeze on a nice summer day!" Bell said, acting all poetic, clearly because he was feeling a sense of closeness to Ais for some reason.
"That's right…" Ceraunius smiled.
"Uhm, big brother? I don't know how to do that?" Ais said, squirming nervously.
"No worries, you're about to learn how right now." He smiled, giving Ais a few pats on the head. "Here, you'll never have to go it alone." He added… "That goes for all of you. My wife and I will never leave any of you behind."
And so, with that, Ceraunius began a simple explanation of how to use spirit magic to buff other people. Providing examples with the aid of willing participants from the hot, sweaty, and tuckered out sisters who'd just finished their training prior.
Ais watched, paying attention, and making a few attempts at it herself. However, she kept buffing herself, and no one else. This went on for half an hour before… During one of the failures, Ais had curled up inside her wind, pouting a little because she couldn't get it to work, but the four other kids, worried about what to do, went to hug her.
The result of this would normally be them being flung out, however, the wind didn't attack them, instead it insisted on flowing out and around. Ceraunius smirked, having sensed the change. "Ais, stand up, and buff your friends. Share with them the blessings of the wind. The breeze which envelopes them now…"
Ais stopped pouting and stood up, despite the added weight. "I think I get it now?" She said, still a slight bit confused on how to do it.
"Really?" Tiona asked with a big smile, and wide open eyes, excited to see it work.
"Won't know… No, I can do it! I want to see my mommy again. I'll show her I have my own friends too!" Ais said, getting a burst of inspiration.
Astraea, Alise, and Kaguya returned, remaining quiet to see Ais' resolve get results. Astraea silently sat down next to a rather excited Gamelia. Alise and Kaguya simply watched.
Bell, Tiona, Tione, and Zaria stepped back for a moment, and Ais focused. The hardest part about spirit magic is that it requires a perfect visualization, there's no chants, only vision. Chanting actually restricts the flow of spirit magic, the only known exceptions are Gamelia and Ceraunius who can chant to amplify their magic but it requires more training and a really strong body, so she's relearning everything, making movements with her arms, and whole body to really focus and then… She did it.
First, a barrier of wind appeared around Ais' body, once it was fully established, it stretched up, and spread out into four different breezes, each landing on one of her new friends, creating a wind barrier around each of them, and herself.
Ceraunius clapped, and so did everyone else, this caused Ais to blush quite a bit, but none more than Bell's comment. "This is what it feels like? It's like being in a pile of hugs!" He grinned, jumping up and down.
"Hehehe, with this I think I could kill a minotaur!" Zaria giggled, spinning around with a curtsy, and a grin.
"Oh wow! It's soo cool!" Tiona cheered, pumping her fists.
"Right! It even wraps around my boobs just right." Tione pointed out, much to Tiona's dismay.
"Awe, why!? I want boobs too!" Tiona complained.
Ceraunius let out a spit take into his fist. "Alright, now come at me. You'll be learning how to fight while buffed. Once done, I expect you to answer why this is important." He chuckled. "But first thing's first, show me what you got."