The next morning, the familia awoke to Ceraunius training in the courtyard, Gamelia was there as well, though she was only doing enough training to keep herself in shape. She still couldn't tell if she was carrying yet, or not, so neither of them wanted to risk it.
Eventually, the whole familia had woken up, and gathered, wearing their training gear, prepared for their inevitably difficult training. Ceraunius smirked, noticing all of them were ready to get down to business.
"Alright, come. Show me how much you've improved since the last time my wife and I were here." He said dialing the pressure down a bit, just enough so the others wouldn't die, but still high enough this training would be enough to generate massive benefits for them in their falna.
"Let's go sisters, show our brother just how much we've grown." Alise said, drawing her real sword, knowing full well that no matter how hard she tried, injuring Ceraunius would be an impossible task. Fact is, the gorge between them was so vast that if Alise, who was now at Level 5, managed to even crack his skin it would be worthy for her to level up.
Ryuu on the other hand, heard those words and immediately blushed red as could be. "Wait, what do you mean, how we've grown?!" She asked in her high pitched voice.
"Get over yourself, pervy elf." Kaguya teased and then went in to fight as well, also being a level 5 now, she needed a real beast to push her to really stretch the limits of her new found power. "This is great, Brother. I'd been feeling off ever since I leveled up this time." She said, using her 5 slash technique, which ultimately did nothing, even in spite of Ceraunius not even blocking. "Against you I can really push myself."
"Hey! No fair, I wanted to be the one to hit him first!" Iska complained, running in.
"Let's go!" Tiona said running in as well.
"A strong guy… Let's see how strong." Tione said.
Three amazoness joined the fray, adding to the complexity of the training match. However it wasn't yet over, there were still many other members having grown more serious. Eventually, all of the members were actively participating in the fight against Ceraunius. Even Gamelia was, though she was mostly sitting off to the side, spending some time with Astraea drinking tea… Despite that, she could still grant everyone else a substantial buff.
"They're a lot better than they were the last time we were here." Gamelia commented, with a warm smile on her face as a wellspring of hope began filling her heart, even more than she'd thought could be done before. "It's heart warming."
"My girls are great aren't they!? I love all of them dearly." Astraea smiled. "Thank you, Gamelia, for bringing those two cuties with you. They're so adorable."
"They're also quite capable." Gamelia answered Astraea's comments with a statement of praise. Then she started whispering into the wind, giving all of the familia pointers on the spot, when, and wherever needed. "I'd love to participate a little more now, but…"
"Don't worry about it Gamelia, we know you two want to have a baby over everything else." Astraea said, pulling Gamelia's head to rest in Astraea's lap. "But until then, at least let me spoil you." She said, stroking her fingers through Gamelia's hair.
Gamelia shifted, getting more comfortable on Astraea's thighs. "I'll eat it all up, I like being pampered." She then smirked. "You'll have to work hard though if you want to pamper me more than Ceraunius."
Astraea giggled, smiling. "I don't know if I can compete with him. I saw how much the two of you love each other when I made you my children. I will certainly try to." She explained. "By the way, when do you want me to update your levels?"
"Hmm? Oh that, in about a year or so. Even if we've earned the right, we still need some time to get used to it properly. Every time we level up… The spirit side of us grows as well, and that isn't easy to grow accustomed to. It might eventually cause us to lose the ability to have kids, and I don't want that. I want at least one boy and girl."
"Then I'll hold your level back until you're both ready. You're already quite a bit stronger than everyone else. Even if they picked up the pace…" Astraea started, then remembered some news. "I'll have to make sure all of you know about it, but Loki and Freya familia have started training together more often now."
"It doesn't matter what they do, they don't have what it takes to measure up to either of us, let alone both. And even in the event both of us are unable to help, my husband's bolts he gives out can one shot Ottar with ease." Gamelia explained. "Though, I get the sneaking suspicion that Alise will soon be strong enough to handle Ottar on her own. With both my husband, and I buffing her, she can definitely win."
"So what you're saying is that, there's a high potential for us to win against Freya familia even if neither of you actively participate in the battle?" Astraea asked, knowing that was the case from what she just heard, she just wanted to hear it.
"That's exactly right. Speaking of that, there's something we need to run by you. It has something to do with Loki familia's sword princess, Ais."
"The half spirit child?" Astraea asked. "What about her?"
"Aria, the Grand Wind Spirit, asked us to take care of her. I'd like to do just that." Gamelia said.
"A war game, with the Loki familia?" Astraea asked, then as she was looking at Gamelia's body a glow began. "On another note…"
"I'm pregnant, aren't I?" Gamelia asked, her eyes widening just as much as her smile.
"Yes, you're pregnant with your husband's child." Astraea giggled, rubbing Gamelia's head. "I'll see what can be done about Ais. We shouldn't just declare a war game though. That would be bullying, instead you and Ceraunius should show yourselves to her… She might even be feeling like something is drawing her already."
"I hope so, Aria was really worried about her daughter. I could feel the depth of love she had for her… It was both envious, and terrible. I was a little jealous… The love was just that deep. I can't help but respect Aria even more now."
"That's how it is, a parent's love for their child is unrivaled. You'll learn just how much, soon."
…