Imani had left her children at home. She was on her way to the river with some clothes, to wash them. She didn't feel like dragging a bucket of water back to the camp to wash them and it was warm enough to enjoy some sun on the riverbank.

The young mother put the basket of clothes doen and made sure the basket wouldn't fall over into the river. She didn't want the current to take her clothes. She needed every piece of clothing in the basket, especially the clothes for her children.

She had washed about half of the clothes when she noticed a woman on the other side of the river. Imani looked up, always aware of her surroundings, and smiled at the woman if she noticed Imani as well. She recognised the woman but didn't quite remember her name. She continued washing the clothing, but wouldn't be opposed to having a conversation.

Yrsa’s heard Imani approach the river before she saw her. She looked up from her own work—trying not to be too quick in doing so, no need to make anyone think she was doing anything bad—to see who it was across the river.

She certainly knew of her, but her name didn’t immediately appear. One word did surface in her head though: Parabolti. How was it that she could remember that about the woman and not also her name? Maybe it was the scandal of it all, or the allure of someone being a part of a warrior group made up of exclusively women. Although her father would never allow her to join, even if she had a strong desire to be a part of them, the group of warrior women had fascinated her.

She didn’t say anything to the other Coheedswoman, not right away. The woman seemed to be preoccupied with her laundry, and Yrsa was busy hiding the deadly berries she’d already picked in the bottom of her basket. When she was finished with that, she’d approach the river and return Imani’s smile. If the woman were a man, Yrsa would have tried to put distance between them, but there really was nothing to fear from another woman, “Hello,” she callout out loud enough to be heard over the trickling water. She eyed the pile of laundry at the woman’s side, “Would you like some help?” Yrsa was not ready to go home yet and it was the perfect excuse to stay out a little longer.

The both of them continued their work in silence for a little while longer. Imani was easy going and wouldn't bother someone else with a conversation if the person didn't feel like it. Besides, she had plenty of work with all these clothes. Especially Isiah knew exactly how to get them as dirty as possibly, and he was very good at staining his clothes with dirt that would barely come off, even if you rubbed really hard. But then she heard the other woman's voice, so she stopped scrubbing the clothes together and looked up with a soft smile. "Hello", she responded kindly. "I would love some help, but are you sure? I wouldn't want to burden you with my children's laundry."

If the woman decided she did want to help and came over, Imani would stand up straight and smile again. "I'm Imani", she said.

“I have some time to spare,” Yrsa assured the other woman as she found a spot in the river that was shallow enough to cross. It was warm enough that she’d gone barefoot, so she’ only needed to lift her skirt high enough to wade through. Once she was on the other side, she’d settle near Imani on the bank, and would wait for Imani to tell her what she wanted her to do before touching any of the laundry, “I’m Yrsa,” she said in return to Imani’s introduction, “You look very familiar,” she started, “I’m not sure where I’ve seen you though. My father doesn’t like to let me go too far from him lately.”

She watched the woman as she crossed the river, a bit anxious that the current would sweep her off her feet, but luckily she managed to cross with no issues.

"I'm giving all of it a good rinse", she explained as she picked up another item of clothing to submerge in the river. She looked up from her washing when the young woman spoke. Imani smiled. "Nice to meet you, Yrsa. I'm one of the Parabolti. Perhaps you've seen me train, or run after my children in town." She laughed softly.

It made her sad to hear the woman's father didn't let her out of his sight much. "Is he looking for a man for you?" she asked, because she was familiar with being kept close in case her father saw a potential suitor for her.

The Parabolti. Yrsa had heard of them, but had not yet met a woman of that scandalous grouping. Not being a warrior herself, she’d not looked into joining it—not that she’d dare. Her father would likely beat her black and blue or break her legs if she even tried to join, favorite daughter or not. She knew what her role was supposed to be, even if all of the men she’d been promised to had suddenly died before they could claim her.

“Your husband let you join the Parabolti?” She blurted, feeling thrilled to talk to someone brave enough to join, “I haven’t seen any of you train yet,” she tried to think if she’d seen her tending to her children, but could not recall if she had since it was a common enough site. It was surely how she’d seen her before though.

To the question on husbands, Yrsa nodded as she reached for some of the laundry, intending to help the woman with her task as they spoke. Her father would not abide a lazy child, “Oh yes. He’s been trying for a while to find me a husband…” she hesitated, but decided there was no harm in mentioning it, “He’s actually picked some already for me, but they all died before any of them could claim me.”

"They're not as scandalous as they once were", she replied, laughing a bit. Yrsa seemed young but apparently maintained an old-fashioned mindset. Kaalim and Nevermere had made it much easier for women to join the ranks of warriors. "But no, or yes, well." She shrugged. "My husband died in the war against Lorendale before the Parabolti existed. It has made it more difficult to find a new husband, but I don't mind." Imani smiled. At this point in time she wasn't engaged to Kaalim yet, but Kaalim didn't have a problem with her being a Parabolti either.

"I'm sorry to hear", she said before looking up at Yrsa. "Or happy for you." She winked playfully. Something told her Yrsa didn't want to get married just yet, but Imani's mind didn't go the route of suspecting Yrsa of having to do anything with the death of her men-to-be. It was Coheed. People died.

"You should come watch us train sometime!" She smiled again as she reached for another item of clothing.

It was difficult to say if she should express her condolences that her husband had died. She knew that some women felt some affection for their husband, while others held distain. It was such a way in her father’s household. Still, it wouldn’t do to say nothing. Regardless of how Imani felt about her dead husband, it was still unfortunate that she and her children were left behind, “I’m sorry that your husband died.”

Yrsa could not help but smile at Imani’s wink. Marriage was a complicated thing…or it could be, anyways. It was always desirable for the women to wed, but not every man was the type of person a woman may want to be wed to. Imani seemed to be very aware of that, and it made Yrsa like her more.

The invitation to watch a training session between the Parabola was…tempting. She’d seen her brothers train, but she’d never seen the women train. Would it look different, or similar she wondered?

“Could I?” She asked tentatively, “If I can be spared, I would love to take a peek,” she thought of chores the she could take with her. Mending, laundry folding…

She smiled at Yrsa when she offered her condolences. "Thank you", she said. The pain was still there, but it had gotten easier over the years to live without him. Still, she missed him.

She then suggested that Yrsa come and watch a training someday. "Of course, darling", she said with a smile. "You can watch, no need to participate. We won't even tell anyone you were there." She could sense that someone, probably Yrsa's father, didn't approve of her interacting with Parabolti, hence why she said she would keep it a secret. "Next time you see us, just come say hi."