After her conversation with Kaalim, Catrin had decided she truly needed to prove she was meant to be the leader of the Parabolti. She had doubled her training time, ensuring she was practicing along side the other women as well as taking time on her own. If she was to lead them, she had to be the best and had to be able to prove it.

Little did she know that today, she would also stumble across her sister in the training grounds. Catrin slowed to a stop, resting a hand on the sword at her hip while she silently watched Miriel fight her invisible foe. She supposed she should give her sister credit for taking initiative, but she couldn't help but see all the ways that needed improvement.

Finally stepping forward, she called out across the space, "Your stance is weak. Widen it and bend your knees a bit more to help your balance."

Striding forward across the small training area, Catrin did a small turn around Miriel, eyeing her stance. After a moment she gave a small nod, "That'll do for now."

Pulling her own sword from it's place on her hip, she raised it against Miriel's, the metal making a ringing sound as it slid together. "I'm surprised you're actually out here on your own."

Catrin noted how Miriel seemed to grow nervous when she raised her blade to her sister's, and she scowled. If the idea of sparring with her sister made her nervous, how could she ever face a real enemy? And Catrin was by no means considered a good warrior yet. She had picked up a sword for the first time when all the others had. She had simply pushed herself harder than the rest.

Dragging her blade back across Miriel's, she took a step to the side and raised her sword, aiming for a swing at Miriel's shoulder. "You can't practice every day? Is that what you'll tell an enemy on the battle field before they kill you?" Catrin stepped into the swing, her irritation driving her a bit. "You can find other women who chose not to join us to help you care for your home and child."

Catrin ground her teeth together, glad that Miriel was at least parrying her swings but annoyed with her answers. She swung her sword low, bringing it up in an undercut.

"There are plenty of women to take care of your children during the day so that you may train, and then you can run home and be a wife at night and cook your husband his dinner." She paused in her speaking, taking a step back if Miriel had blocked her and raising her sword defensively, waiting for Miriel to attack.

Catrin was staring at her sister from under her eyelashes, seeing the emotional change take her over. Good. Anger would give her a reason to fight. And fight she did, as she finally became the aggressor and stepped after Catrin. She parried the swing Miriel sent at her and took another step back, still remaining on the defensive.

"I didn't choose anything different. We chose the same thing. I'm only pointing out that you're not putting effort into it. Perhaps you were hoping for some easy glory?"

She continued to meet her sister's blows, wondering when Miriel would realize that she was being the warrior in this instance. Still, the expletive certainly caught her off guard. Perhaps she was pushing her too much.

Except her words also sparked Catrin's anger, "Us. The Parabolti. We decided to go against what we were taught our whole lives. We decided to do more. To be more than just a means to repopulate the kingdom. To be equals with the men, as women are in other kingdoms." Now she pushed back, meeting her sister equally instead of being on the defensive.

Perhaps she had misunderstood her sister originally, but she was not about to apologize for that. Miriel was still fighting back with all her strength, and that was what Catrin wanted to see from her. She wanted to see her fight and show her aggressive side.

She danced back a bit from Miriel's advance, and was about to dip to the side for a feint when Miriel's words hit her like a slap to the face. A breath hissed between her teeth and instead she charged forward, clashing her blade against her sister's and pushing forward until their faces were fairly close together.

"You of all people should know that I do not think less of you for bringing new life to the tribe. You should know I do not think less of women who bare children," she hissed through her teeth, anger and perhaps even a bit of hurt flashing in her eyes. She shoved away from her sister, pausing only a few steps away from her.