A/N- So, this is sort of AUish and the idea actually came from a piece of fanart that I ran across a while back. Catria actually does have the option of becoming a Falcon Knight in FE11, so it's not unheard of for her to use a sword upon promotion, but her default promotion is Dracoknight, which gives her an axe and not a sword. So, for this story, she's becoming a Falcon Knight, which is why she's learning how to use a sword here.
Disclaimer- I do not own Fire Emblem or anything having to do with it.
"Guard position," Catria heard her opponent growl suddenly.
Quickly she lifted the sword and tried to move into position to fend off the oncoming blow, but she wasn't quite fast enough. Her opponent's sword came down fast and hard, knocking the sword from her hand and throwing her so badly off balance that she fell to the ground.
Barely managing to hold back a groan, Catria forced her herself into a sitting position and glanced over at her red-haired opponent who was now kneeling next to her.
"Are you alright?" Cain asked quietly, as he reached out a hand to help her to her feet.
Catria nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed at her performance as she took his hand and stood up again. "Thank you. I'm fine. Nothing is bruised, but my pride. I suppose that it's a good thing that we're using practice swords right now." Her eyes searched the ground until she found her fallen sword and retrieved it.
"You need to really drill that recovery of yours," Cain lectured her, sounding a bit frustrated and worried. "I even warned you this time that I was coming at you. An enemy won't give you that courtesy."
"I'm well aware of that," Catria snapped, her face heating up some. "I… I just have to practice more!"
Cain nodded in response to that and then hesitated for before speaking, hearing the frustration in Catria's voice. "Perhaps we should take a break until tomorrow."
"No," Catria said, shaking her head. "I'd like to go a bit longer as long as you don't mind. This way I'll really know what I need to practice. The sooner I master this, the sooner I can put it to use in battle." Seeing the concern in her friend's eyes, Catria added, "I'm fine. Really. I'm just a little frustrated. It's hard feeling like a novice again."
"I can understand that," Cain admitted, with a nod. "Abel can still best me in lances more often then I care to admit."
"Then perhaps we should add lance practice to these sessions. You can give Abel a surprise the next time you two spar," Catria suggested, with a smile. "It would be beneficial all around. Extra practice is never bad."
"Agreed and thank you," Cain told her, with a slight smile. "Anyway, let's get back down to business. You're actually doing pretty well considering that you haven't been at this for very long. I think that the first thing we should work on is how you're holding the sword."
Catria glanced down at the blade in her hand with a frown. "It just feels so much more natural this way. The way you keep positioning it feels wrong."
"You're just not used to it," Cain told her as he helped her adjust her grip on the sword's hilt. "Practice will fix that, but only if you actually try to hold it correctly. You keep trying to hold the sword as you would a lance and that just won't due. They're very different weapons. Part of the reason that you couldn't get back in position to block my blow was because of the way you insist on holding the sword.
"Hm…" Catria muttered, listening carefully as she gripped the sword hilt tighter. "That makes sense." She nodded and then stepped towards her companion. "Okay, what's the next step?"
"Try a few of the simply maneuvers that I showed you yesterday. I'll supervise. Make sure that you keep your grip on the sword properly or this will be for nothing."
Catria nodded as Cain stepped back to allow her more room to practice. She hefted the sword and began running through the various positions that she'd learned the other day. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the discomfort and pressed through it. It's just like when I first started learning how to use a lance, she told herself. I just need to keep practicing and I'm sure that this will become as natural to me as the lance feels now. The important part of all this was that once she'd mastered the sword, she'd be easily able to switch between the two weapons which would be of invaluable aid during a battle.
"Straighten your back and try moving through them a bit quicker," Cain called out loudly, so that she could hear him clearly.
She took a deep breath as she did as she'd been instructed. She could feel her body tiring and the sweat start to form on her brow, but she ignored them. I've never let anyone or anything else defeat me. This sword will not be awarded that honor.
She continued on with the practice, until Cain finally called a stop to it, noticing with each pass that the sword was starting to feel a bit less awkward in her hand. It hardly felt natural by this point, but at least it no longer felt decidedly uncomfortable.
By the time practice ended, Catria felt rather pleased with her progress. She would do this and that was all there was to the situation.
"So, how was that?" she asked her red-haired companion, with a smile.
"Better. Much better," Cain said, sounding pleased. "We'll make a swordswoman of you yet."
Catria's eyes sparkled mischievously for a moment. "Now it's your turn. Go get your horse and we'll start the lance practice."
"Are…" The look in Catria's eyes caused Cain's question to trail off without even being finished. Without another word of protest, Cain left to go tack up his horse.
As Catria went to retrieve her pegasus, she smiled. Asking Cain to help her had ended up working out better then she'd originally imagined. She readied her pegasus and headed out to meet him again, hopeful that this practice would help keep them both in one piece throughout this conflict and any other future ones that might be waiting for them.