Chapter Text
Bright blue eyes widened in awe as she and the rest of the initiates were shown around the Dauntless Faction, and Tris was completely awestruck at her new home. It seemed that the other initiates were just as taken by their new home as well, and well it wasn't just the faction that she was looking at. The once meticulous hair that she had seen Eric with when they were younger was replaced and the black tattoos inched up his neck. He was unlike the Eric she had once knew but there was still that look of happiness in his eyes when he saw her. The same one she remembered about him before he transferred and a glimpse of hope was seen.
"This is the Chasm, and it represents the fine line of bravery and stupidity here in Dauntless. One daredevil jump off the ledge will be the last you ever try," the bridge across was made with a firm but rusting metal. No handrails and only the walkway, nothing to grab on to should one fall. Tris and the others walked stiffly across so they could follow Eric and Four.
She shivered when she thought of Four, the way his eyes melted into her gave her an unsafe feeling. It was hard to describe but she just felt creep out by him being near her, maybe their first impressions of each other gave her a weird vibe. Who knew? He could turn out to be friendly instead of a right dick. She bumped into Christina's back and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her, "This is the Pit! You can spend your free time here!"
Loud music drowned out the rest of what Eric was saying and she smiled brightly as she took in the liveliness of the entire Faction. If she thought she was awed before she was completely wrong. The other initiates beside her grinned brightly, while some were more closed off than others there was still a smile seen on everyone's face.
When people started to shove past her, Tris had realized that Eric had begun walking to their next destination and stole one more quick look at the Pit before catching up with Christina. Her new friend was excited at the prospect of beginning their new life in the morning, as well as having the rest of the night, well until curfew, to look at the Pit.
The dorms left absolutely nothing to the imagination, a room filled with beds and a wide open bathroom. With no kind of privacy at all she then realized that she would have to give up many of her Abnegation teachings to live like this. "Is this for men or women?" one of the Candor asked.
"Both, and if you love this than you will absolutely love the showers."
The showers were the most absurd thing that she ever saw in her entire life! The heads of the showers were crowded together in clusters of four and yet again there was an utter lack of privacy. Tris gulped as the boys grinned to one another while the girls scowled, there was no way that they were going to shower near or with the boys. Let alone having them see everything they had! Fucking crazy if you asked her.
"I expect all of you in the Pit tomorrow morning at seven, if your late then don't bother even showing up. In fact you can find you way to the Factionless," his threat hung in the air and he left. All the others let the information sink in before a cheeky teen asked, "Well, who's up for a shower?"
Changing with everyone was an eye opener for Tris, she desperately put on the first things she saw. Blushing when some of the boys behind her started whistling as she slipped her dress off, snickers were heard when she slipped on a black tank-top. She didn't care if it was a men's shirt since she just zipped up a red and black jacket over it.
Christina was quick to drag the Abnegation to the Mess Hall, going on about how hungry she was and that Tris must be hungry as well.
It was a bustling place, filled with all kinds of people from young to old with all kinds of different things that made each of them unique. They looked around for a place to sit and eat, groaning when the only place to eat was near Eric. Tris was secretly ecstatic about sitting near him and dragged Christina over, and she took the seat next to Eric. The Candor took a seat right next to Tris and in front of them some Erudites took their own seats.
"Whats that?" Tris asked pointing to a patty of meat.
"That's a hamburger. Don't have one of those in Abnegation?" Christina teased as she grabbed one for herself.
"The Abnegation have a very limited meat selection and even then it is a tasteless substance that is boiled down to be cooked. Their herbs are sparse on their part and have a very bland fruit and vegetable variety," one of the Erudite said.
"Look at you, our very own walking encyclopedia," Christina grinned as the teen in question blushed like a tomato.
Tris could only smile at their playful banter and focused on her own meal, stopping only to introduce herself and occasionally taking part in conversations. She was, for the most part, trying to stay hidden from their view and sneaking peeks at Eric from the corner of her eye. She smiled softly as he met her gaze and she placed her hand on the long bench that she was sat on. His hand laid on hers for a second before he brought it up to his chin, and those blue eyes scanned the papers he had sitting in front of him.
All she cared about was the fact that he recognized her and she shivered slightly; the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. The blonde tilted her head slightly so she could see behind her and looked at the person who was staring her down. Her bright eyes met the dark eyes of Four and she was visibly shaken that someone was watching her so intently.
Hearing someone talking she then turned her attention back to the table, Eric was rinsing into the others for talking so much about their old factions.
"Here you will forget your past factions, that was then and this is now. The Stiff is more suited at this point since she knows not to talk about the past," oh the irony. Here he was telling them to forget the past while they were just reminiscing about their past. "Let this be a lesson for you all," he said before gathering his papers and leaving the table. His hand brushing the back of her neck as he left, giving her a blush and the goosebumps.
Fucking tease.
~.~.~.
She groggily got out of bed and quickly got ready for the first day of the First Phase of Training, and snorted at the sight of the other initiates still sleeping. Taking advantage of her early awakening she took the quickest shower she could possibly have and getting dressed as the first guys started to wake up. Just when she slipped her boots on all the others were awake and taking their own showers. The girls were as close to their clothes as possible, some were even showering in towels.
Tris was the first one in the Pit, well right after Eric and Four, and sat on one of the large rocks in the immediate vicinity. She was content to wait for the others who were running in, almost late, and stopping near the instructors.
"If any of you were got here a second later than the Stiff would be the only transfer here! Don't let this happen again!" Eric barked out as he began to lead them towards the training room. Tris kept close to Christina as she was being glared at by the others, her being on time grated on their nerves. It wasn't her fault!
"Today, you all will begin with the basics and that means cardio. I want five laps around the gym before you start learning basic stretches!" Four ordered and they all began the start of the day. Tris and the Erudites paced themselves while many of the Candor just went at it, and it wasn't long before Tris lapped them with Will and Christina behind her. Her chest heaving as she ran, she could feel her lungs shrivel up with the force she ran at. Her body begging for breath but her determination to prove herself to Eric kept her going.
Once she rounded one of the large pillars around the gym she came up to Eric with Al replacing Will and Christina; both breathing harshly but better than the others that lugged behind one their third lap. Tris' face brightened when she saw the approval in his eyes and he groaned as he waited for Christina and Will to catch up.
"Hurry the fuck up! My grandmother can run better than some of you!" Tris could barely keep the smile off her face. That was so like him to insult the others like that while encouraging them to pick up the pace.
"Okay, since I got about four of you guys we'll start. First you need to stretch your body out so the core muscles can feel the strain. It's much like a burning sensation near the calves," he said as he showed them the first position they needed to get into. His arms were spread as far as they could go and he bent at the waist to touch his left foot with his right hand.
After demonstrating the stretch he got up from the position and began inspecting the fours' formations; he kicked legs further apart and jerked left arms behind people into the perfect angle. Four watching silently from his position near the still running initiates, and Eric berated some of the pathetic excuses like Al's. Then he came up to Tris and used his hands to twist her waist sharply and whispered into her ear, "You need to keep some sort of weight on your middle section. So you can feel the balance in your core," she shivered as his warm breath glided over her ear.
He left as quickly as he came and went to stand in front of them and ordered them back up. Sighs of relief was heard and he grinned sadistically, "Can any of you stand using your hands? Anyone?" When no one answered him he popped into a handstand and crossed his legs in the air, bending them slightly behind him to stretch out his stomach. Which was proudly on display as his shirt slipped towards his chin, giving the girls a nice view of his six-pack.
Flipping himself forward Eric landed nicely on his feet and smiled, "Do that. If you can't do a handstand, try it and if no one can I'll move on." Both Tris and Al had moved into the starting position and began to bend their knees and tilt their bodies.
"Don't look at me like that Will! I grew up with sisters!" Al yelled at the gawking teen. Tris breathed in roughly through her nose as Eric came forward to inspect their forms, Will not even trying to do a handstand. He touched Al's stomach to feel the strain on his muscles and nodded to the boy who let himself out of the stretch. Tris' arms wobbled but she kept her stance as perfectly as possible. The warm hand that splayed over her stomach made her shiver slightly and he told her to get up.
"Did you two even try?"
"I fucked up my elbow but I did it for a couple of seconds," Christina said as Will shook his head.
"Take another lap, you stay here," he told Will before making Christina stay. The brown hair teenager groaned but began his sixth lap, the other initiates finished for the most part while some were still running. "Okay! We'll keep on going and for the ones just joining us, too bad for you," he said, "Okay next position!"
His blonde hair shimmering in the light as he dropped to his knees and slowly lowered himself onto his right side, his right arm was extended completely. He then shifted all his weight onto his arm and lifted his feet off the ground. His entire right arm being stretched and tested as he balanced himself onto his one arm, and the girls gasped as he managed to keep his entire body in the air.
"I want everyone to at least try to do this whether or not they can do it."
Falling to his knees he began to wander around the initiates, all trying and to some degree succeeding.
"Don't try to place all your weight on your arm immediately, try to ease yourself into the position!"
Tris didn't have the upper body strength to successfully do the position and fell multiple times, and beside her Al was doing no better. She glared at Will who was now taking his leisure and running slowly, waiting for the position to be done. Eric had quickly corrected the positions of others and then came to her and Al, and she gulped as he put Al in the position and had the teen stay there.
Her arm was shaking as she tried to ease herself into the position, but failing as she couldn't find equilibrium. Warm hands had pulled her legs up into the air and putting her other arm out to the side. "Try to hold on a little longer," he whispered. His hands ghosting over her legs' sensitive skin and flowed to her core muscles, he touched her slightly and smiled at the tension he felt. "Good job Bea," her old nickname flowing off his tongue easily.
The blonde wobbled as she kept the position as long as she could before her arm gave out, right as Eric told them to get up. "Thank god," she whispered to Al as she watched Will jog over. "Prick," she stuck her tongue out at him but he only laughed it off.
"Now we start learning offensive attacks! Get into pairs, Four come over..." Tris stopped listening to Eric and quickly teamed up with Christina.
"How long are we going to be here?"
"No idea, lets hope not for long," she whispered as they watched Four and Eric demonstrate their offensive moves.
~.~.~.
They were there until five in the afternoon, practicing the same moves over and over again; it was to improve their muscle memory. Or whatever Four had told them the explanation was, and everyone was dead on their feet. Though Christina still had enough energy to spend the next five hours shopping in the Pit, and after an embarrassing shower Tris and Christina set off.
For the tattoo parlor.
The place was lively and strobe lights didn't affect the artists at work, and when she was looking for tattoos of her own she saw someone familiar. The woman who gave her her aptitude test, and she could barely remember her name.
Kori?
Lori?
What the fuck was it?
"Tori! You got customers!" That was her name! Now she remembered and she walked up to the woman, a shy smile on her face.
Tori was cleaning her equipment when Tris tapped her on the shoulder, "I was wondering if-"
"You made the wrong choice choosing Dauntless."
"Can you-"
"No, the only thing you can do is keep under their radar."
She cocked her head, "Whose radar?"
Tori looked around discreetly and whispered, "Dauntless leadership, the majority of them are hell bent on getting people like you. There are two who don't, Eric and Max. Though majority rules here in Dauntless."
"Why?"
"Because you don't fit into a single category, you don't conform and they want to rid the system of that."
"Can you he-"
"I can't do anything more than give tattoos," she said with a wink.
The blonde teen grinned and walked over to the display wall, surveying each tattoo before grabbing two different plates off the wall. One held ravens in flight while the other was a flower vine of cherry blossoms that wrapped the entire length of the glass. She went back to Tori and settled the two plates on her station, "I want the birds on my collarbone and the vine going up the left side of my neck and around my ear."
"I'll have to shave part of your hair to do that," she warned as she readied her needles and ink.
"That's okay." Long blonde hair scattered her work station as Tori shaved the area around her left her and styled her air back so that the tattoo would be seen once she inked it into her skin. "The pads aren't custom made so you'll have to bear with me until I get to you neck okay?" she asked as she dipped the needle in black ink and smiled reassuringly at Tris.
"Do your worst."
"Don't tempt me, but as I was saying earlier its in the second stage where you will be found out. There is no way you can lie to biotechnology, many have tried but they have seen their attempts. My brother, George, was one of them and the day before the final stage he was dead. Found at the bottom of the Chasm and his death was written off as suicide. I know better though, I know he was murdered. You sort of remind me of him," she said as she pressed the needle into Tris' skin. The vines around her ear were finished and she had to start on the tiny cherry blossoms.
"Do I?" she gritted through her teeth as Tori finished one blossom and began to work on the other.
"You do, and he had that love-stricken look you walk around with, though I never found out who he liked."
Tris grimaced as the needle began to work around her jaw, extending the vine down to the junction of her shoulder slowly and painfully. "Don't worry when I start on the ravens they will hurt much less with the pads," Tori mumbled as she got engrossed in her work. Every time the needle poked at her she hissed but refused to cry out, and eventually after a half hour she was done.
"Thank God," she breathed out as Tori wrapped the tattoo up.
"We're not done yet," she replied as she turned and got a new needle and a bright blue translucent pad. "This will be much more bearable," Tori grinned as she attached the pad to her collarbone right under the vines and began tattooing on her ravens. "How many?" she asked as she started on the first one.
"Three," one for each person she left behind in Abnegation.
This time around it was less time and less painful, something that Tris appreciated greatly before Tori was wrapping her torso in a bandage. With the instructions not to remove the thing for an entire day Tris left to find Christina. Her friend nowhere to be seen and she was just left wandering the Pit before coming to a stop near the Chasm. The water beneath her roared as she sat with her legs swinging off the edge, and smiled.
She couldn't help but to smile, despite her sore muscles and tried body she was completely and utterly content.
This was where she would build her knew life, and it made her grin like a fool.
"Whats got you so happy Bea?"
Her head whipped around to see Eric standing behind her, two glasses in hand as he sat next to her by the Chasm. He gave her one and sipped out of his; that shit-eating grin that she knew so well on his face. "Tell me whats got you happy first," she laughed before taking a drink out of her cup. Then coughing as she felt a burning liquid run down her throat, he chuckled as he patted her back.
"Whiskey isn't meant to be gulped down," he told her as she gained her speech back.
"You should have told me what it was," she retorted as he finished his drink and set it to the side.
"Where's the fun in that? But if you must know why I'm happy, its because you're doing so well here. Sure you may need a little improvement here and there but you're doing better than most," he said before a blush covered his face, "And I'm glad you joined. It's been pretty shitty here without someone to talk to freely."
"ERIC! Where are you dude?!" they heard a slurred voice yell.
"Got to go sweetness," he said as he kissed her cheek and left.
Leaving her there with a drink and a burning face, a hand drifted up to her cheek and she squealed as quietly as she could. Her mind in a frenzy since he just kissed her, even though it may have been from the influence of the alcohol. Though she was happy none the less, but she wasn't alone.
Cold eyes followed her every move as she got up and left the Chasm, and a budding love for her in his heart. She was lovely, always was even when they were young children in Abnegation. He remembered her very well since no other had that bright of hair or colorful eyes.
Yes, she was even lovelier than before.