I want to go back but I can't back down

Eric could feel the coolness of the metal train wall seeping through the fabric of his black jacket, his left shoulder was pressed against the inner wall of the speeding train as he waited for the new group of kids to figure out what to do if they wanted to join Dauntless. This had to be his favourite part, being on the train or jumping on or off it was plain exciting to him and he had always felt the most comfortable there on the train. The sound of the metal wheels clicking against the metal railings was soothing for him, he was looking forward to seeing how the kids dealt with what was coming for them. There were all a few that wouldn’t be asked to join the faction and there were always a handful of kids that exceeded his expectations, he liked having those kids around because they were useful to Dauntless and didn’t annoy the hell out of him. His body was gently rocking with the movement of the train and a smirk formed across his face when he noticed the kids all started running to catch the train before it was too late and they became faction-less, something that he dreaded like most people.

“You better hurry!” He called out to the ones that hadn’t jumped onto the train yet, they were coming closer to the last rooftop building which is the last place the kids could get on. That’s when his eyes landed on a fragile looking girl who seemed to be struggling, she was close to the train but she just couldn’t grab onto the metal handle by the open door. She sure was pretty but he wasn’t allowed to help her, he wasn’t allowed to help any of the kids as that would defeat the purpose of the exercise. He continued watching as a blonde girl reached out and managed to help the pretty girl climb onto the train, he didn’t even bother looking at the kids who hadn’t reached the train in time as they headed towards the Dauntless compound. It took the usual few minutes to reach the correct rooftop and he was silent for the whole ride there, it gave him time to scan over the young kids to check them out and to check to see if he could pick out the kids who would fail in getting into the faction. There were a handful or two that didn’t seem to fit in, but time would tell. “Jump,” He ordered smirking once again at the confused expressions that stared at him, “Suit yourselves,” He jumped out of the open door and rolled as his body connected with the ground, standing up he simply walked over to the edge and looked down at the hole that was in the roof below them. It was so dark inside the hole that no one could see the netting that would break their fall, this was also one of his favourite moments but there had been kids before who refused to jump and they did piss him off. “You’ve gotten this far, now all you have to do is jump again.” He announced to the group of kids as he crossed his arms and just waited to see who jumped first, the leaders all watched the kid who jumped first because they usually did really well in Dauntless.

---

Grace had left her single mother which was the hardest thing for her to do, but she was placed into Dauntless exactly like her older brother Daniel had been in. She was incredibly nervous as she stood with the other kids who had been chosen to join the faction, her thoughts were cut off when a train sped past them and suddenly the group were started running after it. Grace joined in as she didn’t want to miss the train and then not have anywhere to go, she wanted to do her mother and brother proud so she ran as fast as she possible could. Her lungs needed more air but she didn’t slow down and it took a little bit before she did pull herself up into the train and she couldn’t believe it, she had made it but not everyone had. Glancing back she saw a girl who was so close to making it but just couldn’t, so Grace reached her hand out to the girl and helped her on board as it was just a nice thing to do for someone but that was only because she had been so close to the train. “I’m Grace,” She spoke quietly to the girl as they both caught their breath, she smiled hearing the girl’s name was Abigail.

It wasn’t even that long before the man who had been watching them jumped back out of the train, Grace watched as the group followed him and left her with Abigail. “Let’s do it together,” Grace was nervous and she could admit that, they were in the same position so if they jumped together then it wouldn’t be as daunting as jumping off the train alone. She took a deep breath and then forced herself to jump, otherwise she would have stayed on the train and lost the chance to make her family proud. However she lost her breath when she landed on the hard rooftop but otherwise she was fine, making sure that Abigail hadn’t hurt herself either as they made it over to the edge where everyone was standing. Her baby blue eyes widened slightly when she heard what the man said, they now had to jump off the roof into a dark hole. Turning she gave Abigail a look as if saying the leader was crazy, and he was in her opinion. She waited to see who was going to volunteer and jump first but no one was putting their hand up, the entire group stood there in silence that Grace couldn’t take it anymore. They were wasting time so she stepped forward through the group of kids her own age, “I’ll go.” She breathed out as she carefully climbed over the bricks and stood on the very edge of the roof, her heart was beating like crazy inside her chest and her palms were becoming sweaty from the panic that was building in her from her going into the unknown. So she thought about Danny and she jumped, it all happened so fast. She was falling and she was scared, but then something caught her and she bounced around on a large net and people were cheering for her.

Abigail hadn't been prepared for the Placing Ceremony. Two years prior, her brother had gone off with a promise to be back that night. She had been hopeful then because the idea of being left alone with their father had terrified her right down to her core. Her father had gone off with her brother, he was the leader of Abnegation and needed to be at the ceremony. She would have no way of knowing what happened until later that night when hopefully they both returned. The slam of the front door shutting was all that Abigail had needed to go scrambling for the stairs. Marcus was beyond angry, his son was gone. She had wanted to ask but the look in her father's eyes was enough to silence her. That night was also the day that she learned what her father could do, on a personal level. She had been yanked back down the stairs and in the process, injured her ankle. Eventually it had stopped hurting. Abigail limped along most times, her ankle never having quite healed properly from that night.

When she heard 'Dauntless' called out as she stood before the factions, Abigailms heart skipped a beat. She could feel her father's eyes digging into her. She also couldn't understand why that faction had been chosen for her. But it wasn't her place to argue so she tucked her head down and moved off to the cheering Dauntless.

Her second shock of the day came when she realized she was going to have to jump into the train. Abigail put her head down and pushed as hard as she could muster. Every time she got to the door and reached out, her fingers just brushed against the handle. She began to grow frantic at Eric's words. She couldn't be factionless. She also couldn't go back to her father, knowing he would lash out for what had just happened. So being a successful transfer was her only option.

When Grace pulled her aboard, Abigail leaned against the wall of the train, panting. "Thank you," she whispered finally. She offered a small, appreciative smile. Jumping off of the train was just as terrifying, if she didn't make it she would likely be deadly. Landing on the ground, she grunted as she rolled onto her back. She stood slowly, making her way over to the side that everyone was crowding. Her eyes widened as she watched Eric - he wanted them to jump again? When Grace volunteered, Abigail was sure the girl must be crazy. There were only a few kids left to jump when Abigail stepped up. She looked anywhere but at Eric, his gaze was enough to make her want to shrivel up. Taking a deep breathe, Abigail glanced behind herself for just a moment before jumping to the net below.

---

Four had somehow managed to avoid going to the Placement Ceremony, so incredibly happy that he had managed to. He remained back at the Dauntless compound, readying the bunk rooms for all of the new initiates. He was set to take care of the transfers, Eric was to deal with the Dauntless born. It had been like that the year before and no one had seen a reason to change it now. Things had been successful before, there was no reason to fix something if it wasn't broken. When it was just about time to welcome the initiates, Four made his way out to the net that would ultimately catch everyone. The best part was waiting for whomever fell first - they usually had a brass set and ended up doing really well. He had been first to jump in his year, seeing that there was nothing to lose.

He watched the roof of the building above expectantly, a smirk coming to his lips as he watched the first person jump. It wasn't until she was much closer that Four learned that it was a girl. He glanced to the girl that held a clip board, ready to record who fell in what order, and their name. Stepping forward, Four lifted Grace out of the net unceremoniously. He quirked a brow, "What a brave girl. Name?"

Each initiate went the same until he watched a girl flailing. They were toward the end of the initiate class he knew. In the back of his mind, Four had been hopeful that maybe his sister would have escaped Abnegation. But catching sight of her, Four tensed. Putting on a blank face, he stepped forward to pull Abigail out of the net. He didn't look down to her as he asked the same question for what felt like the millionth time. A squeak of 'Abby' was heard well enough that he turned to the recording girl. He gave her a light shove toward the waiting kids. When Eric fell, Four offered a single hand to help him out of the net. He pulled his friend close, gaze harsh. "You're taking the initiates this year," he spoke the words through gritted teeth, offering no room for argument as he stepped back.

Four stepped back, avoiding looking toward Abby - who was staring at her brother. He looked so different, could it even be him? "Dauntless born with me, transfers follow Eric."

Grace felt a great sense of relief when the net caught her and she hadn’t just jumped down to her death, which wouldn’t happen because every fraction wanted more people joining them but it had still caused panic to flow through her body. She rolled her body towards the edge of the net before two strong hands easily helped her down, back onto the safe hard ground. Looking up she found herself standing in front of a very attractive man, though she pushed those thoughts out of her mind as that isn’t what she was there for. She was there to start the next chapter of her life. “Grace,” She somehow managed to get out as her heart was beginning to slowly calm down, she moved over to the lady with the clip board and told her what her name was before she stood on her own as he waited for the rest of the kids to also make the jump down. She clapped for each one but was mainly waiting on Abigail, thankfully she was one of the last ones to jump but she still did it and joined the rest of the group. She gave the girl an encouraging smile, Grace had noticed a slight limp when Abby walked and she hoped no one else would pick up on it and cause trouble for Abby. Grace didn’t know what it was about the other girl, she was different in some way and Grace liked that.

Hearing the man would was on the train introduce himself and the other man, whose name was Four. Eric then told all the transfers to follow him as he was going to be their trainer, while Four would train the other group and everyone was about to split off into their correct group until an older man took Four and Eric aside to speak with them. He had dark skin and dark short hair, it was obvious to anyone who looked at him that he held power within the fraction. Grace watched the three men speak amongst themselves before the dark skinned man walked away, Eric didn’t seem to really care about what had been spoken about but the other, Four, didn’t look happy about whatever had been decided. She watched as they stepped back over to the group and it was Eric who made the new announcement that they were both going to train the transfers as there were apparently more of them than previous years, it was something that didn’t affect anyone so she wasn’t sure why Four still looked like he wanted to complain about this.

Eric waved the group forward as he walked off in a direction, Grace followed along with everyone else as they were showed to the dorms where they would be living until they were chosen to join the fraction. It all seemed surreal for Grace, she had always imagined what this day would be like but nothing could prepare her for this. It was so much more than she had expected but she wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or not, she’d need to give it a few more days as that would give her time to settle into this new life. “Can you believe this is finally happening?” She asked turning to look over at Abby who had taken a bed close to her’s.

---

Eric didn’t say anything when Four changed who were having which group, it honestly didn’t matter to him as he didn’t care who he trained. He was just about to take his group away when Max walked over to them and took him and Four aside, he listened to what Max told them and it did make sense to him. There were more transfers this year than last year, so Max ordered them both to take the group of transfers and train them together. Eric simply shrugged his shoulders for his response as he honestly couldn’t care less which group he got to train, “What’s wrong with you? You used to prefer taking the transfers,” He glanced over to his friend once Max had left them, training would start tomorrow morning as it gave time for the new kids to settle in and explore what could be their home.

Walking back over to the group of kids he briefly explained what was happening before ordering them to follow him, with Four by his side he showed the kids to several dorm rooms which they were going to live in until they were asked to join Dauntless or asked to leave. “We may have more kids to train, but not all of them seem to fit in here. A few of them struggled to make it onto the train,” He told Four as he leaned back against a wall which his arms folded over his chest, his eyes watched the kids as they got comfortable in their new surroundings. His eyes landed on the brunette girl that he had spotted struggling to jump onto the train, “She was one of them. The blonde helped her on, though she never gave up so I’d give her that.” Eric spoke about Abigail as he had no clue that he was saying it to her older brother, glancing over at his friend he noticed the expression on his face. “Dude, lighten up. I feel like this year is going to be better,” He spoke in his deep voice, this year had to be better than the last year. Last year is when Danny had been killed by a fractionless man, a man who had been turned away from Dauntless because he wasn’t any good inside the fraction. It was obvious to Eric that Four still felt responsible about what happened, though no one blamed him for Danny’s death apart from Four himself.

Abigail's heart had stopped, or damn near it, when she was pulled to her feet by Four. She had stared at him, suddenly unsure of how to react. Her heart was beating so loud that it felt like it was the only thing that she could hear. She let out a small, undignified noise when all he did was ask for her name. Didn't he know her name already? Abigail drew in a deep breathe, eyes searching out Grace in the crowd. When she finally spotted the blonde girl, Abigail made her way toward her. She stood tall as she walked, gritting her teeth as she moved. She had been nervous before and now, she had no real idea of what she was feeling. Standing beside her newfound friend, Abigail didn't miss the words shared between Four and Eric. Acutely aware of the fact that Four wasn't sure how to approach the situation, Abigail decided to leave it alone. In the hierarchy, it appeared that Four had authority and had no desire to greet her. She wasn't meant to upset that by any means.

Settling into her bunk, Abby stared down at the new uniform that she ahd just been given. It hugged her as if it had been made just for her and yet, Eric's joke that they had been taken from the now factionless kept running through her mind. She jumped when Grace started talking, looking up to the girl. She smiled uneasily, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah... I. Guess it's a real change?" She supplied, unsure of what to really say. Her mind was racing with the idea that she had just seen her brother for the first time and yet, a small section in the back of her mind wondered if it was really Tobias. "I think I would remain in Abnegation," Abby admitted finally, rubbing one of her arms with the other hand in an attempt to comfort herself.

---

Four stared at Max as they were given orders to both train the transfers. He wanted to say no but when he had opened his mouth to argue, Max had given him a pointed look. There was no room for argument so it was probably best to just drop the subject entirely. He let out a groan and nodded, stepping back. He let Eric take over, not wanting to talk to any of the transfers right now. He was actively avoiding looking in Abigail's direction, grinding her teeth together. God, he was annoyed. So annoyed. "It doesn't matter," Four snapped at Eric. He ran a hand over his buzzcut, letting out a sigh. "Just leave it alone, okay?"

"Do all of them ever fit?" Four asked, leaning against the wall, ankles crossed as he studied the group. In a matter of days, the size would have shrunk in half. Was there any point in having two focused trainers? Four didn't think so but then, he wasn't in charge. He had decided to leave the argument alone, knowing that it wasn't really worth it. He was only half listening to Eric ramble on about his theories, having learned to let his friend go on. It was easier than arguing though admittedly, Four still messed with Eric. Just to see if he could get a rise out of the other man. His gaze shot to Abigail as he clued into Eric's words before shooting to his friends. His brows knit together, conflict evident on his features. "Don't let her fail."

Four turned to search the initiates again, eyes coming to a rest on Grace. He frowned, not able to place why she looked familiar. "The blonde one looks familiar, doesn't she?" He asked, figuring it would be a good way to distract Eric from Abigail. At least he hoped so.

Grace had quickly changed into her new clothes, black and fitted her body well. It was a big change from what she had grown up wearing, coming from Amity she was used to looser fitting clothes that flowed around the body. But this is what she’d have to get used to, she wasn’t in Amity anymore so everything needed to change for not only her but everyone else who had transferred into Dauntless. Moving over to the bed where Abigail was sitting, she joined her new friend. “I wasn’t expecting to leave Amity either, but I guess we belong here now even if it doesn’t feel like it yet.” She sighed softly as she looked around, all the transfers were dealing with this change in different ways. Most were excited and wanted to start training, but others were nervous and then there were some who just looked confused as to why they had been chosen to try out for Dauntless. As her eyes scanned the area, she saw that Eric and Four hadn’t left. They were both standing off to the side, watching the initiates as they got settled in as much as they could.

She would have felt so much better if Daniel had still been there, he would have helped her even if he wasn’t allowed to. He had always been over protective of her, their father had been sick and died when Grace was still only young. She didn’t remember him at all, Daniel helped their mother in raising her and he was her best friend. But he was also gone now but she thought about him every single day, “I’m sure we’ll both get through this together.” Grace sent a warm smile to Abby as it would be easier if they stuck together and helped each other out, they would need to be strong and the training would toughen them up but Grace believed in both of them. They could both join Dauntless if they wanted it badly enough, the thought of being factorless was enough to make Grace want to do her very best. “I wonder why he’s so angry, training transfers can’t be that bad.” She murmured quietly to Abby as her eyes found Four again, he seemed fine when he helped her down from the net.

---

Eric did want Four told him and left it, if Four didn’t want to talk about it then Eric would just ask questions later. He was never someone who could just leave things alone, he wanted to know what was wrong with his friend but there was plenty of time for that later. “No, they don’t. That’s a really good point, though I also didn’t expect to have this many to train. Maybe people are realising how awesome we are,” He grinned as he knew the numbers would quickly lessen once training started, the first week of training was the hardest. A lot of kids had never pushed their bodies as far as what they were going to do shortly, the ones who could keep up with the first week of training were usually always the ones who were asked to stay. Although when he and Four transferred, there had been a few good kids who looked to have a bright future in Dauntless, were asked to leave for one reason or another so Eric could never really pick the ones who stayed as it could be any one of them.

However when he mentioned Abigail, his brows knotted together in confusion. Four has never once asked him to not fail someone, in fact it had never even been brought up before between them. Which only made him all that more curious as to who this girl was, by the clothes she wore coming in she had shared the same faction as Four so maybe they knew each other. But then Four wasn’t acting like she was a friend of his, he was actually being cold towards the girl. “Alright, she won’t fail.” Eric had opened his mouth to ask why but he was cut off by Four and now his attention was on the blonde girl, “I noticed that when she volunteered to jump first into the net. But I can’t place her anywhere, she’s from Amity so she wouldn’t have come across either of us.” It confused Eric why the blonde girl did look so familiar from somewhere, he knew he hadn’t seen her before but it was her hair and eyes that hit him as being familiar.

Abigail refused to look in Four's direction. She could feel his eyes digging into hers and the one glance she had thrown there way, she could see Eric's on them just as much as Four's had been. Looking away, Abigail drew in a shaky breathe. It wouldn't do very much good if she started crying, despite that being all she wanted to do. Her brother was right there. She was free of Marcus. If she succeeded in becoming Dauntless and she wasn't entirely sure that she was up to the task. She had expected to be kept within Abnegation and she knew what she had to do there. It would have been easy. Dauntless, she knew nothing about.

"I... we just..." She struggled to find the words she wanted to use. Abigail knew Four's reason, she wasn't that stupid. "I think that it's probably me being here," she admitted finally, her voice so quiet that she wasn't even sure her new found friend would have heard her. Abigail sighed, letting her hair down from the ponytail she had put it in once she had changed. They could do whatever they wanted for the rest of the evening as training began tomorrow. Abigail began to play with her hair, picking at the dead ends. A nervous habit of hers that she couldn't seem to break. "I don't think he expected me to be here anymore than I expected to be here of all places," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

---

Four's heart sank as he watched Grace smile at his sister. That smile, he would have known it anywhere. There was no mistake there - Grace was related to Daniel. All the confirmation that he needed was from Eric confirming her faction. Amity. Daniel had been Amity prior to transfer. He grit his teeth, half wondering if he should clue his friend in on his new found revelation. Opting not to, Four grunted as he pushed himself off of the position against the wall. "Let's go, grab a drink or something," he muttered, twisting around to lead the way from the room.

Sitting down in the mess hall, Four took an appreciative sip of his beer. The only alcohol allowed on the compound, Four wanted nothing to do with leaving. Dauntless was home to him, he didn't have much to worry about within these walls. "I just... know her from being in Abnegation," Four answered the unasked question, knowing his friend all too well. Whether Eric decided to breach the subject or not, Four knew the question was on his friend's mind.

"I don't think she'll come close to failing," Four spoke finally, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass. If there was anything that he could say about his sister, it was that Abigail was a stubborn girl. The only problem that could present itself was the limp she had acquired since he last saw her. Four could only imagine where she had gotten it.

(I feel like this post is horrible, I'm sorry )

(No, your post was great!)

Eric was used to how moody Four could be, but today was a brand new level of moodiness for the guy. But he followed his friend into the mess hall and also grabbed himself a beer, food was beginning to be cooked up for everything to eat meaning the hall would fill up with people fairly shortly. Listening to his friend he sipped his beer, letting the bitter liquid flow down his throat. “Fair enough, I guess we’ll see how she goes tomorrow.” He spoke before taking another drink of his beer, he had already noticed the limp that Abigail had and usually he would have used that against somebody but if Four knew her, even just the slightest bit and he had already promised not to fail her, then he would ignore the limp. At least he would do his best to ignore her limp, he could sometimes get carried away with himself during training and he was known to push the new initiates hard especially in the first few days of them being there.

“Have any favourites yet?” Smirking he looked over at Four, he had already spotted a few boys that looked like they would become a skilled fighter although he knew nothing about them. He really only got to know the initiates once they were asked to stay and become a Dauntless member, that way he wouldn’t get disappointed if someone left and he had liked that person. That situation reminded him of what happened to Daniel, Danny had been friends with so many people there and it hurt them all when he didn’t return to the compound with Four. He still remembered that day, it had been a normal day until it grew dark and they hadn’t arrived back. Eric was about to go out himself to search for his two friends until Four came back alone, blood tainted his skin and clothing.

Glancing around the mess hall, his eyes landed on the brunette and blonde again. He noticed how the brunette refused to look over in their direction, he knew he hadn’t done anything this time so it meant Abigail wasn’t looking at Four. “She’s a friend of yours, right?” He murmured before he tilted his head towards the bench seats across from them, however he did wonder if they would sit with them or pretend that they hadn’t seen his gesture.

---

Grace looked at Abigail as a soft frown pulled at her brows, “Don’t pay any attention to him then. You were chosen to come here, there’s a good reason for that.” She told her new friend before she stood up from the bed, “Come on. Let’s go explore and get some dinner,” She smiled waiting for Abby to also stand up before they both walked out of the dorm room, following the hallways it was pretty easy to find whatever room you were looking for. They did past the large training room that was all set up for tomorrow, there were different sections in the room for learning different skills. Seeing it made Grace all that much more nervous, but she was also excited to start learning although she wasn’t sure how good she was going to be tomorrow.

But she was in the same position as all the transfers, none of them were going to be any good until they were taught. Her eyes did scan her surroundings as she was looking for anything that mentioned her brother, something to remember him by but there wasn’t anything. At least nothing that she could see, she hadn’t yet been outside the compound nor had she been into every single room inside the compound. She would just need to wait. Finding the mess hall, she was suddenly pretty hungry but as she stepped through the double doors she noticed who was also sitting at a table drinking a beer.

“We don’t have to stay, if you don’t want to.” Grace spoke quietly to Abby when she saw Four and Eric sitting at a table together, Eric motioned with his head for them to join them at the table but Grace wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. So she left it up to Abigail to decide as she seemed to know Four, they could easily sit at another table and ignore the two men until tomorrow or they could join them and see where it took them.

The day that they had been attacked was supposed to be just your average patrol, Danny and he had gone out, expecting to be back in only a few hours. Four and he had gotten along since the moment that Four had transferred, it seemed like. Daniel had been the one to pull each initiate from the net, had been the first one to offer a welcoming smile to each person who fell. Four had been nervous but just like everything, he tackled the training and had soon been offered a leader position. Instead, Four had stepped back and said he would train. He wanted nothing to do with politics, that was something he had learned growing up under Marcus Eaton's household.

Four could feel that something was wrong, something just wasn't right as he and Daniel moved through the streets. The further they walked, the less people they happened across. The less people they met along the way usually meant it was a more dangerous area. Hearing something behind them, Four turned and by the time that he turned back around, Daniel was on the ground. Four had rushed the man that had Daniel pinned. What happened next, Four couldn't be sure. It had all happened so quickly that the next thing he knew, Four was waking in a pool of blood. Some of it was his, sure, but most of it had belonged to his friend. Four had been frantic, trying to wake Daniel for nearly twenty minutes before realizing his effort was a lost cause. It was the hardest thing that Four had done since leaving his sister behind, leaving Daniel there. He still bore the scars, one barely notice by his right eyebrow and another running down his left side.

Four had been too focused on his beer to notice Eric motioning toward the bench opposite them. He looked up in mild surprise when he noticed two people sitting opposite them. When he realized who they were, his face paled just a bit. One or the other, Four liked to think he could have handled them. But both his sister and Daniel's, sitting opposite him, had Four on edge. The silence started to become awkward, he opted to break it, his eyes focused on Grace. Anywhere but at the girl beside the blonde. "If you do even half as well as your brother, you will be fitting in Dauntless perfectly."

---

Abby was already thankful for Grace. The girl seemed to know just what to do to distract her. The idea of food was enough to pull her mind away from Tobias, from her past and an uncertain future. She kept up fairly easily with Grace, letting the other girl lead the way. The closer they got to the mess hall, the louder the noise grew. It made her a bit anxious, hoping that they wouldn't attract too much attention. Entering the room, Abby looked around in awe. Her eyes came to a dead stop on Eric and Tobias. She had wanted to turn away but she caught Eric's eyes and she couldn't. Rooted to her spot, Abby jerked when Grace spoke. "I... yeah. No. It's fine," she breathed, her heart ready to burst from her chest.

Abby moved through the tables, feeling like she might throw up. Her hands were sweaty as the two girls came to a stop in front of the Dauntless trainers. She hesitated a moment before following Grace's lead to sit down. Bracing herself against the table, Abby found herself looking anywhere but at the two opposite them. Her nerves generated because of Tobias for the most part but the way that her stomach had somersaulted when she made eye contact with Eric, she wasn't sure what to make of it.

When Tobias spoke up, Abby's eyes shot to him. Her brows knit together before turning to Grace, a small frown on her features. She had only known Grace for a few hours at best and as far as she was concerned, she didn't know her brother any more. "Your brother? Is he Dauntless then?" She asked. "We should go find him then."

A somewhat smug grin formed across Eric’s face when he watched the two new girl join them at the table, he usually never chose to speak with new initiates but he either felt better that day or something had made him into a good mood. Because he never asked initiates to join him at the table, or join him anywhere for that matter. He normally just stuck with his friends and he was happy with that, he looked each girl over while he took a long drink of his beer. That was when Four decided to break the awkward silence that had fallen on them all, he had to clear his throat as he almost choked on his mouthful of beer at what Four said to the blonde. Now he knew why Grace looked so familiar, she was the Grace that Daniel constantly talked about. He was so proud of his little sister and would tell anyone who listened about her, now here she was being a transfer into Dauntless just like Dan had been.

His eyes widened so he turned away so he could regain his composure, he couldn’t believe it and he honestly didn’t know what to say. Once the shock had settled he glanced over at Four, his eyes still held some shock in them as he honestly didn’t know how this was going to end up. She could easily blame Four for her brother’s death or she could understand that Danny died doing what he loved, he loved going out into the streets because he enjoyed seeing the people and talking to them even though that wasn’t part of what Dauntless believed in. The air surrounding them quickly became tense or at least that’s how he felt, because Abby stated that the girls should go find Daniel as she didn’t know and why would she? He made a noise in the back of his throat and once Abby had turned to look at him, he slightly shook his head in hopes she would realise that Danny wasn’t a happy topic for any of them to talk about.

It would have been better for them all if they were allowed to go bring Daniel’s body home, bury him someone near the compound but they were forbidden to do that. In Dauntless you could only leave if you died or you became factionless, elderly members didn’t stay, once they became too old then you would become factionless. That is just how it always had been and probably always will be.

---

Grace sat down at the table across from Four, she sat there in silence as no one said anything until Four finally did. But what he did say to her, she wasn’t expecting at all. He knew her brother, he knew Danny. She found someone who knew him and remembered him, her brother was a topic that she had moved on from but she hadn’t really dealt well with losing Danny. She could feel the tears pickle at her eyes and although she didn’t want to cry, especially not on the first day and not in front of two trainers. “He was in Dauntless, he died last year.” She told Abby quietly as she looked over at her friend, she tensed her body as she sat there to try and keep herself from breaking down. She had already cried for her brother and then she got so angry, she was still dealing with both of those strong emotions.

“He always wanted to be in Dauntless, did you know him well?” Grace asked both men as she needed to know her brother had friends, that he had been happy here in the faction. Hearing Eric say that they had both been close to Daniel, it did make her feel better as she blinked her eyes to hold back the tears that were threatening to form. Her heart ached in her chest and she did want to ask Four more questions, like what exactly happened to her big brother and if he had been in any pain. But she couldn’t, it hurt too much right now no matter how badly she wanted to know. Or she thought she wanted to know the answer to her questions, when the time came where she could ask she’d have to see if she wanted to know.

“Well we were going to get some food,” Her voice softened and there was a small crack in her voice, which she did try to hide as she looked over at Abby. That is why they had gone to the mess hall in the first place.

Abby looked to Eric in confusion when he made a small noise. She raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking why he shook his head. But soon enough, Grace was giving her an answer. Her heart skipped a beat as she gasped, twisting around on the bench to face Grace completely. Forget Tobias, forget Eric. "I'm sorry..I-I didn't know..." she trailed off, wincing at how stupid her words sounded. She could hear her father scolding her in the back of her mind. Curling her shoulders in on herself, Abby just stared at the bench that she was straddling now. She was just so, so stupid. She never thought before she opened her mouth. There was no way that she was going to be able to make it through initiation, Abby just knew it.

At the mention of food, Abby nodded. She wordlessly raised to her feet, setting a hand on the table so she could swing her leg over the bench. Abby didn't look back as they reached the food line, hopeful that she would even be able to stomach eating even a few bites. She felt sick to her stomach. Turning to Grace, she offered a sad sort of smile, "I really am sorry, I..." she trailed off, fumbling for something she could say that would make it feel less awkward. "I'm sure he's proud of you though. Following in his footsteps," Abby finally said, her smile becoming just a tad bit more genuine.

Once they each had a full tray of food, Abby glanced to Grace. She didn't want to make any decisions, she felt like she had already messed up the rest of the evening and she didn't want to make it any worse. "Where do you want to sit? We can go back over there if you want," she murmured. She didn't want to go sit with Four and Eric again but she wanted Grace to feel like the option was there.

---

Four shot a glare at Abby when she spoke. A twinge of guilt curled in his gut at the all too familiar look that flashed across her features. Fear. He knew all too well what it felt like and he knew all too well why she felt it. He could only guess that he reminded her of their father. Turning his attention away from her, he nodded at Grace's question.

"Everyone in this room has at least one story about Danny. I don't think he changed nearly as much as some of us did when we transferred," Four answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders. And what he said was true. Danny had been a character that filled the room with his laughter, even after a rough day, he had always kept an eye out for anyone feeling down. He'd make them laugh, even at his own expense. Never once had anyone doubted the Daniel belonged in Dauntless, just that some of his habits were questionable at best. It wasn't Dauntless' job to connect with the people, particularly the factionless. It was their job to protect the five factions from disorder.

When they stood to leave, Four was silent. He watched them walk away, letting out a groan once they were far enough away that they wouldn't hear. He ran a hand down his face, eyes closed. He took a long swig of his beer, cursing wordlessly. "I shouldn't have said anything, huh?"

Grace shook her head as she looked at Abby, “It’s fine really. You didn’t know, it’s just a sore subject for me that’s all. But I’m not upset with you,” She assured her friend as she didn’t want Abby to feel bad about bringing up finding her brother, she would have said the same thing if she had been in Abby’s position. Once they both had a tray filled with food she looked around for another table to sit at, “Let’s go sit over there. I don’t even know why Eric wanted us to sit with them, but I did notice that he was looking at you before.” She lightened the mood between them by teasing Abby by the attention Eric had given her before, she wasn’t sure if Abigail had noticed but Grace did and it brought a smile to her face.

Walking over to the table, she sat down and started eating as she was really hungry. “Did you have someone special back home?” She asked as she could be nosy when it came to things like this, she couldn’t help herself and it allowed them to get to know each other better. “I’ve never had a boyfriend,” She told her friend as that was never an issue to her, she adored the idea of waiting for that special someone who she trusted and was comfortable with before she took a step like that. She wasn’t looking for just any guy, she wanted to be loved completely. “Do you have any siblings? I just had Daniel,” She did want to know more about Abby, she just hoped she wasn’t coming across too strongly with all the questions she was asking.

It was a trait that she shared with her brother and sadly also with her Aunt Jeanine, Grace learned that it was a great way to know someone and if she asked the right questions than she could work out if someone was lying to her or not. That lesson was taught to her from her Aunt, not that she listened to much of what came out of Jeanine’s mouth these days but they were still family.

---

Eric finished off his beer and looked over at Four, “Yeah. It wasn’t really the best time or place to bring Danny up, but I can’t believe she’s Danny’s sister… he always talked about her, and now she’s here.” He murmured as his elbows rested against the table top, he looked over to the line where the two girls were standing as they waited to get some dinner. “It still upsets her… probably don’t tell her that you were there when it all happened, unless you want to get your ass kicked by a girl.” Eric grinned while he also teased his friend, he knew that an angry and pissed off girl could do damage to the strongest of men.

He had made that mistake in his first week of transferring into Dauntless, since then he never underestimated the girls would were already in the faction or by transfers because most of the time he’s surprised by how well they do with fighting and defending themselves.

“At least it’s out there now and she knows,” Shrugging his shoulders he watched as the girls take another table, “Now you’ve scared them away. Great welcome you showed them, man.” He chuckled softly as it was a known fact that Eric didn’t welcome any new initiates, not until the initiates became Dauntless and proved themselves to him. He didn’t put his trust in just anyone, he wasn’t going to let someone stab him in the back or disappoint him when they didn’t do their job.

Abby's eyes went wide at Grace's words, shooting a glance toward where Eric and Four sat. She gulped, feeling a blush coming to her cheeks as she made eye contact with Eric. She looked down quickly, pushing the food around her plate. She started to take small bites, not entirely sure that she would be able to finish all the food she had. While she knew that she was hungry, Abby was used to only eating small amounts in the morning and then before bed. "I..no. I was always too busy to even remotely have a boyfriend," she answered, a shy smile on her lips. It was true though, she was too focused on staying out of the house for as long as possible. Finding new situations where she could help people.

At Grace's next question, Abby was silent. She pushed the salad around her plate several times before chancing a glance toward Eric and Four. She offered a shrug, honestly unsure of how to answer. Yes, she did have a sibling in Abnegation but she didn't think that relationship was still there. "I... did have a brother. Haven't seen him in a few years since his Placement ceremony. Father never did tell me what faction he was placed in," Abby finally answered, hoping that it was enough that Grace would be satisfied. She only hoped that her friend wouldn't be two and two together about her and Four. Four wanted to act like they didn't know each other so she wouldn't press it.

---

Four let out a breathe of relief that he hadn't realized he was holding when the girls sat away from them. Sitting with them for even a few minutes had been enough to put him on edge. He glanced to Eric and gave a shrug of his shoulders. "So? It's better off we don't get attached to them anyway. If Grace fails, she's factionless. If... If," he paused, grinding his teeth together a final time before going to speak. "Abby fails, she'll be factionless. We don't associate ourselves with the factionless," Four answered with a shrug.

Once he finished his beer, Four pushed himself up. He climbed over the bench and looked down to Eric with a slight frown. "I'm tired, I'm going to head to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, alright?" He bid farewell, turning to leave the mess hall. He clapped Eric on the shoulder as he passed his friend, intent on hiding away for the rest of the evening.

It was early in the morning and Eric was ready for the first day of training the transfers to begin, Four was standing right beside him as they waited for the group of kids to find them. He stood there with his arms crossed as the transfers slowly piled into the large room, about half looked somewhere between nervous and scared while the other half looked ready for the day or they were putting that act on as to not seem weak.

“I hope you all slept well because day is going to be hard, it’s going to be exhausting and you will be hurting at the end of the day. But if you can pass this week still standing and still excited about being in Dauntless, then you can feel proud of yourself because not everyone is going to survive this.” He spoke loudly in his deep voice so everyone could hear him, he started pacing in front of the group of kids as he spoke.

“Today we’re going to see how well you are without any training,” He announced to the group before he split the group into smaller groups, so he and Four could see how well they worked with others but also to see how the defended against different people. Mostly to see if the girls could handle the strength or a boy, and if a boy would defend against a girl which a lot of them would have been taught not to. Even though there weren’t many times when that would actually happened, but it could and if they wanted to be in Dauntless then they would need to be prepared for everything.

Watching as the smaller groups formed he walked around and watched each group numerous times, so far he could tell each groups held stronger members and which needed more help and a lot more training. Then he came across the group which held Abigail, she was currently facing off against another girl who was nearly twice size and although neither were all that great. It was obvious that Abigail didn’t have the upper hand, but she wasn’t giving up and every time she was knocked down she was getting right back up again which said a lot to him about who she was as a person. He stood there watching the two girls, the larger girl noticed how Abigail really favoured one leg to brace herself and he knew this was going to happen.

So he stepped in before the girl took take advantage of Abigail’s limp, “If you need to fight dirty or attack a certain area of the body over and over again. Then you don’t belong in Dauntless, we aren’t taught to be like that and seeing as that has crossed your mind. You’ll run laps of this room until I tell you to stop,” He told the group and told the next two people to start, giving Abigail a break so she could catch her breath.

---

Grace had gotten up early to get herself ready for the busy day of training that she had ahead of her, she headed to the training room with Abby and they were among the first ones to arrive. Four and Eric were already waiting to start the day off, she had her blonde locks braided down her back so her hair wouldn’t get into her face during the day. She listened to what Eric said and she was nervous, she had been nervous all morning but at least the training session was starting and she knew her nerves would vanished as soon as she got started herself.

She was put into a different group then Abby, stepping over to her group Grace stood there as they waited for more instructions although she knew what was coming. They would have to fight against someone so their trainers could see what they needed to work on and improve on, which for most of them was probably everything. Grace scanned the group she was in with her eyes, no one was stepping forward to be the first ones to fight. Taking a slow deep breath in, Grace stepped forward as she was yet again volunteering to go first at something. It wasn’t until Eric walked past and he shoved a boy forward, no one else had stepped forward so he made the decision for the group.

Fighting against the boy who she hadn’t even met yet was hard, she went into the fight doing the very best that she possibly could do. She had gotten knocked down a few times but she pushed herself back up every time, she wasn’t going to let anyone beat her down where she couldn’t get back up. It had been something Danny always told her, and it had stuck with her. She could hear his voice inside her head and it pushed her to keep going, she could feel Four’s eyes on her as he watched her. She was getting in a good few hits on the guy, but stopped when Four told them to stop and for the next people to have a good.

So she let her guard down and didn’t notice the guy was sending one last punch towards her, feeling his fist connect it pushed her down onto the ground and it dazed it. She hadn’t been ready for it or even paying attention, they had been told to stop so Grace had listened to Four while the boy hadn’t. Looking up Grace saw the smug expression on his face, like he was proud of what he had just done to her.

Abigail had woken well before anyone else, used to waking before the sun even started to peek over the horizon. She showered for the day, just like back home, before slipping out of the dorm room. She had been careful to not forget her jacket, not wanting anyone to comment on the scars that occupied her back. all were easily hidden with clothing but with the tank tops that Dauntless wore, she needed a cover up. When the rest of the transfers began to file into the mess hall, Abigail waved to Grace enthusiastically. Despite how nervous she was, she knew that she had found a friend for life in the girl.

Standing in front of both her brother and Eric, Abigail looked a lot less nervous than she felt. She had learned how to hide her fear growing up. It could be seen as a disadvantage and she knew she was already at one because of her leg. Eric spoke up and she obediently stepped to stand with her group, her palms beginning to sweat. She was so incredibly nervous. Her brother was in the room and she had yet to even say a word to him. And Eric, he made her stomach lurch in an unfamiliar way. Add those two things on top of the fact that she had to fight someone, Abigail wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor below her feet.

When it was her turn to fight, Abigail put her hands up but for the most part, avoided being hit. She would step back each time the girl she was fighting took a step forward, trying not to get hit too much. It seemed every time that she got a chance to strike, she was on the ground before she actually could. No matter, Abigail was back on her feet before she could consider how bad the hit hurt. Noone in this room could hope to compare to what she had already been through, she could handle a couple ill-placed hits. They didn't sting like a belt did. Feeling Eric's gaze on them only fueled her further. She needed to impress if she wanted any chance at staying in Dauntless.

Her eyes shot to Eric when he stepped between them, backing away immediately. Abigail had been skeptical the moment he started to speak, only for her eyes to widen as she glanced to the girl that she had just been fighting. The girl scowled at her before turning to start her first lap. Abigail stepped off of the mat, bending at the knees as she studied the next two who stepped up to fight. Abigail was frustrated, she had wanted to prove herself but she felt like he had just babied her because of her limp. She wanted to ask him why but knew it wasn't her place, being a transfer was even worse than a Dauntless born initiate. Chancing a glance toward her brother, Abigail let out a small sigh as she slowly caught her breath, turning to see if she could catch sight of Grace.

---

Four had been half turned away from Grace and the boy she had just been fighting, his eyes on the next group that would step up to fight so he could gauge their skill levels. He had seen the punch being thrown out of the side of her eye and he turned, just in time to watch Grace fall to the ground. His eyes narrowed and without little hesitation, he threw a punch of his own to the boy's temple. He crumbled to the ground, knocked out. His eyes were narrowed as he glared down at the boy before stepping back so he could address the crowd. "When I tell you to jump, you ask how high. When I tell you to stop fighting, especially on your first damned day, you stop. There is no in between here, I am in charge, you are not. The next person I catch throwing a punch for no reason other than you're trying to make yourself bigger than you really are," he paused, smirking as he looked down to the boy who was just beginning to stir. "Will be worse."

Stepping toward the boy again, he glared. "Get up," he spoke, his words dripping with annoyance. He wasn't used to someone not listening, especially on day one. Most were either too smart or scared to step out of line so early on. When the boy moved to stand, Four foot came around to knock him in the back of the knee. "I didn't say to stand, did I?" Four's hand shot to the boy's neck, fingers digging into the pressure pour causing the boy to wince. He smirked, glaring down at the boy. "Apologize."

"I-I'm sorry," the boy spoke, his voice a bit shaky. Four's grip tightened, voice condescending. "Her name is Grace. Mean it this time."

The boy cleared his throat, looking to Grace. "I'm very sorry, Grace. I shouldn't have and I understand if you don't forgive me." Four nodded, seemingly satisfied with her words. He shoved the boy back to the mats before stepping backward. His gaze was harsh as he looked to Grace, though he gave her a slight nod of his head. It was the best praise that she would be getting today. He stepped backward, motioning for two more transfers to step up.

Eric knew that Abigail probably had the situation under control, even if it didn’t look like it to him. But Four’s voice echoed inside his mind, he couldn’t allow Abigail to fail and if that chick had targeted her ankle then there was a higher chance that he would have to fail her. He could let her pass and join Dauntless, people would know he was picking favourites and that was something he never did. Watching the girl start on her first lap, he stepped back again to continue watching the other kids fight against each other. He might talk to Abigail about it later on in the day, if he decided that he needed to explain himself and his actions to her.

Moving around the room, he made sure that every transfer had a fight and that he watched for a few seconds. That is all it took for him to see where a person had strengths and what their weakness was, this year the transfers all had things they were naturally good at and could improve greatly on those but they all had a lot of weaknesses or just things that they didn’t know. Which was the same as all years, even Eric was horrible when he transferred to Dauntless but with practice and the right teacher all of them had a real chance of being asked to stay in the faction.

Glancing over to where Four was, he only saw the end of what his friend was doing. Apparently something had happened with the blonde and Four was making a boy apologize, he knew this would happen. Since last night when he found out who the blonde was, he knew Four would watch her more closely and it was happening already. But Eric wouldn’t say anything, his friend hadn’t been the same since Danny’s death and if this helped him then Eric was all for it. “Alright transfers, well done on surviving the first training exercise. Grab some water and take a five minute break, the training isn’t close to finishing.” His voice boomed through the entire room, he even let the girl running laps stop but he was going to keep an eye on her.

Walking over to Four he looked at his friend, “A problem already? I managed to stop one as well, but I don’t trust her.” He lowered his voice so only his friend would hear, his looked over to the red head who had been running laps so Four would also know which one he didn’t trust. “Was about to go after the limp that Abigail has, it’s smart if that’s something we did here.” Some Dauntless did fight like that but it had never been something that was taught here, Eric believed if you had to fight like that then you shouldn’t be in the faction. Having to prey on a someone’s weakness just showed the world that you are just as weak, it was dirty and something that Eric never allowed to happen on his watch.

---

The punch hurt, but Grace didn’t let that show as she again pushed herself back up onto her feet and watched the scene unfold before her. Four was showing the group what happens when one of them doesn’t listen to their trainer, all she could do was watch as the boy was forced to apologize to her. She knew she should forgive him, that was the Amity part of her but she was trying to be a Dauntless member now. She stayed silent as she wasn’t ready to forgive the boy for knocking her down, just so he could show off to his friends. Her eyes landed on Four as he gave her a slight nod, he was praising her and she was going to take it as he didn’t seem to give praise to every many people.

Grace watched as the rest of the group took turns in fighting, until everyone had their turn and Eric gave them a five minutes break. She moved through the crowd to where she could see Abigail standing, “How did you go?” She asked her friend as they walked over to a table and Grace grabbed a cold bottle of water, she took small sips knowing that if she drank a lot now and then continued training then she would feel sick. However not everyone was thinking that way, as the others were drinking half the bottle in one go.

“Drink slowly, if they kept pushing us like this for the whole day. The water will come back up,” She spoke softly to Abigail to let her know, she looked around the training room only to find a red headed girl sending glares in their direction. “What’s her deal?” She asked Abby as she hadn’t seen what happened, all Grace had seen was the girl had to run laps around the room for a reason. But she didn’t look every happy with Abby, Grace didn’t like the way the girl was glaring at her friend and she would be the first person Grace would keep an eye on.

Four's eyes snapped to the girl that had been running laps that Eric had looked toward. His eyes narrowed and he had to fight back the urge to rip into her just as harshly as he had the boy that had punched Grace. It wasn't his place to test Eric's trainees, he trusted his friend to train them well. Eric didn't take anyone's shit, he had learned that very early on in their initiation process. He gritted his teeth, glancing away from the ground and fixing his glare on the wall. "You can't baby her forever. We won't be there for every patrol she does or every confrontation. Abby has to learn to..." he trailed off, thoughts drifting to his sister. What all had she endured in his absence? He drew in a deep breathe before speaking. "She has to learn to not let her injury hinder her. She has to be just as good as each initiate if she wants to pass, push her. Push her until she breaks and then build her up. If she's anything like she used to be, she's going to be stuck in bad habits."

Training was the very last thing that he wanted to do at this very moment - if it had been up to him, he would have been hidden away in his room. Possibly a beer in hand so he could avoid the demons that fought in front of him. Between his sister on one side and Grace in front of him, he felt like the walls were closing in on him. Four took a deep breath and looked to his friend, a smile coming to his face at the idea that had popped into his mind.

Clapping his hands together as he took a step back, Four's eyes roamed over the faces trained in their direction. "Fighting is one of the skills you will have to master if you want to make it into Dauntless. Without the ability to overcome opponents larger than yourself, you have no chance to pass stage one. Our compound consists of tunnels that can go on for miles, crevasses that are so deep that you can't see the bottom. Walls high enough that you can't see the top..." he trailed off, a smirk coming to his features as he turned to begin leading the group out of the main training area.

---

Abigail took a long swig of water, only to pull it away from her lips at Grace's warning. She nodded, taking a few, hesitant sips of water now. She offered her friend a small smile, leaning against the wall. When she noticed Molly glaring daggers her way, Abigail swallowed and turned so that her back was to the girl. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure that it was going to burst out of her chest at any given moment. "I... uh. Her and I were fighting and she was going to target my ankle I think. I don't know because Eric stopped her before she actually could. Made her run laps around the room until just now," her words were quiet, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to the situation. She didn't think the redhead would take kindly to it at all.

The sound of Four's voice caused her to turn around, pushing off of the wall as she listened. Still gripping her water bottle, Abigail frowned as she glanced toward Grace. 'What the?' she mouthed the words, not understanding what he had been hinting at. She shrugged after a moment and set off to follow him, sticking close to Grace's side. Together, Abigail at least felt like she wasn't alone.

Four stopped in front of a wall that truly did stretch nearly as far as the eye could see. She could just see sunlight peeking out from just above the very top. Abigail's eyes were wide as she glanced from the patch of sunlight to Four, to Eric, and finally to Grace. Before any of them could question it, Four began to speak again. His voice echoing off of the walls as he spoke. "This wall is climbable. But to be successful in reaching the top, you have to trust your instincts above anything else. Which step is safe to take? Which will send you flying toward the ground? There are various safe resting points along the way," he paused, motioning toward little sections of rock jutting out from the wall. "The higher you get, the more dangerous."

Glancing toward Eric, he gave the slightest of shrugs. It was a test that was normally reserved for the end of the first stage but he didn't think it would be too traumatic to see how far any of the initiates got. Particularly two female transfers. He cleared his throat and looked back to the initiates. "Anyone brave enough to climb with another initiate? Alone even?"

Not a lot could shock Eric but when Four mentioned the wall, he could feel the surprise rise inside his mind. The wall climb wasn’t meant to happen until the initiates had been there for a longer time, he clearly remembered the first time he climbed the wall. He was on his own and it had been hell, it was hard and exhausting for him then. But that was after a few months of training there in Dauntless, he honestly doubted if any of the initiates standing before him would even reach half way on the wall and he wouldn’t blame them. He didn’t know what Four was thinking, but now that the task was set, he was curious on how well the kids would do in such a hard and dangerous task. It wouldn’t be easy for them and if they fell, there wasn’t a net to catch them this time.

“So who is going to go first? Who’s brave enough to prove us wrong, prove to us that you aren’t just kids that have been thrown into Dauntless.” Eric grinned as he watched the worried expressions cross so many faces, as the kids looked at him or at Four and then at the wall. Since his first climb of the wall, he has repeated the climb many times over just so he could improve on his skills. So he could get to the top faster, so he wasn’t as puffed out and exhausted, to build his strength even more. He stayed standing beside Four as they both waited to see who would go first, he noticed a few of them nearly take a step forward but had second thoughts.

That’s when he noticed the blonde girl, she glanced over the group and she looked exactly like Daniel. He always used to go first in things, no matter if he had no idea what to do. He worked it out for himself and always put his hand up to go first, especially when no one else wanted to go first. He watched her as she gave Abigail a gentle nudge with her elbow, he was very interested in seeing how those two went and after a few seconds they both stepped forward. “I see we finally have two volunteers to go first, well done you two. Let’s just hope neither of you fall,” He hoped neither of them would fall, a few kids had fallen when the task was given to his group when he and Four arrived as transfers and that was something that would always haunt him.

---

Grace stood there as she stared up at the wall, how on earth would they climb that? She listened to Four and Eric, but she stood there just like everyone else. No one was stepping forward to start them off, no one wanted to go first but someone would have to before Four and Eric decided to pick people to climb. So she looked around at the other’s before turning her gaze onto Abby, she gently nudged her friend with her elbow. “Let’s just get it over and done with, we can do this together.” She whispered to her friend as neither of them wanted to climb the wall, but they would have to so why not go now and finish all that sooner than if they waited.

She inhaled deeply as she stepped forward, Abby right at her side and her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would break free from her chest. Her hands shook as Eric guided them over to the wall, he even wished them luck before he walked away so he could watch them climb. Grace went first and pulled her body up onto the wall, there were stone pieces that could be used to hold onto or to stand on. There were also pieces of the wall missing which did the same thing, Grace would glance down to Abby every few seconds just to make sure her friend was doing okay. “Just think of how good a shower will be after we finish this,” She smiled as she spoke to Abby, she was already working up a sweat as she climbed the wall.

Both of them were doing really well, they trusted their instincts and kept the pace slow so they wouldn’t burn out quickly. Grace steadied her breathing as much as she could during the climb, but it wasn’t long before her arms and legs started to burn. She had never done anything like this before and her body wasn’t used to it, but as she looked down to check on Abby she noticed her friend was close to her and looked to be doing a little better then she was. That caused a smile to grow across her face and it pushed her to keep going, she honestly didn’t know how far they had climbed and she didn’t care in the slightest. There was a safe resting place not too far away from them, “Let’s get to that and stop. I can’t do much more,” She told Abby who also agreed, Grace allowed Abby to climb onto the stone ledge first as she was closer.

Grace looked for a place where she could put her feet and push herself up onto the ledge, she had a bad feeling in her gut but she ignored it as she was exhausted and just wanted to stop climbing. Putting her foot onto the piece of stone that was poking out of the wall, she pushed her body upwards but she was soon falling back down as the stone broke away from the wall. A small scream of fear escaped from her lips as her body hung there, only her hands holding onto the wall was keeping her from falling to her certain death. Her feet were desperately searching for somewhere she could stand on before her arms gave out on her, she was terrified of dying or having more death around her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she could feel her body begin to shut down, but in that moment she could hear her brother’s voice in her head. Telling her to focus on calming down and to finish what she started, Grace forced her feet to find a safe place to stand and once again pushed herself up. Finding Abby leaning down from the ledge with her hand stretched out, Grace took her hand and with her last boost of energy she climbed up onto the safety ledge.

(omg, I am sorry if it takes me so long again, please shout!)

Four only gave a shrug of his shoulders at the look that Eric gave him. His attention turned back to the initiates, he very nearly said something when Grace stepped forward. He had intended to weed out the weaker boys, the ones that would have no chance to become Dauntless even in their wildest of dreams. It would make everything easier in the long run, he thought. Easier on Dauntless not having to train anyone who was a lost cause from the beginning and then, it was almost a blessing for anyone who took a misstep. To be Factionless was often a nightmare of anyone he came across, it certainly was for him.

He watched in mild shock as his sister followed Grace willingly. His body tensed, shoulders pulled together, jaw set, as Grace took a step step onto the wall. Everything in his body was screaming to stop them, he hadn't meant for either of them to step onto the wall yet but Four had to admit he admired Grace. The girl had done nothing but step up each time that Eric and he gave an option to the transfers, she was just like her brother. It was almost painful. Taking a deep breath, his eyes trained on the two girls as they slowly ascended the wall.

"Just figured with how large our initiate pool is, it may be easier to just weed out the weak ones early on so that we can focus on the initiates who deserve our attention," Four's words were quiet so that only Eric would hear them. Concern etched across his features as a scream tore through the air, his head jerking backward to catch sight of Grace dangling by her hands. Guilt overwhelmed him and he nearly called out to her. Four wasn't going to be the reason that the Matthews' lost two children, was he? His stomach was far beneath his feet and it wasn't until Abigail pulled Grace onto the ledge that he remembered to breathe again.

---

Abigail's heart nearly stopped beating when she heard a scream from just below. She scurried to the edge, eyes widening as she caught sight of Grace barely hanging onto one of the rocks. Glancing behind her, Abigail moved as far off of the cliff as she dared before holding out a hand to her friend. "Come on, Grace. You can do this," she called, completely ignoring the shouts of concern from below. She was focused solely in helping Grace onto the ledge. She gave an encouraging nod as Grace found her footing again, only to pull the girl up a moment later. Abigail collapsed back against the wall, breathes coming in shallow gasps. Her hand still remained in Grace's, squeezing gently. After Abigail gained her senses back, she let out a small laugh. "I think we just proved them we may just belong here," she said with a laugh smile.

Once Abigail was sure that Grace was relaxed again, she gave her friend a light smile. "The climb down should be easier, I would think. Just... just take your time even if you feel like it's taking longer than it should, so long as we reach the bottom in one piece, it's okay," Abigail tried to reassure her friend. "I can go first if you want?" When Grace gave a nod, Abigail took a deep breath before moving back to the edge that she peered over. She caught sight of Eric and Four and felt a need to prove herself to them both. She knew why in regards to Four, he was her brother. What pieces remained of him behind, she didn't really know. He had largely ignored her but maybe if she proved she wasn't there just to screw everything up, he would warm up to her.

The moment that Abigail's feet touched the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief. She held out a hand to Grace and helped hold her steady as she jumped the last few feet. She wrapped Grace into a tight hug, just thankful that they had managed to complete the task without any real injury. They both had been scared but managed to get around it, her confidence in Grace had only grown. "Just think, that was our first time. Each time after that is going to be easier!"

(It wasn’t even that long! But I’ll keep that in mind )

“Had this been part of your plan?” Eric asked as his eyes followed the girls movements, no one had ever shocked or surprised him this much before and it was a feeling that he wasn’t used to getting. He knew no one from the group would actually get that far up the wall, but falling anywhere from the wall was going to hurt. Glancing over he noticed how tense Four’s body was, there was something else going on with him and it wasn’t just because of Danny’s sister being in the group of transfers. It had something to do with Abigail, he just hadn’t worked it out just yet but he was going to know one way or another.

He held his breath when he watched as the blonde lost her footing, the memory of Four coming back to compound bloody and without Danny flashed through his mind. But with Abigail’s help, they both managed to find a safe place to rest before they climbed back down. He took note of how well Abigail moved around the wall, she trusted herself and her ankle was less of a bother to her it seemed as she climbed. “Next time you have an idea, choose the people you want to weed out of the group.” He lowered his voice to his friend, it was obvious now that the two newly made friends were always going to volunteer for tasks and even though that proved to him and Four that they were worth keeping around. It could also be dangerous for them, they could get hurt easier but that risk was connected to everything Dauntless did.

“Well done girls, I hope everyone had been watching that. Dauntless isn’t going to be easy, we get hurt out there and sometimes we don’t come back. Make sure this is what you want, because we won’t be taking all of you.” Eric raised his voice once the girls were safely back on the ground again, he looked over to Four and got a slight nod from him. Eric then picked out the people who he thought weren’t fit for this faction and told them to start climbing, the wall was wide enough so a handful of people could climb and not get in someone’s way. He watched the transfers climb, however every few seconds he would glance over to Abigail who was still close to Grace. It seemed those two had formed an unbreakable friendship, which would help them get into Dauntless if they continued proving themselves like they have.

---

Grace hugged Abby tightly as she felt so relieved to be off that damn wall, “Maybe but I don’t want to climb again for a while.” She smiled as she was still shaken up over how she nearly could have fallen, but she hadn’t and it was mostly because of Abby. Sitting down on the ground she needed a rest, her hands were sore from the holding onto the wall and her legs felt like jelly. Watching Eric pick out a few other transfers, she watched as they started climbing as well while she sipped her water to keep herself hydrated. She wasn’t sure what else was planned for the day, but she was exhausted already. If they were given anymore tasks to do, she might not pass any of them although she would still try her hardest to.

“I hope they give us a break after this, I don’t think I can move anymore.” Looking over at Abby who had also sat down beside her, she looked just as exhausted as Grace felt. She rested there and let her eyes wander, finding Four she found him glancing over to Abby which she thought was strange because she couldn’t tell what emotion he had in his eyes when he looked at her. Grace wanted to ask Abby but at the same time she didn’t want to come across as being a nosy person, then Four’s eyes locked onto her own and suddenly everything about him changed. She wasn’t sure if it was because she reminded him of Daniel or it was another reason, she knew she looked a lot like her older brother. The entire Matthews family looked very much alike, with the blonde hair and blue eyes.

She desperately wanted to ask him about her brother, find out what exactly happened to her brother. But she hadn’t found the right time, she wanted them to have some privacy so no one would overhear them. That is if Four even answered the questions that she had, she wasn’t even sure if he would know the answers that she wanted but if he couldn’t or wouldn’t give them to her then she would find someone who would.