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

Abby wondered briefly if Eric was showing her this spot so that she could have it to come to, if she ever needed it. In the back of her mind, she hoped that it was okay with him. Eric was showing it to her, she thought that it was only right to ask him permission. If so many Dauntless didn't even know that it existed... Eric had to think she could use it. She was sure of it. There could be no other reason, right? Clearing her throat, Abby looked up to him, nodding slowly. "Thank you," she said quietly, her eyes flicking down to her feet for the briefest of moments before she looked back up to him. "Is it... okay if I come here sometimes? Of course, if you don't want me to, I won't."

"I'm... I'm glad that you didn't but it was still wrong of me to make such assumptions about you. When I barely know you and..." Abby trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. "You're showing me something you don't ever show other Dauntless, let alone an initiate."

The next words that fell from Eric's lips were surprising to her. It felt like he must have known about her father, must have known what she went through since she was younger. Four had always done a good job of protecting her when he was still in Abnegation, her life had only gone downhill once he left. And that, she couldn't really blame him. Everyone was placed in the faction that they belonged in. "The Dauntless are strong, I'm sure that nothing will harm me outside of whatever job I land means." Abby thought it was a good response to Eric's comment because she didn't really want to admit to what she felt like he was hinting at.

Clearing her throat, Abby turned back toward the small ladder that would lead them back into the compound. "I really appreciate you showing this to me. I'll..see you tomorrow, I guess?" She offered a smile before disappearing down it. It was getting late and Abby was sure that she still needed tons of rest for whatever tomorrow held in store for her.

Abby took a quick shower in the dorms before making her way yto the bunk directly beside Grace's. She offered a shy smile as she climbed under the covers before turning to face her. "How'd your tattoo go?"

Eric nodded his head at her question, “You can come here whenever you need to.” He didn’t show her this place just to rub it in her face and tell her that she could never come here again, he wasn’t a horrible person. He listened to what she said about being safe in Dauntless, he couldn’t tell if she knew that Four had told her about their father or not. But whatever the case, he would wait until he knew her a little better before saying anything about that to her. He wanted to be her friend, not scare her away because of how much he knew about what she has gone through.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” He agreed when she made a move to climb back down the ladder, he didn’t stop her as she was probably tired. Today had been a long one and then she got a tattoo, so she needed all the rest that she could get. However Eric stayed there for a few more minutes before he also climbed back down into the compound and headed for his room, once inside his room he pulled off his clothes and climbed into his bed.

---

Grace smiled at Abigail when she arrived at the dorm, “It went really well. I love it, how did yours go?” She asked before a cheeky grin formed across her face, “Did you have a nice walk afterwards?” She wanted to know what happened between Abigail and Eric, she wanted to know everything even as a small yawn escaped from her lips. She would stay awake just to hear what happened, it wasn’t every day that a Dauntless member took a transfer on a walk. It must have been a good walk if Abigail wasn’t complaining to her about it, so Grace rolled over onto her side so she could look at her friend better. “Was it nice?” She asked as this was a great start in her opinion, Eric obviously wanted to spend time with Abigail when he never really paid attention to other transfers.

[Sorry that this post is so horrible!]

(It's totally fine!! Also, I'll reply to the other tomorrow, I promise <3 )

Abby had almost hoped that Grace wouldn't mention the walk because she still wasn't sure herself what she felt about it. She was almost positive it just had to be Eric being nice to her because as he said, she was proving herself and maybe he just felt bad about his initial opinion on her. There was no way it was for any other reason, right? That was just silly to even consider! "Um... it went well," she offered finally, unable to hide the blush she was sure had covered her cheeks. Abby looked away from Grace, offering a shy smile. She was considering telling her friend about the spot that Eric had showed her but at the last moment decided not to. She wasn't sure Eric would be okay with that.

"We just walked around the compound for awhile," Abby said, tilting her head back as she let out a yawn. "But we should get some sleep. I think tomorrow is going to be a long day," she murmured. She gave a nod of her head. It wasn't as if she was positive that tomorrow was going to be rough but there was a feeling settled in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't shake.

---

Four was standing in the training room the next morning, his arms crossed. He didn't move, he didn't so much as blink as the initiates filed into the room. His eyes scanned them without moving and he only gave the barest of nods when his eyes locked onto Grace's. When Eric finally joined him at his side, Four finally decided to step forward and speak to the crowd that had begun to whisper among themselves. What was going on? The tension in the room was palpable and it had Four on edge.

"Today, you're going to test your fighting skills against another. We'll go down the list in regards to ranking and as someone is picked, you will be taken out of the running. You will only fight once today," Four informed the group, tilting his head to the side. His eyes roamed over the crowd as he called the name of the first initiate. "Pick anyone in the room and you can fight them."

The boy looked up to Four with wide eyes. "Anyone?"

"Anyone."

Grace stood beside Abigail waiting for all the other initiates to arrive for another day of training, she stood there listening to what Four was saying. They had to train in hand to hand combat, something Grace had never been looking forward to as she wasn’t sure how well she’d do or if she’d be able to fight someone. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, but it was a task she had to do if she wanted to be a Dauntless member. She glanced over to the boy that Four picked out first, he chose a person that he wanted to be paired with for the day. A few more people were given the chance to pick whoever they wanted to fight, before Grace heard her name but it wasn’t from Four. It was from another girl, someone who Grace hasn’t spoken to yet. She thought the girls name was Cara, but she wasn’t entirely sure. She glanced at Abby before she stepped away to where they would practice, she continued to watch as it came to Abigail’s turn to pick.

But the voice that echoed in the room shocked Grace to the core, at first she thought she had heard wrong but it was the reactions of everyone in the room that told her she had heard right. Abigail wanted to fight Four, she could tell he was shocked as well with Abigail’s choice. Grace hadn’t seen that coming at all, why would any of them want to fight a trainer? A person who was older and have so much more experience than them, Four was a trainer for a reason.

---

Eric stood beside Four with his hands behind his back, he watched as paired were formed until it came to Abigail and her decision caught him off guard. His eyes widened slightly before a grin formed on his face, she was smart. Four did say the transfers could fight anyone, which really would include them both. But he just never once thought any of the kids would have the guts to challenge him or Four to a fight, Abigail was smart but at the same time Eric didn’t know how Four would take it. Would he teach her a lesson or would he go easy on her? He didn’t know but he hoped Four wouldn’t go too easy on his sister, he didn’t want anyone noticing and having Abigail hassled because of it.

“You did say they could pick anyone,” He chuckled softly as he nudged Four with his elbow, he looked over to where Abigail stood. The room had fallen silent as they all waited to hear what Four was going to do, he could agree or he could tell her to pick someone else. He was interested to see what his friend was going to do, neither of them have been in this situation before. Although if it was anyone else and not Abigail, the transfer wouldn’t stand a chance.

Abby was quiet as the groups were formed around her, she kept waiting for her name to be called by another initiate but no one called her name. Not until Four did and before she could even think, the words were flying from her mouth. Even as she spoke, Abby was already beginning to experience the overwhelming feeling of regret that settled into the pit of her stomach. Why the hell did she think that was even a good idea? Her stomach twisted and flopped as she stared up at her brother, wondering just what was about to take place. Part of her wanted to try and take it back because the idea of fighting Four terrified her right down to her core. Not because she was afraid of a fight but because knowing it would be coming from the same person who had protected her for so long? She wasn't so sure she could put up with that.

"I..." She started, all eyes in the room shifting to her. Abby's eyes flicked to the floor before back up to her brother when he accepted. She only gave a slight nod of her head before stepping closer to him - the fights would go in order of when the pairs were made. Once she stepped over to Four, she refused to look up to anyone. Abby was doing her best to remain strong despite how stupid she had just been.

---

Four's head jerked back as if a mild wave of shock hit him in response to the name that fell from his sister's lips. A laugh fell to the tip of his tongue but it was abandoned at the last moment, when Eric spoke up. He huffed, shaking his head slowly as he eyed Abby. He couldn't deny her without an explanation to the entirety of the group that watched them. He could but that would make him untrustworthy to the group and if Four wanted them to succeed, then they needed to trust him at least a little bit. "Very well," he finally answered with a slight nod of his had. "We'll fight first then."

Carrying on with the selection process, Four grew more and more agitated as the process came to an end. He didn't let it show, you wouldn't have known unless you knew Four well enough.

Stepping onto the mat after slipping his shoes off, Four shrugged his jacket from his shoulders as he looked to his sister in the opposite corner. He raised an eyebrow to signal the beginning of the fight. Abby's hands raised and they began to circle around the mat.

She was able to avoid the first few swipes that Four made but he faked to the left and before she really knew what was going on, Abby was laid on her back. The action had knocked the air from her lungs, leaving her gasping as she looked up to Four with wild eyes.

Shut it down. Four stepped forward and wasted no time in dropping down to one knee to slam his closed fist into the side of her head.

A small whimper could be heard as Abby realized what was coming, her body tensing, prepared for impact as she uttered, "Tobias," before everything went black.

(sorry I kind of ran away with this and i'm not happy with the way it's written, but)

All Eric could do was watch, he couldn’t step in or change it. If the fight between the siblings was stopped, the other initiatives would ask questions which would be able to be answered. But it still would look bad for Four if he refused a fight, so he agreed and decided to go first. Eric wasn’t far away because he knew Abigail wouldn’t last long, no transfer would last long if they were against a skilled and trained Dauntless member. He kept his face neutral as he couldn’t show any emotion as he watched, in case anyone in the group glanced over to where he stood. He had to picture Abigail as another transfer, just so his emotions wouldn’t give him away because he hated every second of the fight. He was glad when Four gave the final punch and ended the fight, Eric ordered two male transfers to carry Abigail’s body over to a bench which is where she’d stay until she came too again.

He would have picked her up himself but that would seem very strange, “You two. Hurry up,” He spoke loudly as he picked the next pair to fight, they rushed over to the mat and started. “She has guts, that’s for sure.” He murmured quietly to Four once his friend joined him, “She’ll be fine.” Abigail would have a headache when she woke up, but she would be survive and he had been impressed with the blows that she did block from her brother. But like everyone in the group, she still had so much to learn. The fights weren’t lasting long as someone always ended up on their backs, which Eric noticed when he wasn’t stealing glances over at Abigail who hadn’t stirred yet.

---

Grace bit down onto her bottom lip as she watched Abigail get carried over to a bench, she wanted to sit beside her friend but she couldn’t. She still had to face the girl that picked her to fight, she was nervous as Eric’s eyes landed on them. It was their turn. Grace stepped onto the mat in one corner, she raised her arms and braced her body by spreading her legs to give her better balance. The girl rushed straight at her so Grace quickly side stepped, grabbing the girls arm and twisting it behind her back sharply. Grace let go as the girl spun around, it was obvious she was determined to beat Grace. A few punches were thrown at Grace but she either dodged them or she blocked them with her arms, then she caught the girls arm and bent down so she could elbow the girl’s stomach.

Air rushed out of her mouth but she took Grace off guard but recovering quicker than Grace was expecting, because her knee shot up hitting Grace right on the chin and sending her flat onto her back. She was dazed from the blow to her head, her vision was blurry but she did manage to see a body walking away. Before she knew it she had blacked out as she laid on the mat, throbbing pain shooting through her head.

Four had known how the fight would end, he had known that there was no other way for it to. It wasn't as if he could slip up and Abby could win, there was no way in hell that he would have been able to explain that to the anyone. Including the initiates, even if they didn't know the relationship between Four and Abby. He stepped away the moment that he stood from knocking her out, backing away from the scene to try and put distance between himself and the guilt that seemed to be attacking him from all angles. Abby had to have known what was about to happen, she had to have known he wasn't going to be the one that went down and yet, she still had chosen him. Why?

Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, Four grit his teeth as Eric spoke. "Guts isn't always a good thing," he answered Eric, his hands balled into fists in the pockets of his jacket. Four looked away, his jaw clenching as the next fight began. "Guts, without the smarts to back it up, will get you into dangerous situations and it'll get you killed." Four huffed, his shoulders squaring as he turned back toward the pair that was fighting at the moment. "Whatever, I don't want to talk about it." There was nothing for Four to say, was there? He looked back toward where Abby began to stir on the bench and on instinct, he started to take a step but relented after a moment, refusing to move from his spot now.

Four crossed his arms and he began to close in on the mat when Grace fell to the ground. Four reasoned that he would argue no one was moving quickly enough to reset for the next round.

---

Abby groaned as she began to stir, her hand shooting upward to massage her temples the moment she began to register the pounding in her skull. She blinked, her eyes narrowed as she tried to look around before they closed again. The lights were so bright that they only served to make her head pound even more. She groaned, sinking further into her seat. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she realized Grace was sitting beside her. Reaching a hesitant hand out, Abby set a hand on Grace's wrist since it was the closest thing she could reach.

When Grace began to stir, Abby gave a lopsided grin, hoping to keep the conversation off of how horribly her choice had gone. She hadn't expected anything different but then, she hadn't really thought about it at all either. "You did great," she commented, giving a tiny nod of her head. "I can only imagine what you'll be able to do when this is all done."

Four was right and Eric knew that, “But we both know that she has the brains too.” He mentioned as he knew first hand that future Dauntless members needed to have guts and brains, otherwise they wouldn’t last long because Dauntless could be dangerous. He crossed his arms as he continued to watch the pairs fight each other, he wouldn’t say anything else about the fight that had taken place between the siblings. It was obvious that it had been hard on Four, he wasn’t going to talk about it and make it worse on his friend. So he let the subject drop between them , instead in glanced over to Abigail who had gained consciousness again.

The transfers weren’t great at hand to hand combat yet, but he hadn’t been expecting any better than what he was seeing. However he had been slightly surprised by how Grace had been taken down, but it only made him realise that the two girls weren’t their brother’s. They needed to learn everything that the rest of the group needed to. The pairs continued until the last pair fought, none of the fights had lasted longer than a minute or two. “Grab some water, we’re not finished yet.” He called out as today was going to be hard, he wasn’t going to be easy on the kids and he was going to push them.

---

Grace groaned softly as her eyes slowly opened, turning her head she saw she had been placed beside Abigail. “I was horrible…” She pushed her body up on the bench as Abigail’s hand wrapped around her wrist, she didn’t do a good job. She didn’t last long and had been knocked out, but she had done her best. “But what were you thinking? Picking Four to fight…” She had no idea what her friend was thinking, maybe she wasn’t or maybe she just wanted to push herself. Whatever the case, at least Abigail had tried to improve herself and her skills. “You dodged his punches though, you have to be happy with that.” She smiled at her friend before she heard Eric’s booming voice, she slowly stood up and looked at Abigail.

“Want a bottle of water?” She asked as they would both need to keep their fluids up today, she could only imagine how hard they were going to be pushed today. When Abby nodded her head, Grace walked over to where the water bottles were and grabbed two of them. She didn’t even look over to where Four was standing, she couldn’t look at him right now. She felt like he should have refused Abigail’s offer, he didn’t need to fight against her as they all knew he would win. He was trained and experienced in this, Abigail wasn’t and she didn’t have a chance against someone like this. In Grace’s opinion, no one would have cared if Four refused the fight, at least she wouldn’t have seen him differently.

Abby swallowed back the emotion that burst forth when Grace questioned her. She knew, without really thinking about it now, why she had picked to fight Four. If there was any way that she was going to get through to her brother, she would have to get on his level and speak the language that he understood now. There was no just going up to him and asking him to talk, Abby didn't think. Four had done his best to ignore her existence since she came here so she thought if she made it so he simply couldn't ignore her any longer, perhaps he wouldn't be so standoffish. Maybe he would even speak to her... maybe they could have their relationship back and they could each have a family again. But maybe that was it - maybe Four had a new family and there was no place left for her in his life.

Pushing away the thoughts, Abby decided to ignore Grace's question for now. She had no clue how she could even begin to describe what it really was. She felt selfish in a lot of ways - here Grace was and she had no chance at mending the relationship with Daniel because Daniel wasn't with them any more. "Thanks," she whispered, taking the bottle of water from Grace and quickly uncapping it so that she could take a sip.

She let out a quiet sigh as she pushed to her feet when Eric's voice boomed through the area to alert the initiates that their little break was over.

---

Four had stepped away to the far corner of the room to begin setting up the targets once again. This time around, it wasn't going to be the initiates throwing knives and he wasn't really looking forward to this. It had been nerve wracking even when he was an initiate and had to hold a gun for the first time, had to shoot one for the first time. It ultimately would give some initiates the sort of confidence that they needed to make their way through training and it would also have the ability to weed out the weak. It would mean some peoples egos grew so big and they thought they were invincible. People with that mindset, they would never last in Dauntless. They would do no good, they would be Factionless by the end of everything.

Once initiates stepped over to the targets, Four stopped them from lifting the guns laid out in front of them. He held up one and began to go over the general rules when you carried a weapon. He preached trigger discipline the most and to never point it at someone unless you intended on pulling the trigger before finally allowing everyone to step forward and assume their positions while grabbing the guns.

Four stepped out of the way and moved over to Eric, crossing his arms as he gave the go ahead for the initiates to begin. "Go on!" He called out with a nod of his head. "Unless you're afraid of the weapon in your hands... unless you don't belong here in Dauntless."

Eric was standing well away from the initiates for this task, he wanted to be at a safe distance in case anything went wrong. The bullets in the guns were real, in previous years the bullets had been made out of a rubber material but they affected how the guns worked and the leaders wanted all initiates to learn and understand what a real gun felt like before they went out into the world and had to use the weapon. “This is going to be interesting,” He murmured once Four joined him as they stood behind the initiates and off to the side so they could watch each and every transfer, this had to be Eric’s favourite task in terms of him knowing who would make it into Dauntless and who would become factionless.

If an initiate took the time to hold the gun in their hands before shooting, they belonged in Dauntless. But if an initiate picked up the gun and fired at the target, it was those that Eric never grew to trust to have his back out in the real world. He thought the transfers who shot the gun quickly weren’t trustworthy, they were simply going to protect themselves and not care if you were needing their help. About half of the initiates did exactly that, they picked up the gun and fired which caused them all to stumble because they hadn’t taken the time to understand the weight and the power of the weapon in their hands.

“Now we know which ones we have to watch,” He mentioned to Four as they both believed the same thing, not every initiate was going to stay as not everyone belonged in the faction they had been placed into.

---

Grace wanted to complain that the break hadn’t even been longer than five minutes, her head was still pounding from the beating she took but now she had to learn how to shoot a gun. But she gritted her teeth and took a sip of her water, moving over to the table she lined up with Abigail. She listened as Four went over the rules, Grace was nervous as she’s never touched a gun before and now she was expected to shoot it at a target. Once Four stepped aside, Grace wrapped her hand around the cool metal and held it in both of her hands. “It’s not as heavy as I had thought it would be,” She looked over to Abby and saw she was doing the same thing, the gun was still a weight against her skin but it would still be light enough for her to carry easily.

Her eyes moved over the gun, she wanted to understand it as much as she could before using it. Clearly not everyone thought like she did, as shots echoed through the large training room as most bullets missing the target. By that time all the other initiates had fired the gun at least once, when Grace realised that she was taking much longer she moved her body into a position that was comfortable for her. Raising her arms so the gun was aimed at the target, she spent a few seconds moving herself until it felt right. Closing her left eye she focused on the target and squeezed the trigger, the power of the gun surprised her and the pull back nearly made her lose balance.

Her heart beat increased in her chest as she couldn’t believe she had just fired a gun for the first time, although she had missed the target Grace was still proud of herself for not being afraid of the gun in her hands.

It had always been a sort of disappointment to Four when the initiates were first introduced to the weapons that could one day save their lives. The ones that he had expected to do well and not rush into things, some of them did the complete opposite and rushed to shoot the gun as if they couldn't wait to get the action over with. Others that he expected to be careless, a few of them could be said to have surprised him. They seemed to understand the gravity of the weapon they held in their hands and took the time to get to know what it meant.

Four held up a hand to cease the firing and as the initiates took notice, it stopped. He stepped forward again, his eyes switching between the ones who had rushed brazenly into firing without even a moment of consideration. "The weapons in your hands, they are deadly. They will kill, they will save your life one day. You cannot be afraid to fire them but on the other hand, you need to have a respect for what you are capable of with such a thing in your hands." Four's gaze moved to Grace and it hesitated there before continuing on.

"By the end of the day, each of us will have helped you multiple times. You should be able to hit the target by then," Four called before signaling for them to resume. He glanced to Eric with a slight smirk, "now to weed out the weak."

---

Abby had stared at the weapon that she was expected to pick up and fire for far longer than she probably should have. She blinked, staring down at it as if she did pick it up, it would shock her. She had never felt a violent urge in her life. The worst had been wanting to protect either Four or herself from their father but that had been it. Would she ever have the strength to pull the trigger knowing that when she did, it likely meant death for someone? She wasn't so sure but with a deep breath, Abby stepped forward and picked up the gun, pushing away the doubt. There was no room for it right now, she knew that.

Focusing her attention on firing the gun, Abby braced herself for the recoil and surprised herself by only stumbling back a few steps to catch herself. She had expected to land on the ground because that would have been just her luck. Quieting down while she listened to her brother speak, Abby tried to remember the words as the shooting started back up. She couldn't be afraid - she had to have a healthy dose of respect for the gun.

“My favourite time,” Eric chuckled softly as he really did enjoy taking note of the weak, it always made things easier later on when initiates turn into Dauntless members. Grabbing his small notepad and pen, he begun to walk behind the line of initiates and watch as they fired the gun in their hands. He would cross off the name of the initiate if he felt like they weren’t good enough to be in Dauntless, it was easier for him this way as he could never be bothered remembering all their names. And it gave him and Four a chance to go over who they both felt were the weak ones, then they would hand their thoughts onto the leaders for them to deal with.

Eric would stop every now and again to help someone, even if he believed someone to be weak he would still help them in case they improved and showed to him that they did belong in Dauntless. Then he stopped behind Abigail and watched her as she shot the gun, she was getting better with her aim and with the recoil of the gun. The recoil was something that the initiates would grow to expect and will get used to, but the aim was important. If they couldn’t hit the target by the end of the day, they weren’t going to survive in Dauntless because they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves.

“Well done, Abigail. But loosen the shoulders and the knees, the recoil won’t be as bad for you.” He suggested to her as she was still doing really well, she was handling the gun with the respect it deserved and needed.

---

Grace listened to what Four said before she continued firing the gun, she was still missing the target and it was making her worried. If she couldn’t hit the target by the end of the day, she would become factionless. The thought was causing her stress and it was constantly on her mind as she shot the gun, she was trying her best to aim but she was confused as to why she wasn’t hitting the target. She was desperately trying which had caused her mind and body to tense, she was putting pressure on herself and none of that was helping her. In fact it was only making her aim worse, what else wasn’t helping was the fact that Four was making his way towards her in the line.

He’d see how terrible she was doing, even though she respected the gun and understood the power it had. She didn’t want to ask for help as that could make her appear weak, but how else was she supposed to learn? And she wanted to learn as much as she possibly could, so when Four moved close enough to her she lowered the gun and glanced at him. “I’m doing what you said, but my aim is still off.” She spoke to him after taking a deep breath in, she had to be brave and ask for help if she needed it otherwise she wouldn’t be asked to join the faction.

Abigail's brows pulled together at the advice that Eric gave her, not quite understanding how that would work but she knew better than to question him. He was her trainer, he knew more than she did, after all. She pushed back down the swell of emotion that bubbled up. She forced her shoulders and knees to relax, rolling her shoulders for good measure before she brought the gun back up. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to take a deep breathe before reopening them and focusing on the target at the far end of the range. She exhaled and when the last of her breath left her lungs, she pulled the trigger. Abby stumbled slightly but not nearly as much as she had the past shots and for that she was thankful because she had been starting to second guess herself.

Glancing behind her, Abby offered Eric a shy smile and a nod of her head. "Thank you," she said quietly before she turned back around. In the brief pause, Abby had noticed that Grace was getting frustrated with herself. She hoped that her friend would be able to work through it and finish the task because so far, it seemed that there wasn't anything that Grace couldn't or wouldn't do. It would be ridiculous to expect her to be perfect with her first time ever shooting guns - Abby certainly wasn't!

---

Four stood back with his hand cupping the opposite wrist behind his back as he watched Grace continue to fire. He was quiet until Grace seemed to notice his presence and he stepped forward just as she turned around. He tilted his head to the side, listening to her words as he nodded. He offered a hint of a smile before stepping even closer, motioning for her to turn back around. Once she had, Four set a hand on her shoulder, giving it a moment's massage before he pulled away. "You keep changing the tension you're applying to the gun with your shoulder. You need to keep it at the same pressure, it'll help the shot be the same each and every time." Four gave a nod of his head, motioning for her to attempt another set of shots.

"Another thing to keep in mind," Four started, pausing as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. "That the barrel of the gun needs... time to rest, so to speak. If you fire and fire, eventually it will begin to overheat and that will make your shot hit a wider circle than if it was well rested. For lack of a better word," Four said quietly, clearing his throat. "You are doing well, Grace. Don't start worrying just yet."

“Of course,” Eric spoke once he had watched Abigail fire another round at the target, she still stumbled but that was to be expected. She wasn’t used to the recoil that a gun had, and she wasn’t the only one who was stumbling after pulling the trigger. “You need to get used to the recoil, then you won’t stumble. But that will come in time,” He assured her honestly as he knew she’d do fine with the gun, she’d need to practice more to perfect her aim but so then did the entire group of initiates. At least they all seemed to be on the same level with shooting a gun, no one stood out to be better than the others which Eric thought they all needed. Otherwise jealousy would build up in the kids who struggled more, and that wasn’t an emotion that Dauntless used or felt.

“Keep going,” He encouraged Abigail before he stepped further down the line, stopping every now and again to help an initiate who needed it. Which was nearly all of them, but that’s what he was there for. Once he had gotten to the end of the line, he stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he simply just watched them. Most of them were impressing him by how they handled a gun, “They’re doing pretty well.” He commented once Four joined him.

---

Grace bit down onto her bottom lip when Four’s hand massaged her shoulder, it wasn’t for very long but it was long time that his touch caused her stomach to tie knots. She pushed any thoughts away as she listened to what he was telling her, the barrel needed to rest and her pressure needed to stay the same. So she squared her shoulders off before raising the gun at the target once again, just the act of holding a gun was still strange to Grace but only because it was the first time she has ever held a gun in her life. She exhaled deeply as she aimed once again at the target, she tried her best to keep the tension in her body the same before pulling the trigger back.

Lowing the gun Grace allowed a smile to form on her face when there was a bullet hole in the target, it hadn’t hit the body outline but it was still on the target surrounding the body outline and right now that was good enough for her. Four’s words echoed through her mind about how well she was doing and that she shouldn’t worry, it was easy for him to tell her that as he wasn’t facing the possibility of being factionless. Not that she thought she would become factionless, unless her secret got out. But she thought she had done enough so far that she would stay there and be a Dauntless member.

Four worried, in the back of his mind, for the two girls that Eric and he seemed to focusing on. They were both good enough at distributing their attention to the other initiates but there was always the sense of worry that he couldn't displace. Something was out of the ordinary with what was going on and he knew what it was with Abigail but he couldn't seem to place it with Grace. He had been good friends with Daniel and he thoughts perhaps, if the man was still alive, that Daniel would have insight to what was going on with Grace but that wasn't an option. So he settled with encouraging her, hoping that whatever the instinctive feeling in the pit of his stomach was, that it was nothing and that he would be able to soon forget all about it.

Eric mentioned how good the initiates were doing and he gave a nod of his head, crossing his own arms as his eyes scanned over the initiates. "I'm worried about the second part of initiation," Four murmured, his voice low enough that he knew none of the initiates would be able to hear him over the sounds of the guns firing. When his friend glanced in his direction, Four could only offer a shrug of his shoulders. "Don't ask me, I don't have a damn clue why. Just something... I feel like there's something that I'm missing with some of the initiates."

Four trusted Eric with his life but he still didn't want to voice his full suspicions with Grace so he figured leaving it as vague as possible was likely best.

---

Abby lowered the gun she held to her side, shifting a bit. It seemed the longer that she held the gun, it was heavier and heavier. The feeling it gave her, she felt like she didn't have to be afraid of anyone who came at her. She didn't have to be afraid of the Factionless or her father. She couldn't help but wonder if she would be able to pull the trigger on someone if the situation ever popped up. Sure, she had never really felt like she belonged in Abnegation but to take another's life, she thought it was an entirely different sort of situation. Her heart sank as she took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. There was no sense in worrying over it, she couldn't change it now.

Glancing up, Abby couldn't help but grin when she noticed Grace's improvement. She turned toward her friend and the smile only continued to grow when Grace looked over to her. "You're getting the hang of it!" She exclaimed with a nod of her head. 'You'll be the best in no time at all."

Eric wasn’t sure about why Four was getting the feeling he was about some of the initiates, of course some were doing worse than other’s but his friend had never been worried before. He didn’t question his friend though, “I’m sure most of them will pass. The next step has always been tough, some won’t make it through their fears but that has happened very year.” He remembered the first time he went into his fear landscape, so he could practice at overcoming them and it was hell for not only been but for every single initiate. Glancing over at the male standing beside him, he couldn’t tell if he was worried about two initiates in particular or if there were a few of them that he was concerned with. He wasn’t going to ask, if someone didn’t make it into Dauntless then there was always a reason for that decision.

He felt comfortable with how Abigail and Grace were handling themselves so far, so he wasn’t overly worried about them not making it into the faction. “We can also only do so much, man. It won’t be our fault if someone doesn’t make it,” He wanted his friend to know that, because that sense of guilt can attack at any time. Especially if they chose to help an initiate who was refused by the leaders, but they were trainers and they had many initiates that they had to focus on. “Alright! Gun safety lock on before you have a break,” Eric spoke loudly for the group to hear him, most of the bullets were fired from the guns at that point.

---

Grace removed her finger from the trigger and allowed her arms to drop down to her side, “I wouldn’t go that far. Look at all the places you hit the target, you got a good one in the stomach.” She smiled at Abigail as they both seemed to take a break, Grace had to admit that her arms were becoming slightly sore from the outstretched position they had been in. And the gun was still fairly weighty in her hands, she just hoped she wouldn’t have to use a gun other than when she wanted to practice. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to shoot someone, but it would also depend on the situation that she was under. If she was being attacked or if a loved one was getting hurt, she hoped she could fix the situation and help anyone that she needed to.

Turning her head she looked over her shoulder when she heard Eric’s booming voice, she listened as he explained how to put the safety lock on before she set the gun down onto the table in front of her. She grabbed her bottle of water and took a large drink before looking at Abigail, “My arms aren’t used to being held like that. It probably doesn’t help that we climbed the wall twice,” She chuckled softly as she noticed a few other people stretching their arms, at least she wasn’t the only one whose body was feeling the struggle.

Knowing what his sister would be facing in hardly any time at all, knowing what Daniel's sister would soon be facing. He had no clue what Grace was afraid of but he knew that Abigail would be facing their father just as he had. Just as he had time and time again, until he learned how to fight back against the image of his father with a young Abigail curled up in the corner. He wondered if she would dream of the day he had been transferred, the last day that he saw her. Their lives had changed immensely from that day forward, Four's had gotten so much better. He was free from the wrath of Marcus and yet, she would now bore the brunt of it.

Shaking his head, Four forced the thoughts away as Eric began to speak to the initiates. He watched as everyone headed over to grab some water and a granola bar that had been laid out for each one. He turned toward his friend, his brows pulled together. He couldn't decide how he felt because he wanted nothing more than to help a special pair of initiates but he couldn't. But then again - had Four ever been one to follow the rules? Not particularly.

Four cleared his throat, glancing down to his feet for a moment before he lifted his gaze back up to Eric. "When should we do the war games? We'll have to split the Dauntless born between the teams but," he paused, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Guarantee that I'll beat you this year, too."

---

Abigail took a long swig of her water, trying to wash down the nausea that had settled in the pit of her stomach. She knew that she was supposed to eat the granola bar but she didn't want to, why would she want to? After all, who wanted to eat when they were feeling sick? No one. Sighing, she stepped forward and scooped it up, taking a small bite of it. The more she ate, the better she began to feel. She chanced a shy smile in Grace's direction, cross her free arm over her body. "I never thought I would fire a gun... not... not like that," she whispered, letting out a small laugh as she shook her head.

"We have to be done pretty soon, right?" Abigail asked, chewing on her bottom lip as she glanced over to Four and Eric. "They can't just expect us to keep going all day, especially when they keep introducing so many new things!" She huffed, shaking her head. "Not if they want us to remember everything. Right?"

Eric chuckled as he glanced to his friend, “What makes you so sure of that? If I remember correctly, I won last year and I’ll do the same this year.” He was confident that his team would win the war games this year, like he had done the previous year. Not that it did much, the winning team could brag about it but that was all they would earn from a win. “We could make it interesting… Abigail on my team and Grace on yours.” A smug smirk formed on his lips, he would have liked to see if Four could work with his sister but he’d much rather have her on his team for the game.

“How about tomorrow night? Give them a day off training, see who has the commitment to continue training on their own before the game.” Eric suggested knowing they couldn’t work the initiates into the ground, they had done well with the training and did deserve to have the day off so they could do whatever they wanted. Although that didn’t mean he wouldn’t continue to keep an eye on as many initiates as he could.

---

Grace quickly grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water, although she wasn’t overly hungry she knew better than to skip this chance to eat anything. She took small bites at a time, chewing slowly so the bar wouldn’t feel heavy in her stomach. “I know what you mean, they don’t introduce anything slowly. I wasn’t really prepared to fire a gun today,” She told her friend and she did know why Four and Eric were just pushing them into different tasks, if they were given a choice or were told to take their time then nothing would get done and nothing would be learnt.

“I’m still not entirely certain I remember how to take the gun off safety,” Grace admitted quietly to Abigail, she was trying to remember everything she has been done over the past few days and some things were missing from her memory. Not that she felt like she’d be the only one, which did make her feel better if she forgot how to do something. “So I noticed that Eric gave you some more tips today,” Grace grinned as she looked at her friend, she wasn’t sure why Abby wasn’t noticing how often Eric helped her. It was obvious to her, at least.

Four hadn't been expecting to hear the challenge fall from Eric's lips, he hadn't been the least bit prepared for it. His shoulders pulled together as he shook his head, grinding his teeth together as he contemplated the offer. It wasn't the worst one that he had ever heard but he knew that his sister would be on the opposite team as he was and that there was no saving her this time around. But it was better off that way, Four was reluctant to admit but it was true. Letting out a huff, Four nodded as he crossed his arms.

"Tomorrow night sounds good," Four finally brought himself to tell her, letting out a sigh that he had been holding in despite himself. He gave a shake of his head as he rubbed his cheek, trying to ease the tension that was steadily filling him. "We'll get them to run through another round of fights tonight and then give them the news that they have the better part of tomorrow off. How's that sound?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over to Eric.

---

"I doubt everyone here is going to remember everything little thing that we've learned over the past few days. You know that, right?" Abigail tried to reason, nudging Grace with her elbow. She let out a sigh as she dropped down onto the floor, tilting her water bottle back long enough to take a gulp of the water. She knew that it probably wasn't such a good idea to take such a big sip but she didn't care enough to not.

Clearing her throat as she turned to face Grace, Abby couldn't help just how red her cheeks turned as her eyes widened. "Eric was just giving everyone tips when they needed it!" She tried to defend, huffing as she took a bite of her granola bar. "And if we have to talk about Eric giving me tips, we can't really ignore how much attention Four was paying to you!" She countered, a sudden grin spreading across her features. "Bet he asks you out once we make it into Dauntless. Just you watch!"

Eric also wanting to see what Abigail was like when she didn’t have her blonde friend close by, would she be any different? He wasn’t expecting her to be but he wanted to make certain, certain that Abigail would still do well if Grace wasn’t there anymore. Not that he thought the blonde wouldn’t make it into Dauntless, but things could change and things happened. There have been initiates before that he was expecting to do well and haven’t, so he learned quickly to never assume too much from people. Glancing over to his friend, he grinned seeing the tension in Four’s shoulders. He didn’t like the idea of his sister not being on his team, but this way they could both see how well she did when her brother and friend weren’t there for her.

“It’s settled then, I think tonight should be the night when we start the list. Make them work harder to join us,” The list was a sort of score board, there was a line after a certain number and everyone below that line was told to leave. They would mark the initiates on how they were doing, how much they were learning and how much skill they were getting from the training sessions. It was about time that Eric and Four became serious on who was going to start and who was going to leave, all the initiates started with a zero mark and could only increase on that number with how well they were doing with their progress.

---

Grace nodded her head lightly, “Yeah. I do know that,” She also knew that she needed to be easier on herself, but she wanted to belong somewhere. She knew deep down she belonged in each and every faction, but she wanted to belong in just one like everyone else did. Grace saw the blush that tinted Abigail’s cheeks when she mentioned Eric, before it was quickly turned around back onto her. She couldn’t help but snort at Abby’s comment, “I highly doubt he’d ask me out. I bet he already has a girlfriend, or he simply isn’t looking for one.” She knew there wasn’t a single chance for her to have any sort of relationship with a man like Four, he was completely out of her league that he’d probably laugh in her face if she ever mentioned it.

Chewing another bite of her granola bar she looked at her friend, “Although he is the hottest guy in Dauntless.” Grace admitted as she glanced over to where Four was standing with Eric, “But aren’t we meant to be focusing on ourselves? Not on our hot trainers,” She smiled at her friend as having a boyfriend wasn’t important to them right now, what was important was them both earning a place in Dauntless and not being factionless.