FIGHT FOR YOU (1/?)
FANDOM: Divergent
PAIRING: Eric Coulter x Fem!Reader
SUMMARY: this is after four+eric's initiation and before tris'. this will be the build up of the characters as we got introduced to them as well as maybe the society. not just a love story but we aim for characters' growth and storytelling.
WORDS: 2.6K
A/N: not only my first time writing on this fandom but also in general in a very long time. kinda letting myself go with the flow. bc the best writing is just writing and letting the story tell itself ;) took 5 days and 3 drafts to complete this, so hopefully muse isn't too off by the end of it lmao if anyone loses time of their day to read this, hope you like it & thank youu <3
You were shocked by what you had done. You couldn't think due to Dauntless' ovations. WHAT DID YOU JUST DO? Before turning over to your new faction, you took a few steps back to observe how your blood blended with the scalding coals. Some Dauntless approached you and whispered "congratulations" or "hi" before one left their seat to you in the front row and slipped into the back to see the rest of the ceremony.
You didn't regret your choice. That's what you had to do. It was really startling to learn on the aptitude test that you were Dauntless rather than Erudite. Did you always think Dauntless was the coolest faction to be at? Yeah. Did you think you could be strong enough to be a part of it? Hell no. Your first emotion was not fear but respect towards it. You felt like a fish out of water. This was something you never expected. 95% of the initiatives belonged to the faction to which they were born. How the hell were you the one chosen to be into the 5%? You were unsure, but a spark had ignited within you after that.
You were unable to stop thinking about it. Did you believe you can handle it? You were unsure. Yet, how could they possibly have failed? All of their propaganda to believe the ceremony and the test to become who you genuinely are rather than who you wish you were. In the Choosing Ceremony, you weren't fully certain about your choice. Erudite was always so intelligent and clear, but you were always doubting it. Guess it was true, you were not part of the faction. They really did say something prior that caused you to make a last-minute choice change. You couldn't be where you weren't meant to be. You had something inside of you that had the potential to blossom into Dauntless, and you couldn't survive without discovering what it was. Could you have securely remained in Erudite without letting anyone know your result? Sure. Even if you weren't yet aware of your inner Dauntless, you still needed to remain true to yourself.
So you swallowed it and moved your hand swiftly just as the first drop of blood entered the Erudite bowl. You apologized while looking for your parents' eyes amid the crowd. They certainly did not anticipate it. You adored your parents and were aware of how much both of you would miss each other after you were gone. However, they would comprehend. They would have to. Even if they could never have imagined making this choice, you know they would. Faction before blood. Because you were so preoccupied with your thoughts, you hardly notice the rest of the ceremony. Knowing that you had made the right choice for yourself and would have to live with it, with your truth, you were able to relax. Wasn't that a brave thing to do anyway? You choose the reality, throwing yourself into the unknowing rather than staying safe where you were. Guess you belonged there too.
As soon as the Ceremony finished, all factions started to orderly march in turns. However, the tranquility was short-lived. The moment everyone reached the front door, all Dauntless began to scream and flee. Confused, you changed a few looks with some new transfer Dauntless like yourself. You were grinning as everyone applauded, and you began to run with them into the city, feeling as liberated as you had ever been. After being stiff for so long in the ceremony, it felt exhilarating to be able to move your body, running and jumping with everyone else. It also seemed like everyone was celebrating a new beginning, their arrival. And before you knew it, they were claiming up to the train station.
After attentively observing a few of the more experienced members, you started to follow them. You didn't want to be the last person to give it a go or the final one to fall short. You had heard so many rumors and of course, Dauntless had to be tough. We needed them to look out for us. They were necessary. But even on the first day, they were giving you a brutal workout; could this be typical of their routine? God, you had to get fitter if you wanted to keep going without stopping for breath.
What you were unaware of was that this was merely the beginning. Although you were aware that you would need to undergo training in order to match their level of toughness and fitness, you didn't anticipate that this would serve as your welcome to the faction. You started hearing and seeing the train speeding into your way, and before you realized what the intentions were, you were shocked they were doing this to the newbies. You thought they must have started training them to jump in and out of trains moving at slower speeds. But you guessed not. After someone pulled you slightly to the side, so they could continue racing with their Dauntless colleagues, you snapped out of your thoughts. You began to run as well, and you watched people pulling themselves onto the wagon by helping themselves by grabbing the door handle.
As you approached, you stumbled into the wagon just barely before pushing yourself to the side to make room for others and in an effort to catch some air. You were trying to control your breathing by looking at the ground, when suddenly, you notice how a girl bumps into you.
"OUCH" you both exclaim, as she moves away from her towards the door, you quickly get up.
"Sorry, I didn't even-" the black girl starts to speak.
"No, don't worry, I've made the same landing, I hope it gets better with time" you smile at her as you offer your hand to help her get up and out of the way, as you see a teammate who has to do wonders to avoid walking on her. "My name is Y/M" you introduce yourself.
"Winter, nice to meet you" she smiles at you as she takes your hand and she stands up. Yellow cloths. Amity. "What a welcome" Winter whispers, it wasn't a complaint, but from her tone it wasn't a compliment either and you understood it. You were just as tired.
As Winter struggled to catch her breath, you started to gaze inside your wagon. You noticed that both initiates and adults were conversing in a corner with other Dauntless companions, and that the color that stuck out the most was white. Candor. There was no one from Erudite that you recognized when you tried to look around the wagon. You now wish that you had paid closer attention to the ceremony to learn the identities of your new colleagues. You imagine you'd learn the answer quite quickly.
"Why are we moving towards Abnegation?" asked a boy from Candor who was standing close to you but whom you had overlooked.
You couldn't believe it; this was your first time riding a train, and you were preoccupied with the interior rather than the outside scenery. You turned around and scan the area. Winter mused, and you nodded. "Perhaps they are giving us the difficult route; try to picture the landscape a bit; after all, we will have to travel a lot. That, or just give us time to catch our breath." The three of you laughed as she spoke.
"At least I'm glad all of us transferees are equally dying." The boy replied sincerely. "I don't think much could have trained us for this." Winter continued. "Yeah, but that's what initiation is for, I'm sure we'll all learn how to uncover our advantages", you said.
The three of you stood there in silence watching the train as it accelerated forward, away from Abnegation and toward the fence, with distant views of Amity's factories.
"It's fantastic, I've never seen this far from the city" Remarked a girl as she left a big group and headed towards the unoccupied window in front of them to get a better view. White clothes, she was Candor too. "It's lovely, I've never seen so much green combined" You added as you got closer to see better next to her, and you felt that your companions did the same. "Nature is what I'll miss the most." Winter introduced herself, and the girl turned to greet her. While she was looking at all of us, she began to call her name, "Cor-" but when her gaze landed next to her faction mate, she tightened up a little. "Alvin"
You noticed he hadn't introduced himself, therefore that was his name. She received a little bow from Alvin with his head, "Corinne" The girl grinned at him and said, "There was no question that you were going to be a Dauntless." "Yeah, I can't say the same about you." He said, a little dryly, there was some friction because these two weren't exactly best buddies. You cut the conversation short, "Nice to meet you Corinne, I'm Y/M," and Corinne smiled at you, seemingly thanking you for the change of subject. "Likewise. Hey Winter, your lands are huge, aren't they?", she asked.
"Yes, but this is just a portion. We only come here to labor and gather some supplies. Our primary land is located in the northern part of the city. Although you can't see how huge it is from a train because we've already passed it all, this train moves quickly", she said, and you agreed. You had read a lot about Amity, so you were familiar with everything. "Yeah, we're already heading back to the city, so I guess it won't be long for us to go down" You said.
And before you knew it, the three of you females started chit-chatting about your prior lives while Alvin quietly left to find other company. After a while you started hearing knowing on metal and scanned the wagon looking at one of the Dauntless members trying to get everyone's attention. "Stop talking, we're almost there,"
And suddenly it was over. Everyone began to jump once more. Winter continued to whine, but there was no time for it. The train was going quickly, there was not much time to second guess if you didn't want to miss it. You gave a side smile and noted out of resignament before crossing over to the other side in an effort to gain speed as you impulsively leaped.
Your body felt the shock of your short fall on the roof, but you were unharmed. Adrenaline running through your body. Corinne and Winter fell exactly next to you, and as your eyes crossed, you both couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of the scenario. Even though this was crazy, you were okay. And going forward, everything will be easier, or so you believed.
The three of you stood up and made your way over to the large group that was assembling on the opposite side, where one boy was standing on top of the roof and giving everyone a somber look over his shoulder. "Alright, listen up. My name's Eric. I am one of the leaders of your faction. Several floors below us is the entrance for the members of our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump, you don't belong here." Specifically focusing on those who stood out the most in the crowd of people wearing black clothing—transferred people like you—he said, "Initiates any volunteers?" Despite the fact that, in your opinion, you shouldn't have to prove yourself, he was putting you to the test.
Everyone turned to look when a familiar male voice shouted "Me" As soon as you laid your eyes onto him, you recognized him. Milan. Fellow Erudite like you. His transfer wasn't a surprise, everyone could tell Erudite wasn't his place, but you weren't paying enough attention at the Ceremony following your turn to observe his entry. After all these changes, you both attempted to greet a familiar face as he passed between you by exchanging glances and nodding slightly to one another as you smiled awkwardly.
Although you couldn't see Milan's face, you could tell when he lost confidence and his shoulders stiffened as he looked at the darkness beneath him. He took a moment to inhale deeply and jumped. But once he did everyone carefully stayed in silence as if that would help them hear better any sign of his existence. Other few seconds passed and a fellow Dauntless-born stepped out to the edge to jump off without thinking with a smile on her face and at that moment, you realized. There could not be something dangerous down there, what could be the point of losing all their new members? After that realization, you relaxed your shoulders and as a Candor member started to climb into the edge, you started making your way to the edge as the fourth volunteer.
You took advantage of the small amount of time while the third jumper was jumping to get a better look at one of your new leaders, Eric, and his colleagues who were standing to the side. He definitely had a Pug face that was at ease. His thick black tattooed stripes on his neck and pierced brows gave him a decidedly unfriendly appearance. Was it just his demeanor, or did he have to put on an act to lead initiatives? All the other Dauntless teammates were equally intimidating-looking and well-groomed. You recall how fantastical you always thought they were when you were little. So tall and powerful, covered in so many tattoos. You've always questioned whether they altered the new initiatives, chose their new look and suddenly they became fearless. Before the Aptitude Test, you had trouble picturing anybody from Erudite as Dauntless. As you grew older, you came to know how absurd that notion was, and as you stood a few feet from their position, you were aware that everything was about to unfold for you.
When the leader looked up after checking the bottom of the hole, he discovered your eyes were fixed on him. He turned his head as a signal for Next, and you immediately ascended and looked below. Knowing that you were about to leap off to nothing made for a definitely terrifying-looking vista. However, there couldn't be nothing there. You simply knew it. You inhaled deeply before making a leap of faith.
And despite your best efforts, you couldn't help but tighten up as you descend under the hole swiftly. Soon you were struck with something that coins the impact. A net. There's a fucking net. Your body unwinds, and you begin to chuckle. You were beginning to understand the significance of this. Looking around, you see someone attempting to assist you. Quickly turning to the edge with his assistance, you roll out. The man asks, "Your name? You cannot change it after the fact, so consider your options carefully," he said with a warm smile. However, there was nothing you were running after. You didn't need a fresh start just to keep growing. "Y/M" You grinned, he nodded, and you followed his eyes as he turned to look at another Dauntless member who appeared to be in charge of arranging the group of your fellow initiatives as well as a group of people standing behind whom, based on their behavior, you assumed didn't want to miss this.
When the man who pulled you out of the net announced you as the fourth jumper, the gathering of people from your new group applauded you on, and you raised your fist in celebration as you joined the others who had jumped prior.