HIRAETH (Divergent Eric X OC)

3

As a child, I never quite respected the stamina of dauntless members. This morning that has changed drastically due to our 5 kilometre run. I do my best to wipe away the beads of sweat that had built up on my forehead as the burning in my legs finally begins to subside.

"Okay initiates, today is the day. You will be participating in fights." Eric's voice fills the training room. Today marks day 3 of our initiation. I guessed we would be fighting each other during this stage but I didn't think it was going to be so soon.

"First up, Stiff vs. William" my heart sinks. Alec offers me a small smile before making his way onto the barely matted ring. I couldn't quite put a face to the name 'William', but when I did I was even more concerned.
The boy that steps up is an ex- erudite. He is much larger than Alec. The look on his face is the most terrifying part of it all, he seems so unbothered.

"Rules are as follows; there more or less are none. You fight until your opponent can't continue"
"Or until someone concedes" Four speaks up for the first time this morning, looking to Eric with an angered look on his face. From what I've observed these past few days; they can't stand each other's company.
"No- that was the old rules. According to the new rules no one concedes. Go"

I can barely watch as the two boys begin to circle each other. William takes a speedy step towards Alec and manages to jab him in the side, causing him to wince.
"Come on Alec!" I cheer, hoping it will spur him on. Eric's eyes dart to me, a murderous look on his face; he has the worst attitude I've ever seen.

Our friend manages to dodge the next shot that William takes, even managing to land one of his own. It starts to go downhill from their, the erudite boy swiping Alec's feet from underneath him with one swift kick. I decide to look away, but that doesn't stop me from hearing that unforgettable smacking sound of fist hitting skin.

"Winner - William. Four can you take the stiff to the infirmary?" When my eyes finally land back on Alec, I feel slightly sick. He has a bloody nose and is unconscious as Four throws him over his shoulder.
"Oh my god" Morgan's voice sounds frightened - and I can't blame her.
Eric takes a few moments to wipe the fresh blood from the ground before getting back on his feet.

"Next up, Melanie vs. Lori" an involuntary gulp rises in my throat as I make my way to the ring. My bare feet hit the cold mat and I can feel Eric's eyes on me.
Melanie just so happens to be the frail Amity girl from the rooftop that first day. As she slowly walks towards me I can see that she is trembling. She tucks a strand of her short chocolatey hair behind her ear before making eye contact with me. I offer her a small smile. My breathing becomes shaky as Eric once again explains the rules - I almost don't hear him tell us to begin.

I slowly move closer to Melanie, my arms in a protective position. With every step I take, she takes one backwards - almost stepping outside of the square. I'm not even able to get close enough to land a punch.
"Amity - stop playing around" Eric's irritated voice fills my ears, Melanie stops moving back. She attempts to hit me, but misses. As much as I don't want to I have to remember what Tori told me - I have to seem strong.

I throw a heavy fist to the girls rib cage - winding her. Once she regains her composure she runs at me, trying to take me down but I reverse it and she ends up on the floor. The sound of her head smacking against the ring earns a few gasps from my fellow initiates. I give her another punch, this time to the face - causing her nose to starting trickling a dark maroon blood.
I look up to Eric - hoping he will leave me stop. She wouldn't be able to take much more than this. He doesn't say anything, only gestures me to continue.

"She's had enough" my voice comes out fairly small - scared even.
"I'll say when she's had enough"
"But she-"
"I said keep going Lori" I sigh lightly at his response, not that I didn't expect it. Four isn't even here to give his two sense about the situation.

I turn back to Melanie, who has now managed to sit up. She looks to me with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry" with that I connect my foot with her head and she falls to the ground.

•+•+•+

"Okay that's it, you're done for the day. Get out" as everyone, including four file out of the room a rough hand grabs my arm.
"Not you. We need to have a few words" I can't lie, Eric had startled me.
Once the room empties fully he looks to me like a bold child. The look on his face is harsh, but possibly not as deadly as usual - which means this is not what I fear it is

"Do you know why you're here?" He questions whilst studying my facial expressions. I merely shake my head.
"You're backchat is unacceptable, Candor. I am one of your leaders here at dauntless and you speak to me like I'm someone of Four's rank." He sounds quite irritated.
"How do you expect anyone to show you respect? Respect goes both ways" the fashion in which he raises his eyebrows sends shivers up my spine.
"That is not how this is going to work initiate"

"Lori - my name is Lori. Not loud mouth, not initiate and not Candor." I swear the corner of his lips curl up when I speak.
"Well then Lori, I'm here to inform you that you will be cleaning the training room each night for the next couple of days as punishment for your behaviour" surely he can't be serious.
"How would I even know what to do?" It makes absolutely no sense for an initiate to help out - I would slow everything down.
"Four and myself take it in turns so you will have one of us to observe"
"But-"
"No buts- you have no say in this." he cuts me off, his voice getting slightly raised but not enough to attract the attention of any passerby. He must see my face drop slightly as he continues to speak.
"You really need to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself- you might even have a half decent chance of ranking high"

I can't tell if that was a compliment or a sarcastic dig - most likely the second option. He watches me, awaiting my response.
"Can I go now?"
"Fine, go"
As I'm walking away I notice something underneath Eric's ear- a small scar. If you weren't extremely close to his face you wouldn't notice it - but I did. It finally hits me. I know where I recognise him from.

"Factionless, you helped out in the food bank didn't you?" He stiffens up slightly before looking at me with a false confused expression playing on his face.
"I don't know what your talking about" his words are firm but not as bold as they usually appear.
"You did. I remember it now. It must've been about five years ago. I was there too." He doesn't look impressed - he almost seems embarrassed which is strange considering it was an incredibly good deed he was doing.
"And how would you know that was me? I look nothing like I did five years ago initiate"

He definitely does not. He was completely different then - a scrawny Erudite boy, his face swallowed by the black rimmed glasses he wore constantly. I didn't speak to him much, but from observation he seemed to be a very soft spoken guy.

"Because you got that scar there one day" I remember it well. Everyone was going on about the day as normal, we all had an assigned job. Eric's job that day was dishing up soup to hand out to the factionless. My water stand was close enough - I got to see the whole thing. An intoxicated man pulled a pocket knife from his jacket and slashed the area just under his ear, obviously aiming for his face but missing. Eric never came back after that day.

"Anyone can get a scar anywhere, and so what if it was me?" his defensive attitude leads me to believe I'm right.
"Nothing it's just your so....different now." I eventually settle on that word as the other choices would set me up for more trouble.
"Yes- people do tend to change with time - especially when they leave their birth faction" he does have a point. Before I can reply he gets there first.

"Initiate, I have had enough of your smart mouth for today. Go" So much for him calling me by my name.