"So today we will begin your physical preparation for our fights. You will master multiple methods of combat and once we have the basic foundation, you will be put through a series of fights so we can rank you accordingly," Four explains slightly pacing in front of the initiates. His arms are crossed over his chest and his expression is stony.
He doesn't even look like Tobias right now. He looks cold and distant. He looks like Four.
"These rankings will determine what jobs you move into," I continue, my eyes sharp. I stand tall and cross my arms like him. I feel his eyes shift to mine. "So you best make sure you give this your all. Because your best is the only thing we will accept."
My eyes survey our initiates and I'm able to place the name to the face for the majority of them. Sophie stands at the front, her eyes strong and tilted slightly up at me. Abigail stands beside her, resting her elbow on Sophie's shoulder.
Jenna is on the other side of Sophie, her arms are crossed just like mine at the moment. She stands straight but she's still one of the shortest here. She just about my height. She looks determines but nervous and her full attention is on me.
The same couldn't be said of Madison and her friend Cassandra are staring elsewhere. Cassandra is eying one of the boys in the group, Blade. But Madison's eyes are fixated directed on Tobias. My Tobias.
I swallow hard, keeping my insecurities and anger at bay. I glance over Tobias, who is looking at me. I nod at him to continue. His blank eyes turn back to the initiates.
"We'll start by teaching you the proper fighting position. At this point we'll split into two groups. Everyone from Madison down is with me. The rest of you are with Tris."
Everyone scuttles around and I lead my initiates to a series of punching bags. We got new ones this year. They're a deep purple that almost looks black.
I turn around when we reach our destination. "Alright, everyone. We'll be practicing on these bags for today with various different maneuvers. But first, I'd like to straighten things out. Everyone get in a straight line so I can see all of you.
My six initiates straighten on the line. I have Jenna, Sophie, Cassandra, Abigail, Tamani, and Luke. Cassandra's lips are puckered at being separated from her friend.
"Now, everyone, raise your arms like this," I say, raising my arms horizontally, almost blocking my face. "If you're a lefty, have your eight over your left. Righties have your left over your right."
Jenna and Sophie raise their arms immediately. I notice that Sophie's arms are a little high, but other than that the spacing is good.
The others raise their arms and make corrections. I also use the time to try and get more a feel for their personality. Everyone took the advice in stride and worked on fixing it. Cassandra, however, did not.
When I tell her that her arms weren't protecting her face at all she denies snappily.
"Cassandra, you need to raise your arms a little higher and tilt them more. And curl your hand into a fist."
She glances around and then, at last, puts her arms up the way I instructed. "Now, everyone step up to the punching bag," I announce.
After showing them different techniques with hitting it, I step away, observing. Most of them are doing it correctly, and when I notice someone doing it incorrectly, I'm quick to show them the right way.
Once everyone has gotten it down, I glance across the room at Tobias. His arms are folded, making his arms look stronger than usual. His face scrutinizes his initiates. Madison is the only one doing it wrong in his group. Her posture is all wrong and she's focusing on hitting it as hard as she can rather than using the proper technique.
I roll my eyes as Tobias steps up to help her as she stares innocently up at him. I turn back to my initiates. I have better things to do.
+ + +
I lean against the wall, observing as Tobias paces around the initiates. "One!" he yells, as they all lower themselves to the ground.
They all continue doing pushups, moving in sync to Tobias's voice. Eventually, he stops talking and starts the timer. 10 minutes of push-ups.
To get through Dauntless initiation, you have to be strong. Doing push-ups is about more than jut physical strength. Sure, it strengthens the muscles, but you also have to be mentally strong to get through the pain and cramping.
I meander over to Tobias, who stands behind all of the initiates. He stands tall with his shoulders wide. Everyone faces the other direction as I ravel my thin arms around Tobias's waist from behind. I press a kiss the his strong shoulder, whispering, "Hey."
His head turns, looking over his shoulder at me. His expression is slightly softened as his eyes meet mine. "Tris, we can't."
I frown, glancing at the initiates. "They won't see," I murmur under my breath.
"Not here," he says sharply. His voice is rushed and his voice strained. His thick brown eyebrows are tugged to the center of his forehead. He wants to kiss me, I can tell. But we can't risk the initiates seeing.
I bite my lips and nod in understanding, looking down. He contemplates something as he turns around to me. He glances over his shoulder to make sure the initiates are still on task.
His head whips around to me and a small smile quickly appears on his face. However as fast as it appears, it's gone. He presses his lips against my forehead. I lean into his touch, a fire igniting inside me.
"I love you," he whispers.
He leans away and I smile shyly up at him. His hands are still on my waist and he holds me close. "Not here?" I ask, surprised he broke his strictness.
He smiles cheekily. "Sometimes I just can't help myself."
I stifle a laugh as he looks down at me. After quickly checking on the initiates again, he whispers, "Plus it wasn't exactly a kiss."
"My, my look at you finding loopholes in your own rules," I joke.
"You know it," he says with a wink. His arms unravel from my frail body and he steps a few feet away from me. I lean against the wall, just watching him.
A/N
Okay I haven't updated in a while yikes. So.... MERRY (LATE) CHRISTMAS, HAPPY (LATE/UPCOMING) HOLIDAYS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next one will be interesting 😏 I'm gonna have fun writing it...
ps sorry for the short chapter but I wanted to update today
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Fourtris Now and Forever: Divergent No War
FanfictionTris and Tobias [Four] push the boundaries of their relationship as it grows in a spin-off of Divergent where the Erudite never created the injection and didn't plot against Abnegation. They are taking it slow, as Tobias respects Tris's fear enough...
