Fire Fox

Fire Fox - Chapter 1

Beatrice glanced around the choosing ceremony. The hubbub had died down since she'd chosen Dauntless, and everyone was waiting to hear who would be called next.

"Arianna LaRue." Marcus called out.

Beatrice scanned the factions, eyes alighting on a girl who stood up in Amity. She strode confidently towards the bowls, her head high. Beatrice was stunned by her. She was tall and athletically built, and even from where she sat Beatrice could see that her eyes were huge and long-lashed, her skin flawless. But her most striking feature, by far, was her mane of red hair. Beatrice instantly thought of a fox, an animal she'd studied in science class; this girl's hair was the same vibrant shade, and, Beatrice saw, flowed like the mane of a lion, another animal Beatrice had read about.

Arianna had reached Marcus and the bowls and accepted the knife from his hand. She spun to face the factions, and, turning her head, Beatrice followed her gaze. She gasped quietly when looked at Amity. The peaceful faction was glaring at Arianna with what could only be hostility, anger and defiance. Beatrice looked back and saw the same emotions reflected on Arianna's face. Savagely, the tall girl sliced the knife across her palm and closed her fist. She shot her arm straight out, palm up, and held it over the Amity soil. Beatrice looked back at the faction, their expressions had not changed. Why is Amity so mad at her? Beatrice thought. They're supposed to be peaceful and loving? What has this girl done to make them hate her so?

The girl's beautiful face twisted in anger, and she curled her lip at her old faction. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Then, with a sudden jerk, Arianna snapped her arm to the side and turned her palm down, opening her fist. A large gout of blood splashed onto the Dauntless fire, sizzling and hissing and snapping. Dauntless roared in triumph and Amity visibly relaxed. Beatrice gasped again, realizing that she hadn't drawn a breath since the girl had cut her palm.

Handing the knife back, Arianna accepted a strip of bandage and turned to her new faction. As she was the next one to choose Dauntless after Beatrice, she would have to stand next to her. Beatrice held her breath again as the redhead made her way over, Dauntless still roaring and stomping their feet, impressed by her defiance. Arianna stopped beside Beatrice and faced forward.

"Wow.....that was amazing." Beatrice said, stumbling over her nervousness.

Arianna turned her head and flashed her an amused glance. "Thanks."

"And your hair, it's like...like a fox." Beatrice babbled.

Quirking one side of her mouth, Arianna looked down at Beatrice again. "You talk a lot for Abnegation."

Slightly embarrassed now, Beatrice straightened her spine. "We're both Dauntless now." She replied. She saw that Arianna's eyes were a kaleidoscope of amber and brown, like a Tiger's Eye gem she once saw in a museum.

Having expected her comment to shut the girl up, Arianna's eyebrows lifted at Beatrice's grit. "Yeah," she grinned. "You're right." Her mouth widened into a genuine smile and she turned back to the ceremony as a 'Jacob Hunter' was called.

When the ceremony ended Dauntless began filing out. Beatrice looked over at her old faction, at her parents, but Arianna held her head high as they passed Amity. As they neared the stairs, the Dauntless began to yell and broke into a run. Grinning back at Beatrice, Arianna joined the crush and, unwilling to be left behind, Beatrice followed. They stayed side by side as they ran through the streets, Beatrice sensing that Arianna was holding herself back to keep pace with her. As they neared the tracks, they slowed with the crowd and Beatrice and Arianna traded glances when they saw that the Dauntless initiates were beginning to climb up the trestle to leap aboard the an oncoming train. Breathlessly, they followed, reaching the top just as the train began to pass.