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      AS their lunch break drew to a close and Davina's plate failed to finish itself, Four had done the rounds and collected all the transfers and led them off. Davina had kept her head down, not sure whether she wanted to be at Edward and Myra's side, or if she would rather Will and his new friends; so instead she ended up somewhere in the middle alone, following the back of Four's head. She could see tattoos sneaking up the back of his neck from under his shirt.

He took them to a different room this time, as big as the other, but with much more space around them. In the middle a circle was painted around a raised, padded platform, and on the wall to the left was a chalkboard with all eleven of their names scratched in alphabetical order. Davina looked at it curiously, scanning the room one more time, noticing the faded black punching bags hung up on the other end.

"Pick a bag and keep quiet," Four instructed, his voice easily reaching all of them in the echoing room.

The group of transfers spread out and placed themselves in front of a punching bag, Davina between Apollo and Peter. She shifted her feet nervously and stretched her hands at her side; this was one advantage she had. The very thing she had been shunned for back in her home Faction may be the thing that would win her a place in her chosen one.

It was funny how things worked out sometimes.

Four stood in the middle so they could all see him as he continued to speak. "As I said this morning, next you will learn how to fight. The purpose of this is to prepare you to act; to prepare your body to respond to threats and challenges—which you will need, if you intend to survive life as a Dauntless. We will go over technique today, and in a few days you will start to fight each other," Four explained. "So, I recommend that you pay attention. We don't expect you to be black belts in three days, but those who don't learn fast will get hurt."

Their instructor continued to go over a few different punches and kicks, most of which Davina was either already familiar with or had some skill in. She felt an unusual rush of confidence in her system as they began to hit their own punching bags, and Davina realised how good her odds were for stage one. As Davina continuously hit the punching bag, she imagined it was an opponent, darting back and forth, keeping her stance steady and ready as if it would grow arms and hit her back.

They had a few days to prepare for actual combat one-on-one. She had sparred with Edward for the last eight years, he was the only person who scared her in their transfer group. No one else had the experience they did, as she looked around, comparing her skills to others. From her point of view, Edward was a stand out, and she supposed she was, too. To her right, Peter was doing well, which Davina narrowed her eyes at, before turning to Apollo.

His punching bag hardly moved, and his movements in general were choppy and too aggressive. Davina looked to see Four at the other end of the room, so she broke out of the line and towards Apollo.

"What?" he snapped, flushed from the activity. His knuckles were red.

"Use your elbows and knees more," she told him. He furrowed his brows, the skin around his scar pinching. "And don't punch through your joints, do it through your muscles." She gave a quick example against his punching bag, while he looked at her like he couldn't believe she'd stepped up to help.

Davina turned away and back to her own punching bag without another word, which she continued to hit. She smiled to herself as she heard Apollo land some good hits, and saw his bag swinging out of the corner of her eye. In the grand scheme of things, three days would make no difference to her ability to win.

After punching the bag for what felt like almost an hour, Four changed to doing general strength drills, instructing them sharply and jumping down the throat of anyone who tried to take a break. Once Davina had thoroughly sweated out anything she had drank that day, Four moved them into a formation and adjusted their form as he had them practice strikes and punches in synch.

Davina was glad to be one of the few with only one adjustment made to her form, an ever so slight twist in her shoulders, but for the most part Four had regarded her carefully and moved on.

At last, he dismissed them for dinner, with no words of encouragement or praise for their first day. The afternoon sun was shining above the pit as Davina, who wasn't hungry yet, returned to the dorms. The rush she got from combat had returned to her, and it would take a while for it to wear off, she told herself.

"Not going down to dinner yet?" someone asked as she gathered a change of clothes after she showed. Davina glanced up to see Peter doing the same thing she was.

"No, I've got a second layer of sweat I need to wash off," Davina told him.

The brunette boy only scoffed. "You seemed to know your way around today," he told her. Davina narrowed her eyes at him as she headed in the direction of the bathrooms. "That was actually a compliment– you're supposed to smile."

"I'm so honoured," Davina said lightly.

"Whatever, Nose," Peter mused. "See you at dinner."

Davina said nothing in return as she closed the door on one of the shower cubicles and organised herself. Peter taking note of her established skill was less of a compliment, more cause for concern. Judging simply off technique, he would be the biggest threat to her other than Edward, in stage one. She had to be cautious.

After scalding herself under the hot water and scrubbing herself clean, Davina pulled herself into a looser change of clothes for the evening and headed back out into the dorm to put the old, sweaty clothes into the laundry basket.

Someone fell into step with her as she did so. "Hey," Apollo said when she didn't acknowledge his presence. They just shared a bunk; she hadn't expected him to actually want to talk to her.

She grinned up at him through her wet hair. "Hey, Greek mythology," she greeted brightly.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" Apollo drawled.

"Yes, really." Apollo rolled his eyes. "So, what's up?" Davina asked.

"I... just wanted to say thanks for helping me out today," Apollo said, and it sounded like saying 'thanks' was hard for him, for a Stiff. He really didn't belong there. "With the punching bag and all," Apollo added, voice clearer now, as if trying to maintain some credibility to his dark and brooding persona.

Davina looked at him for a few seconds, debating whether she should make fun of him or not, before deciding otherwise. "No problem." She looked away from him, thinking their conversation was done.

"Is it an Erudite thing?" Apollo continued. Davina shot him a questioning look.. "Seeing someone fail at something you know, does it trigger you?" Apollo asked, with a mix of both curiosity and mocking.

"Are you suggesting I only helped you because I was frustrated you weren't doing well?" Davina snipped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes."

"Then, that's it."

Apollo raised both eyebrows, as Davina moved away from the laundry basket and back to the bathroom to brush out her wet hair. She saw the former Abnegation appear in the mirror as he trailed her. They remained in comfortable silence for a minute as Davina pulled her hair into a light, straight sheet, arms aching slightly at the movement.

"Do you want to get a tattoo?" Apollo asked abruptly.

Hardly perturbed by the suddenness of the request, Davina jeered, "I've known you for one day. How about we wait until the one-year anniversary at least to get matching tattoos?" She grinned at him over her shoulder.

"In your dreams," Apollo snorted. "I meant come with me to get a tattoo."

Davina turned to him. "No friends?"

"No," Apollo snapped, hastily. "No– I mean yes I have friends. Peter and the others just didn't want one so soon."

Davina narrowed her eyes at him slightly. She hadn't known Apollo was considered a part of Peter's posse. Granted, she hadn't been looking at the other tables at lunch that day.

"And you do?" Davina asked.

Apollo shrugged. "What better way to say 'fuck Abengation' than get a tattoo?"

Davina eyed him carefully. "And you're assuming I'll go with you?"

"Yes," he said simply.

They stared at each other, two aliens in Dauntless, before Davina just shrugged.

"I need some new clothes anyway so, yeah, what the hell?" she agreed. Apollo's smile didn't meet his eyes as he finally left her alone, and Davina finished up post-shower.

They were the only two in the dorms as she slipped on some shoes and they left the room behind, joining in the crowd of Dauntless finishing up with work for the afternoon. Peter was nowhere to be seen after his own shower, but Davina didn't care much.

The unlikely pair stopped for clothing first, using the points they had been given to stock up on black and red garments in all shapes and sizes, both leaning to their own personal styles. They then headed to the tattoo parlour, eyes slightly wide as they walked on ledges without barriers and the chasm glared up at them.

"I understand bravery," Apollo huffed as they were on stable ground again. "But some of the things they do are stupid."

"You sound like my sister," Davina sighed. "That's not a compliment," she added as Apollo opened his mouth.

The tattoo parlour was a small place, but cosy and well-lit. Davina watched as Apollo scanned the artwork on the walls, his eyes lighting up at some designs and narrowing at others. Davina had no such intention to get a tattoo, not yet. But something in the way Apollo looked at the artwork, and how he had claimed getting the ink was a way of separating himself from his former Faction stuck to her.

"See something you like?" someone asked.

Davina wheeled around to see a Dauntless woman looking at her curiously. Apollo had been sat on a tattoo bed with another artist, leaving Davina to stand alone.The woman was older than some other members, with greying streaks in her straight, dark hair, and almond-shaped eyes.

Davina opened her mouth to say 'no', but something stopped her. "Actually, it's just a simple design. I wasn't really looking, just thinking," Davina replied. The woman looked at her, thoughtfully.

"Erudite, huh?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"That obvious." It wasn't a question.

The woman just smirked. "What design?"

Davina regarded her for a moment, in the way only an Erudite could to another Erudite, before refocusing. "A lily."

"Easy," the woman nodded. "Where?"

"Here." Davina gestured to her outer forearm.

The woman nodded. "I'll draft some things for the stencil. C'mon, kid."

Davina followed her to a computer, and spent the next twenty minutes drawing up a lily design, playing with sizes, and testing the way it moved along Davina's body, watching herself in the mirror. The tattoo artist – Tori – was terribly patient with her, and when the time came to actually sit down and start the ink, Davina had contributed much of her own drawing to the flower.

It hurt like a sunburn being poked at, but Davina tried to avoid focusing on the small needle repeatedly going against her skin, as the time ticked over. Tori wrapped it for her with a smile and a list of instructions to heal it, and Davina was out the door.

Apollo was leaning outside, looking deep in thought, but perked up when he saw Davina. "You didn't have to wait," she told him.

"Don't have anything better to do," he replied.

Davina only narrowed eyes at him as they left and headed back for the dorms, carrying their bags of news clothes at their side. On the way out they passed Will and his new group of friends, but Davina hadn't stopped to talk and Apollo hadn't complained.

"Did you even get a tattoo?" Davina asked as they entered the hallway, giving Apollo a once over.

"Yes," he scoffed. "Wait until the one year and you can see it."

"Cute," she mused.

"Why the lily?" Apollo asked, gesturing to her forearm. Davina glanced down at it, still adjusting to the shiny, black linework now on her skin.

"It's pretty," she told him.

"Do they like those things in Erudite?" he asked.

Davina furrowed her brows. "No. Erudite are supposed to be smart and sophisticated. They don't drink alcohol cause it makes you stupid and they don't use nicknames cause they're seen as demeaning."

"Weird," Apollo snorted.

"Says you," Davina jeered.

Apollo shrugged. "Touche."

Evening had closed in by the time they dumped their things in the dorms and headed down for dinner. The hall was alive and bustling as they entered, and the dinner for the night seemed to be a roast of sorts as she followed Apollo to a table. She blinked as she realised he was taking her to the table of Candors.

"You're late," Peter said as Apollo and Davina sat opposite him.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Apollo cooed.

"Just shut up and eat your food," Peter scoffed. "Oh, Molly, Drew– this is Davina." He gestured to the blonde girl and she smiled at both Peter's friends, who eyed her up like a piece of meat. "The one I was talking about."

"Aw," Davina said in a very good Apollo-impersonation. "You talk about me?"

Peter seemed unfazed, looking at her pointedly. "Of course I do, Nose."

At the nickname she only rolled her eyes and started to load up her plate, aware of Peter watching her. He and his friends had already cleaned their plates, it seemed, as Apollo and her started their meal late.

"Did you guys go to get tattoos?" Molly asked, eyeing Davina's forearm.

"No shit," Apollo replied.

"That's sweet– a real bonding experience," the Candor girl replied. Davina narrowed her eyes at the tone, knowing it wasn't genuine.

"I want one," Peter declared. Molly shrunk back at the comment. "Not sure what though," the pretty boy said thoughtfully.

"I just thought the lily was pretty," Davina said with a shrug.

Peter didn't miss a beat. "Should I get a tattoo of you, then?"

Davina only shot him a look. "Call it mutual, asshole."

"Save the energy for the fighting," Molly cut in. The table all looked at her with mixed expressions. "We're starting matches in three days," she pointed out.

"Thanks for killing the mood, seriously," Apollo said. Molly only sneered at him. "It'll be fine. No one knows what they're doing," he added. Peter's look had gone from flirtatious to suspicious as he looked at Davina, but she stayed quiet.

"The small ones won't make it," Peter said simply. "The Stiff will go down with one punch. And that blonde's arm will break."

Davina knew he was talking about Will, but again stayed quiet.

Dinner passed with more teasing and questionable remarks, leaving Davina tired and wanting nothing more than to be alone and have a cigarette. Returning to the dorms wasn't an option then, so she split from the group under the guise she was meeting Edward and Myra. She didn't meet them, instead making a wide sweep to the training room from earlier in the afternoon.

She flicked the lights on, watching as they flickered to life. The punching bags were still strung up, and Davina swallowed thickly as she headed towards one. After a few seconds of breathing, she fell into her usual stance and began to kick and punch at the hard surface, far more aggressively than she had in the training session.

Peter had definitely been sizing her up, and he had been trying to get her to talk about her ability. It made sense with the ranking system, but she had to keep the one advantage she had. If she could just make good progress in the first few rounds before the others began to develop techniques, she would be fine. As long as it wasn't Edward, and as long as Will didn't go blabbing, which was a fat chance.

She had to be fine. She had not come this far to fail because suddenly she wasn't good enough. Of course she was used to that, but this was a fresh start– this was a way to break the mirror.

As she moved, she made a habit of not using her forearm to block or strike, conscious of the fresh ink in her skin. A lily– one of her favourite flowers to paint, and one of the few that had made it to her walls and looked down at her as she slept. She missed her art deeply, but she told herself she would make more.

How odd it was that the things that had set her apart and placed her in the shadow were things that gave her an edge here. If her twin could see her now, she'd eat her words. Viviane would never have gotten a tattoo or been able to adjust to Dauntless initiation– Viviane never would have chosen Dauntless.

A particularly rough punch made the bag shake and Davina shook out her wrists as her knuckles began to ache. She couldn't rely on her advantage alone, she had to work hard as she always had. In some ways, Dauntless wasn't so different to Erudite.

The door to the training room banged open and Davina wheeled around like a deer in the headlights. She relaxed slightly when she saw it was Four, who didn't look angry, only the same low gaze he always wore.

"You're out late," he said. Davina didn't know how much time had passed between the late-dinner she had had and now.

"What? Is it against the rules?" she asked, trying to be more confident than she felt.

Four tilted his head at the cheek. "Not officially," he told her carefully. "But we can't account for anything that happens if we're not supervising you as transfers."

Davina only sighed. "I can take care of myself."

"I have no doubt," Four said coolly. "Just be careful. Initiation makes people dangerous." It was said as a warning, and Davina only frowned. "I like the tattoo. It's a good first," Four added, gesturing to her arm.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"Don't go to bed too late," he told her over his shoulder, before the doors banged again and she was plunged back into silence.

Davina didn't stay up much longer after that, sucking on a small cut on her knuckle as she slunk back to the dorms deep in thought. Al was sniffling when she arrived, which covered up the noise of her washing her hands and getting dressed.

Before she left the well-lit bathroom, Davina glanced back down at her tattoo. She wondered if she would regret it one day, if it would be included as part of a series of bad decisions she had made recently. Something her mother would scoff at and something her twin would mock her for.

Davina wondered if one day she would stop caring. She didn't know.

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like apollo was originally made as an oc to balance the numbers in stage 1, but he has honestly become his own character especially in this rewrite and i hope y'all enjoy him as much as i do <3

next chapter is significantly longer than these sort of set-up ones have been, and again, i have very much changed and extended the timeline for this fic!! this is the final warning

sorry there hasn't been much peter the last two chapters, the content is coming i promise!