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      APOLLO would not get his sleep, as it turned out.

The pair had stumbled back in after their training session, showered as quietly as possible, before slipping into bed. Davina had stared up at the bottom of Apollo's bunk for a while, her mind racing as it always did when she slowed down before bed, and she had heard her new friend let out a sigh as sleep was on the horizon.

Almost as soon as Davina had closed her eyes, the doors burst open and people streamed in. Davina blinked through the flashlights surrounding her, the floating lights blinking throughout the room as she sat up, immediately on alert, wondering if this was a drill – which was very likely – or something was terribly wrong.

"Everybody up!" someone roared. Davina frowned as she recognised the voice as Eric's, as her eyes became readjusted to the light, and she could see the partial figures of those in the dorms now. Four was amongst them, with other Dauntless members Davina didn't recognise by name. "You have five minutes to get dressed and meet us by the tracks," Eric announced. "We're going on another field trip."

Davina felt all tension leave her body knowing it wasn't something terribly wrong, or even a drill. It was simply another spontaneous activity sprung on them during initiation as suspected. At this news, many reacted in annoyance and got out of bed as the Dauntless left the room as quickly as they had entered.

"Can't even wake us up normally," Peter muttered.

Davina scoffed as she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, the strands still damp and stringy from her recent shower, and she resorted to the first pair of black clothes she could find in the dark.

There was an air of confusion and exasperation amongst the initiates as they all got up and dressed, someone eventually flicking the light switch on, Davina's eyes again flooded by light. All the while, Eric's time limit ticked in Davina's mind, knowing they would most definitely be left behind if they weren't there in time, as the blonde began to hurry out of the dorms alongside the others.

"What the fuck?" Apollo grumbled beside Davina. His hair was even messier than normal, the bags beneath his eyes more pronounced, as he radiated murderous energy.

"Bad luck, sleeping beauty," Davina teased as she sprinted up the paths along the walls of the Pit.

"Why are they here?" Apollo snapped out.

Davina's light eyes flicked to see the Dauntless-born initiates appearing as if from cracks in the walls, sprinting way ahead of the transfers in the same direction as they were. Davina's attention piqued, eyes trailing them curiously.

Were they doing something with the Dauntless-borns for once? It had been over a week, and Davina wouldn't have been able to place any initiate outside of their group, and she had wondered what initiation was like for those already familiar with the Faction. What could they be doing together?

The transfers made it to the tracks just behind them, and Davina let out a breath as they arrived with time to spare. Sitting next to the tracks in the minimal torchlight was a cluster of guns and trigger guards, with ammunition beside them. Davina felt her stomach drop only for a second before she saw "paintballs" written on one of the boxes.

"Everyone grab a gun!" Eric shouted.

The initiates rushed towards the pile, Davina acting as the leader for Apollo's scrawny form, and the two came away with the first guns they could grab. It felt no different to the blonde girl than the real deal, as she slipped the box of paintballs into her pocket and slid the gun strap over her chest.

Apollo visibly struggled with the task until Davina wordlessly helped him out, tightening it and positioning it for him, all while the brunette boy grumbled something under his breath, probably cursing her out as he usually did.

Around them, the others had done the same, gathering guns and ammunition, all while looking mildly confused. By this point it was clear to Davina it was a game of some sort, but it must have been related to training if the Dauntless-borns were also there.

"Time estimate?" Eric asked Four.

Four checked his watch. "Any minute now. How long is it going to take you to memorise the train schedule?" he asked, snidely.

"Why should I, when I have you to remind me of it?" Eric responded with a scoff, shoving Four's shoulder as he passed him.

Davina turned away from the pair as she saw the light of the train growing closer, so bright it illuminated the entire group gathered beside the tracks. As was becoming routine, they began to run alongside the train, Four being the first to take a carriage this time. Davina was behind Apollo, the slim boy pulling himself in. Davina followed, rolling onto her back as she did so, looking at the ceiling of the carriage for a second before sitting up.

Edward and Myra were to her left, and Davina frowned as she realised she hadn't spoken to them since they'd been rushed out of bed, rather than gravitate to their side. Apollo stood above her, looking as mean as always, as Molly shot the pair a glance that was becoming commonplace.

Davina sneered back at her, wondering when she would let up, considering the leader of her posse had no issue with either of the pair. Peter, as usual, had not a single hair out of place, and turned and met Davina's eyes, sending her a wide smile. Davina rolled her eyes with a smile of her own, looking away.

"Get a room," Apollo hissed.

Davina rolled her eyes. "Go take a nap."

He narrowed her eyes at her, but said nothing as Four spoke up. "We'll be dividing into two teams to play capture the flag. Each team will have an even mix of members, Dauntless-born initiates, and transfers. One team will get off first and find a place to hide their flag. Then the second team will get off and do the same." Davina exchanged a look with Apollo at news of the game, remembering both their skills with real guns. "This is a Dauntless tradition, so I suggest you take it seriously."

"What do we get if we win?" someone shouted from the back, a voice Davina didn't recognise.

"Sounds like the kind of question someone not from Dauntless would ask," Four replied, raising an eyebrow. "You get to win, of course," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Four and I will be your team captains," Eric interjected, glancing at Four. "Let's divide up transfers first, shall we?"

"You go first."

Eric shrugged. "Edward."

That was expected, but Davina still felt her stomach twist at the favouritism. Not that she wanted to be favoured by Eric of all people.

"I want the Stiff." Four's words were met with laughter. Automatically, all eyes went to Tris, no one even thinking for a second that Apollo was the chosen one.

"Got something to prove?" Eric asked with a smirk. "Or are you just picking the weak ones so that if you lose, you'll have someone to blame it on?"

"Something like that. Your turn," Four said, seeming completely unbothered. Davina only blinked at him, knowing that he had made the decision on some calculation, he must have.

"Peter." Eric.

"Christina." Four.

"Davina." Eric.

Peter exchanged a pleased look with her, but she was only focused on Edward, whose dark eyes had lit up at her name.

"Will." Four.

"Molly." Eric. Predictably.

"Apollo." Four. Davina swallowed thickly as her friend left her side.

"Al." Eric.

"Drew," Four relented.

Myra was the last left by default, and was placed with Eric automatically. His face told Davina he wasn't pleased with that, but he still had the strongest team by bodyweight. Peter and Molly stood together, the latter not taking her mean eyes off Davina, but she simply ignored her.

Four and Eric chose Dauntless-borns next, spouting names Davina didn't recognise as they were selected, and once they had finished choosing teams, Eric was wearing a smug smirk. "Your team can get off second," he said.

"Don't do me any favours," Four snipped. "You know I don't need them to win."

Eric's eyes blazed, his ego challenged. "No, I know that you'll lose no matter when you get off," he retorted. "Take your scrawny team and get off first, then."

But Davina furrowed her brows at the words. He did have a point. Four's team was made up of people smaller and slighter than Eric's, with only a few exceptions that had probably been forced by chance– namely Drew.

And considering it was capture the flag, Davina quickly figured Four was going for speed rather than strength, like Eric was. For a former Erudite, Davina struggled to see the logic in his thinking, and she felt their chances of winning were hurt by it.

Four's team got to their feet, Apollo stepping closer to the edge of the train. It was dark out, with scattered lights from what Davina could see, and wind whistled through her hair as she watched the team disappear all at once, left behind in the dark for a few moments.

Eric shifted, still looking annoyed, and moved to the edge of the carriage as well, the moonlight glinting off the piercings in his face. Davina got closer, caught between sticking with Peter and the added Molly, or her two Erudite friends she had scarcely seen recently, which left her standing awkwardly alone.

After a few minutes, their group jumped as well, Davina landing in a small run before slowing down. She turned back to see the train disappearing into the distance, and realised her feet had hit soft earth.

"Nice to see you, nose," Peter mused, coming up behind her, a breadth away from pressing up against her. Davina turned to him, studying the surroundings he backed onto. She felt if she needed to she could place them on a map, and it knotted her stomach.

"I told you to come up with something more original," Davina said, rolling her eyes. Behind her somewhat friend, she could see Molly watching them with dark eyes.

"You call me asshole," Peter said.

"Pretty," Davina pointed out, indignantly.

"Touche," Peter sighed. "I'll work on it."

"Initiates!" Eric shouted, drawing the pair's attention to him. He stood before the group of them, one hand holding the gun. "We're going to play defence here, hide our flag–" he held it up, "–and wait for them to come to us."

"You mean we're going to tank them?" Peter asked snidely. Davina rolled her eyes at his speaking out of turn.

"Well," Eric replied coldly. "If you're volunteering." Peter stayed quiet. "We'll take out as many as we can when they come to us. It'll leave them open to being overwhelmed when we find their flag." Some of the group nodded. "Good. Keep your flashlights off and let's move."

Peter drifted from Davina's side, falling into step with Molly instead as they moved. Someone came up behind the blonde girl, and she realised with a start it was Edward and Myra.

"Figured I'd save you," her childhood friend whispered.

"My hero," she responded dryly.

"You know where we are, don't you?" Edward continued.

Davina frowned. The marsh that had once been a lake was to their left, the murky water glinting in the moonlight. "Yeah– close to Erudite headquarters. Just South."

Edward picked up on her tone and stayed quiet.

They were less than a mile from their former home, from everything they had ever known. Closeby, Davina's twin was going through her own initiation, while Nic continued his studies under their parents' hawk-like gaze. There was a Davina-shaped hole in the room she had once shared with her twin, and one less person for her mother to be disappointed in each morning.

They crossed over a pier as they walked in relative silence and semi-darkness. Davina could see the top of Peter's head as he moved, and figured if there was a steep drop, he'd fall first. She knew Edward was watching her warily, but she kept her face even.

"You look like you're about to cry, nose," Molly spoke up, looking over shoulder nastily.

"Don't call me that," she snapped back.

Davina's vision was suddenly obscured by an orb of light as Molly flashed her light in the smaller girl's face. The blonde blinked rapidly and shielded her eyes as best she could. "Or what?" Molly challenged.

Davina narrowed her eyes, but followed her own advice and didn't take the bait. She suspected Eric may not be as tolerant of an incident– or maybe he would encourage the violence. Who knew?

"Molly, for fuck's sake turn the flashlight off," Peter chastised. Molly grunted at her friend, but still listened and turned it off, Davina being plunged into darkness again as they moved off.

"She's crazy," Davina heard Myra murmur as they walked.

"Should've knocked her off the pier," Edward remarked.

Davina ignored both remarks as they continued through the dark. They were accompanied by three Dauntless borns, all of which had taken their place up the front with Eric as if they were old friends. Davina found it hard to imagine Eric having friends.

It must have been midnight by now, which left the landscape in complete darkness, only adding to the nightmarish feel of the place. Davina desperately wanted to turn on her flashlight, not liking the darkness shrouding anything around them, but she refused to be the one to break face and need the reassurance of the light.

Davina hated the dark. It left so much unseen and hard to prepare for, and though she knew that was a hardy Erudite trait, it was hard to let go of that reasoning and allow herself to feel safe with no prior knowledge or context at all. The dark had always scared her for that reason, and Viviane had begun to tell her she didn't fear the dark, but the unknown, like most of their faction did.

It was a grizzly reminder that Davina's results were still split in two, and she still didn't quite know what that meant, only that her life would be in danger if she asked. And, for once, she accepted not knowing if that meant surviving– it wouldn't matter much if she couldn't make it through initiation. Which, right now, was a midnight game of capture the flag.

"Here," Eric announced from up ahead.

Davina perked up, as flashlights flicked on to explore the area. It was an abandoned park, barely a clearing, and the flashlights made shadows dance around them between the tree trunks. It was almost more ominous than walking in limited light, and Davina swallowed thickly, hating the sense of fear in her.

She watched as their leader placed the flag, bright red and whipping in the wind, around one the utmost branches of a nearby tree. The shadows kept it discreet, and she suspected the height would prove challenging in the heat of the moment.

Eric got back to the ground with a thud, scanning his team. "They will come to us. I want two rounds of defence," he told them. "Peter, Davina, Lynn, Eden– outer. The rest of you stay here with me." He looked between them all, as if waiting for objection. "Try not to be seen. Go."

Davina cast Edward a glance as they separated, and Peter fell into step with her with a grin. She tried to hide her jumpiness, but his green eyes glinted as they moved.

"Scared of the dark, nose?" he teased.

Davina scoffed loudly and ignored him, not wanting to answer to the nickname as they spread out from the tree their flag was tied to. The two Dauntless borns joined them, both relaxed and their hands anywhere but their guns, while Davina still had one around hers just in case.

"Where'd you two transfer from?" the male Dauntless born asked. Davina assumed he was Eden, however unusual the name was, and in the limited light behind them she could see he was blonde, and a ring was glinting in the centre of his lip.

"Candor," Peter responded smoothly. Davina watched him carefully, recognising his tone as the one he put on more often than not. The same one he had used when talking to her about her and Edward's training, and about Tris to Apollo.

No doubt he saw the Dauntless borns as a threat to their position. Davina figured the best way to treat that was simply make it through stage one as number one. She suspected Peter's curiosity overrode that logic.

"Erudite," Davina replied when their eyes turned to her.

The female Dauntless born, Lynn, watched her critically, her head buzzed and eyebrow piercing catching the light. None of the four were using their torches, and the limited light was once again making Davina uneasy.

"There's a real mix of you guys this year," Eden continued casually. "Usually we only get Erudites– I think there's one of each now." He looked to Lynn as if for confirmation, but Peter's face had twisted into a scowl.

"We're all Dauntless now," he said firmly. Davina watched him cautiously.

"You wish," Lynn cut in.

Peter's eyes flashed, and Davina jumped in. "How do we wanna play this?" she interjected, stopping the group. They were further enough from the flag now that they couldn't hear anything, and the torchlight had gone down.

"We're the first line of defence," Eden reasoned. "We can have people on each side of–" he moved so he was holding out his arms to the beginning of the path, "–here. Like a choke spot."

"Chokepoint," Lynn corrected.

"Whatever," Eden responded. "Who's the best shooter here?" he continued, looking between the two transfers pointedly. Davina faltered, exchanging a glance with Peter, who also looked unsure as to what the correct answer was.

Seeing their hesitation, Lynn sighed. "It's the Erudite, isn't it?"

"Makes sense," Eden chimed in.

"You thinking, like, snipers?" Peter cut in.

"Well, yeah," Eden said like it was obvious. "Two of us shoot from a distance, two of us run around and shoot. Try and take down as many as we can."

"We won't make it that way," Davina retorted. "We're defence– not sacrifices."

"I'm gonna be honest, all I care about is nailing Uriah," Eden said to her, as if she had any idea who he was referring to. "Bragging rights!" he cheered, Lynn elbowing him as he did so.

"I wanna win," Lynn complained.

"I agree," Peter chimed in.

"Just try not to get shot," Lynn instructed.

Davina's gaze hardened as the four of them spread out to cover, the blonde girl hating feeling lesser simply for being a transfer. So far the only good part of Eric's plan was the way he had hidden the flag, but otherwise she didn't find placing themselves right in the line of fire and acting as a first line of defence was smart or strategic.

Both the Dauntless borns, who had gone off together, seemed to be more interested in having fun than winning. But as Davina took cover in the shadows of the trees with Peter, whose knee was practically against hers from how close they were, she figured he felt the same. His hands were tight around the gun, eyes on the pathway they were watching.

"What do you think?" Davina whispered.

Peter only blinked at her. "About?"

"Nevermind," she said quietly.

And then a loud groan, the sound of shrieking metal, and above the treeline, Davina saw the ferris wheel turning in the moonlight, as if suddenly weighed down. Her lips parted slightly, and beside her Peter looked ready to jump to his feet.

"They'll have found us now," he told her. "Probably getting a vantage point."

Davina grit her teeth, imagining if they had sent out scouts instead, been able to catch them off guard while they climbed the wheel. Now they had to simply sit and wait like prey, and she hated it, the more she sat in the dark with Peter, legs cramping every now and then.

"And now we wait," Davina sighed, the tip of her gun already slightly raised.

"Could be worse," Peter said lightly. Davina pressed her lips together at the flirting, the brunette boy beside her smirking at her reaction. "So you don't like the dark?" he asked casually.

"Anyone smart wouldn't," Davina snipped back.

"This is why I call you nose," he chuckled. Davina only grimaced. "You can call me loudmouth if it makes you feel better."

"No," she replied. "You literally said it before– we're Dauntless now."

"Only said it because they were being–" Peter cut himself off at the blonde's look. "I'll work on it," he relented.

"Good," Davina responded.

Peter tensed up, Davina feeling the movement against her own body. "Someone's coming," he barely whispered.

Before Davina could even register what was happening, Eden and Lynn had leapt from the shadows and began to shoot at the approaching team as chaos broke out. Davina split from Peter without a word, the pair ducking in and out of cover to shoot at Four's team. She could see three people at least, and she began to fire as best she could.

Firing at moving targets was much different than simple rings, and it took her a few paintballs to get the hang of it, managing the kickback and delay with her own movements. Eden let out a particularly loud cheer as he must have hit his target, but a moment later dramatically collapsed to the ground with paint splatters across his torso.

Davina darted back into behind, feeling her wrist sting from someone's aim ringing true. She had lost track of her allies in the foray, but was mainly going for the slimmer-looking initiates. She wondered if Apollo was among them, she wondered if Will was.

She blinked, peeking out from her cover, seeing Four's team split off. Lynn and Peter were still distracted holding off the first few, but the blonde girl paled as she realised what was happening. She moved from her cover, firing off as much as she could before pressing against Peter's back in the middle of the chaos.

"They're going behind us!" Davina shouted over the noise. "Lynn, Peter, we have to get back!"

"What?" Peter asked, leaning his head back to hear her properly.

In the split second he took his attention away, a paintball hit him straight in the chest. Davina heard the wind leave his body as she realised what had happened, the brunette's weight nearly collapsing against her. She shoved him aside as he was effectively out of the game, and fired at the people she could see.

Davina had made it five steps towards more cover, when a paintball struck her thigh. She hadn't expected it to bruise so much, and she stumbled at the blow and scrambled to stay on her feet, before another got her in the collarbone region. Her hand flew up to the bruise with a wince, and she looked up to see Will looking her up and down, as if gauging whether she was giving up or not.

The anger towards her old friend came with the whoop of victory and flashlights flooding the park. Christina was heading their way, the flag clutched between her fingers as she raised her arm to the sky triumphantly. Davina's hand slipped from her shoulder, as Will glanced between her and Christina, and the look of realisation washed over his stupid face.

Davina turned her back on the cheering team, wiping at the paint splatters on her body as if that would remove the marks of her failure. She could feel her eyes burning, and swallowed against it as she tried to flick the paint off her hands and onto the ground.

She could feel the shadow creeping in, the voice telling her that had they played it her way they might have won, that had she done better and been more prepared she would not have been taken out like prey. Did this game affect their overall ranks? Would she be forgotten in favour of the team that won?

"Erudite!" Eden called, jogging up to her. He slung an arm around her casually, lathering her in more paint, pink staining her skin. "You did good!" he told her. "That was fun."

Davina managed a nod and a weak smile at the boy, who turned away from her and back to the one of the Dauntless borns from Four's team. They laughed together and left her behind, Davina watching them go, streaked with more paint than before.

The cheering still had not quietened down, only reduced to excited chatter between the initiates. Eric stormed past them in the direction of the train tracks, and with a moment's hesitation, Davina followed him, her head hung slightly.

Davina had lost sight of Apollo or anyone familiar in the darkness, but she found she didn't particularly want to see anyone from the winning team. Will's face was still imprinted in her mind, the gun raised and the light eyes she had once adored looking at her like an enemy. He knew what it meant for her to win, he knew.

Someone fell into step with her, and she looked up to see Peter, gun lazily swung across his back. "Nice smile," he remarked.

"Nice paint job," she snipped back, looking up at Peter's splattered and streaked clothes and hair.

"Don't beat yourself up," he mused. "You're a great distraction."

"We lost," she pointed out, not sharing his lightheartedness.

"There's still the matches," he told her simply. "Besides, this whole thing was good practice for shooting."

He gave her a pointed look, gesturing with his chin, and Davina glanced to her left to see Edward had a nasty welty of paint on his jaw. Davina frowned at the gesture, looking back ahead of her. Peter sighed at her response.

"Blue," he said abruptly.

"What's that?" she hummed.

"Blue's your colour," he said, eyes not leaving her face.

"My colour?" she inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes."

He swiped out a hand before Davina could register, leaving trails of blue paint down Davina's cheek. She let out a gasp and backed up, Peter grinning mischievously.

"Asshole," she hissed, but it was playful, as she lightly shoved Peter in the chest. He was laughing, and Davina liked his laugh, when it was genuine and not at the expense of someone else.

"Too bad you think I'm pretty, too," Peter jeered. Davina raised her eyebrows. Peter ran a hand through his hair, which came away covered in a fresh layer of paint.

"Don't you dare," Davina backed up, though her lips were turned up. Peter lunged at her and she let out a yelp as he pressed his hand against her other cheek, leaving a handprint of red paint where he touched her.

The blonde took out a paintball from her belt and squeezed it, the paint streaming onto Peter's face. He pulled away, wiping it away from his eyes, nose and mouth. "Huh. Would you look at that? You're even prettier now," she teased.

Peter's eyes glinted with mischief, and Davina gave him a challenging smirk as he gave chase, the pair sprinting up towards the train tracks together, ducking and diving between the others, the shadow but a fleeting memory in the back of Davina's mind.

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unedited asf i'm sorry

this chapter was a pain to write because in the first edition i went the easy way and had davina with tris' group, but the dynamic of her being 1) with peter and 2) on the losing team, was too good to not write even if it did break my brain trying to write canon shit we never saw

also in general, even in the first edition, i didn't like writing the flag game. it feels weirdly paced and described unclearly, so i really struggled icl. so yeah that's why i procrastinated this big time oops sorry :)

next chapter has knife throwing and some more bitter!davina! we still have a few more chapters left of stage one/combat as well!