She let out a shaky breath, looking down to what Eric had left behind. It was the bag that Declan had taken out of Eric's apartment earlier that day. Issy sniffed as she opened it up and pulled at the first thing she saw. It was a jacket and it was then as she brought it up to her nose that she realised it was never Declan's jackets she had wore. They had been Eric's.

It now seemed so obvious now as she thinks about it. She flipped the jacket over until she saw the seven thin red strips sewn on the upper arms. It was the Leadership Stripes, each strip representing each Leader. Whenever she had wore the jacket before, she had noticed most people eyed the jacket but Issy couldn't understand why, but now she does.

Issy folds her legs underneath her as she sits on the ground. She folds the jacket on her lap before pulling out the next item within the bag. It was a large, mainly black hoodie, obviously his by the size of it. Going all the way around the bottom of the hoodie were silhouetted red flames that slowly rose three quarters if the way up and as the flames rose, the red faded into black.

Once she had layed the hoodie on top of the jacket, she shoved her hand back into the bag and found that there was nothing left. Issy leaned back, frowning as she began to refold the clothes up and put them back into the bag. After thinking thoughts that lead to nowhere, Issy stood up and walked slowly back to her flat, the bag clutched to her chest as she went.

xXx

Weeks blended into months as December ended and the new year began. During this time Issy had stopped looking around for Eric. Her brothers distracted her enough when she was off by taking her and Alec out to play Rooftop tag with anyone else who wanted to join.

Issy and Alec ticked another prank off of Meg's list, working on it secret for weeks throughout January. When it was finally ready and in place, Alec had hacked into the cameras in the Pit close to the Chasm and sat on one of the roofs and waited. It wasn't long before this weird pink gooey foam started flowing into some of the more populated areas of the Pit. People started yelling in confusion and disgust as they got swamped by it. Meg had written next to this prank that it thickens and expands when wet. The only way to get rid of it was to put it indirect sunlight so it evaporates. She had even commented on the best places this particular prank would work best. The twins had gone with the first area listed and oh, it worked beautifully. They were practically crying when Max and Kim came on the scene and ran around so unsure of what to do. It took them a while to realise that adding water made it worse. In the end the Leaders, most of the cleaning and a few others managed to bucket the majority of it and take it outside. It had the twins in stitches watching them play relay until most of it was gone. The rest they simply mopped up with a lot of towels. A few days afterwards the twins passed Max and a few of the other Leaders and they were stopped, but not for the reason they were expecting. Max had asked them to keep an eye out for anyone that could possibly be linked to the prank. Not even once was Issy or Alec even suspected, not even months afterwards.

As May began to get closer, the energy and attitude of Dauntless as a whole began to get crazy, or at least crazier. The dependents worry about their aptitude test, the members are buzzing for fresh meat and the Leaders and Instructors, including Flare, are finishing last minute preparations for the new initiates. Because Eric was still out at Amity protecting the border, Flare had joined Four to teach the transfers.

When the Choosing Ceremony came around, Issy joined her brothers and a few of her other friends in the Control Room to watch the proceedings take place as only families of the dependants and the Leaders of each faction were allowed to the Ceremony. This year it was Amity's turn to host the ceremony and Johanna stood at the front. They watched as eleven transferred into Dauntless and eight out of seventeen dependants had transferred out. As the Ceremony came to a close the new batch included four Amity, two Candor, two Abnegation and three Erudite. The same amount of transfers as last year, Bree had pointed out. Around the time the initiates started towards the tracks, Flare and Lynn went to join Four and Lauren at the net where some of the members stood waiting for the new batch. Cody and Zeke kept switching for camera to camera to follow them along. Four transfers didn't manage to get on the train and one transfer didn't jump off it when it was time. All of those that reminded landed in the net though. In the end the new batch included two of Amity, Candor and Erudite. Only one of the Candor and one of the Erudites were male and Issy kinda felt bad for the boys as they moved next to each other.

During the next few weeks between patrols and initiation, Issy hardly saw any other instructors. One day Issy walked into the cafeteria around three in the afternoon. That morning she had had a morning shift and when the squad parked up in the garage just after nine, Issy went straight to bed. She had only reawaken around about two when she decided she needed food. The cafeteria was practically deserted as it was too late for lunch but too early for dinner. She spots Declan and Four on their usual table, talking as they move their hands back and forth. Issy frowns in confusion, wondering why Four isn't with the initiates. She grabs a sandwich and a muffin before walking over to them.

"– can't believe capture is tonight." Dec shakes his head while Issy walks closer.

"Hey guys!" As she sat down she gave Dec a quick side hug and a nod to Four. "Shouldn't you be with the initiates?"

Four waved her off. "Flare, Lynn and Lauren can handle it."

Issy nods her head before what she heard clicks and she turns quickly. "What do you mean its capture tonight? Isn't it too early?"

"Not always." Four says. "The length of initiation, especially the first stage, depends on the number of transfer initiates. Dauntless born's have had all of their lives to prepare for the first stage but the transfers haven't so they need to be train more thoroughly and they have a week between the fights so they can prepare even more. Capture is always the night after the last match from the transfers. Today's the last fight and as there's only six transfers, there's only six weeks so the wait 'til Capture isn't that long."

"Oh, that makes sense I guess." Issy nods her head thoughtfully. "Can I go?" Issy grins as both men turn to look at her.

Dec turns to look at her weirdly. "I thought you said you never wanted to be involved with transfers?"

Issy points to Four dramatically. "And throw away the chance of handing him his arse? I think not!"