Flare's POV
As soon as the weekend after choosing her career was over, Flare was thrown into training for both of her jobs. During the week days, her days were taken over by Four, Lauren and Lynn. They mostly kept to the initiate's training room and honestly, it was like she had never finished Initiation.
In the early hours of the morning, she'd join Four on a run around the Compound and the City. Sometimes on these runs they'd pass Issy and Hec training with their new squad and others they'd come across other members just out for a run. Four quizzed her on fighting techniques as they went, sometimes stopping suddenly to demonstrate a move if she guessed incorrectly. At first the hook to the face set her sprawling to the floor in surprise, shouting that he was crazy. Once she was used to it, Flare would duck and send one back if she got a term wrong.
After the run, she was then handed over to Lynn and each time Flare shot Four a begging look to take over instead. Some members of Dauntless, including the new transfers each year would prefer to have Lauren and Lynn over the hard asses known as Four and Eric. Flare, however, would have done anything to be in the transfers' class. Sure, Lauren was rather laid back in her teachings but if you didn't get the concept straight away then she'd be yelling and cursing their asses before sending them to laps or something. Lynn was someone not to be messed with. At all. That woman was one scary-ass mother fucker. She was forever glaring at flare and her friends during the part of Stage One. During the hours that Flare trained with Lynn, they went over fighting, shooting and knife throwing techniques up until lunch. Lynn didn't crack a smile until Flare could unassembled and assemble a gun and fire it without looking in record time or when Flare beat Four's scores at knife throwing. Lynn didn't give out a compliment on how well Flare was doing until the younger woman could knock Lynn down to the ground. To say Flare was happy when it came to lunch would be an understatement. She was fucking ecstatic as she slowly plodded to the cafeteria and slumped down onto a chair.
After lunch things were set at a much slower pace. Lauren took her through the technology that controlled the fear sims. Flare learned that the instructors always start the first simulations with an outline of a possible fear, something that might drawn out what the initiate is really scared of. It wasn't really difficult to learn, it was just knowing what outlines to choose for the initiates. Lauren had said that from watching the initiates from Stage One it had sometimes given them a decent idea of what to put them against. If not, then they'd put the initiate through different outlines until one hit home.
On the weekends, Flare had some time to relax a little. She'd be in the hairdressers learning the trade at a less tense pace then during the week. It was all so much slower, and it gave her the chance to mix in and chat with her fellow members. It didn't take Flare that long to learn everything she needed to and once she was finished training she had her weekends off.
Now, Flare was burrowed deep in her blankets, a lazy smile covering her face as her phone dinged. Just like every morning, it was a message from Kayden, wishing her luck for the day. Despite being on her weekend off, she still didn't see much of Kayden. He was at the fence mostly with Sam and her mum for his training. She liked where her relationship was going with Kayden. Everything seemed so easy. Flare remembers the giddiness she felt when he actually asked her to be his. Just thinking about it sent her squealing.
She sat up in bed, noticing the clock on her bedside table said 09:38, and slung back the blankets. It wasn't long until initiation starts, and Flare had to get up to meet Four and the other instructors to go over the plans for initiation. As she gets up, Flare grabs her phone and unlocks it as she walks into her kitchen.
xXx
Today, Flare was a bundle of nerves. Today was the Choosing Ceremony and officially Flare's first day as an instructor. Originally Flare would have been switching between training the Dauntless borns with Lynn and Lauren to training the transfers with Four and Eric but as the youngest Leader was posted at the barracks at Amity's border, Flare was now filling his spot.
No pressure then.
She watched the results of the Choosing Ceremony with the rest of her friends in the Control Room. Last year, Flare had been sat in between her mum and dad in that very room her new initiates are in now. What a year it had been. Lynn nudged her when the initiates started to head for the tracks and so they left for the net. As they walked, they were silent, and Lynn kept glancing at Flare now and then.
"You ready?" Lynn said, raising an eyebrow in her direction.
"I'll have to be." She sighed, frowning.
"Flare." Lynn pulled her to a stop. "It will be fine. Your training went perfectly, you took everything on board without a problem and met each challenge we set for you. You are ready for this Flare, you just have to believe you are." Lynn shrugged her shoulders. "I understand how hard it is okay? But it'll be fine."
"How am I meant to act towards them though? I've grown up with most of the Dauntless borns. They know me. How do I just forget that?"
"It's hard, I know. Especially when I was teaching my brother. But despite knowing them you have to remember that they're not Dauntless yet. They're not our friends or our family, they're our students. If it helps, think that they don't have a right to earn your respect until they're officially Dauntless because otherwise it's a waste of breath."
Flare nods her head, realising she has a point. "Thank you."
Lynn smirks as they begin walking again. "You ready now Flare?"
Flare grins. "Bring it!"
xXx
They were a few weeks into Initiation when the instructors decided to mix things up a bit. Only moments ago Lauren and Lynn had headed towards the Dauntless borns' dorms while Four and Flare headed towards the transfers'. During these past weeks, Flare had realised there wasn't anything to worry about. The other instructors were much different when none of the initiates were in view and Flare had found herself in hysterics when Four nearly made Lauren shit herself one morning. She could honestly say she loved her job.
When they came to the dorms, Four handed her a crowbar they kept hidden in a cupboard, one that was used to hit the metal frames. She grinned wolfishly at Four before striding into the dorms. Four leaned on the wall behind her as she watched them sleep for moment, before bringing the crowbar down on the metal frames of the nearest bunk. Almost simultaneously, every transfer jolted up awake. Clearly they weren't used to the crude awakening yet. Pity.
"Alright!" Flare yelled and heads turned to her. "Today we're going to start off with something different. You have fifteen minutes to eat something before meeting us at the fighting rings in the Pit." Her grin widened as faces paled and she handed the crowbar to Four, who nodded and walked out. "Let's go!" She said before walking out too.
Once she joined Four in the hallway he raised an eyebrow at her. "Fifteen minutes? Feeling generous this morning?"
Flare simply shrugged, walking towards the Pit. "I'd rather have initiates that were wake enough to be aware of where they're going then a tired sod who wanders and gets lost." She was nearly out of distance, but she still heard him chuckle.
Nearly fifteen minutes on the dot later, all of the initiates were stood in front of them dressed in the basic work out gear supplied by Dauntless. Rucksacks that were prepared the night before were stacked at Four's feet. By now the transfers had banded together in their own little groupings and casted glances at each other. As Four and Flare waited, she noticed that this was the first time that the transfers would mix with the Dauntless borns for training. They still had a way to go before they started the obstacle courses. Curious glances were shot at each other as they were soon joined by the Dauntless borns led by Lauren and Lynn. The whispers started then, and Flare started smirking as a few glanced at the fighting rings.
"Right!" Lynn called out. A few members turned in the direction of them but as soon as they caught sight of the initiates they looked away. "Something different today. Before anyone pisses their pants, there will be no fighting today." She could hear the exhale of relieved breath as a few of them snickered. "Being the faction of the brave we sometimes have to put ourselves in danger to protect those who can't protect themselves. Often the first responders such as the fire fighters will be called into action but to save time, they need to know the layout of the city." Lynn looked around the group that was gathered as she paused, and Flare took over.
"Today you will be separated into groups, a mix of both Dauntless born and transfer, and will run around the city learning the street names. Each of you will carry a rucksack and I suggest you learn as much as you can because one day your life and others may depend on how well you know this city."
Four pulls out the list of who's in what group and starts calling out the names after a moment of silence. It took them some time to get into groups and get out of the compound. It was mostly down to some of the initiates complaining that they weren't with their friends but with one withering glare from Four shut them up.
Beforehand, the instructors had planned a route each of them would do before meeting up again for lunch before separating again and meeting back up outside of the compound. The plan was that the instructors would shout out the names of the streets that they took for the initiates to remember and then one the way back it was up to the initiates to remember the way that they came.
Flare's group consisted of two transfers and two Dauntless borns. The highest ranker out of all of them was Cameron who was ranking at fifth. He was a tall Dauntless born but he doesn't exactly fit the stereotype of a loud Dauntless. Then there was the two transfers Rose and Brooke, ranked seventh and eighth. It was weird for an Amity transfer to be ranked so high so soon into initiation, especially when she looked just like a child. Brooke was a transfer from Erudite and relatively quiet despite all the times she'd ignore any orders from Four – which was quite hilarious when Flare watched it unfold, not that she showed it. Next on the leader-board was Felix, another Dauntless born, ranked eleventh. Out of all of the initiates this year, he had to be the most annoying in Flare's opinion. She was thankful she wasn't teaching the Dauntless borns. He disregarded all orders that came from any instructor and then committed the least amount of effort into any one of the tasks given to him.
Flare huffed to herself as he took his sweet time to pick up the damned rucksack and as they passed, Lynn and Four patted her on the shoulder. It was going to be a long day.
xXx
They weren't even an hour into the run when Flare had started reminding herself that she couldn't shoot an initiate. Flare paced herself so that they could keep up, but Felix took it to the extreme. All he did was whine about how heavy the rucksack was, but it only held a water bottle and something for lunch. Every time he said something Flare heard a huff from one of the other initiates who were obviously not impressed with Felix. Flare shook her hands out as she jogged. Shooting an initiate would cause her to lose her job and possibly be suspended to the fence, no matter how annoying he is. Felix was muttering under his breath again, causing Flare to clench her teeth together.
"– Such a waste of time." He hissed from the back of the pack. "Stuck with an instructor that can't even instruct."
"Speed up initiate!" Flare shouted as she began to speed up towards the intersection. "Or you'll be left behind."
"I shouldn't have to take orders from you. Bitches like you should know their place and stay in the compound where they're not a burden."
Flare halted to a stop. Her whole body was tense as the steady sounds of footfalls ceased. She turned to face him. Both Rose and Brooke glared at him with such fire in their eyes even as Felix winked at them. Cameron stood with his eyes wide, quiet as ever.
"If that's the case then why are you at the bottom of the rankings?" She rose an eyebrow at him. "Are you that weak, that cowardly, that you have to resort to insulting people because you can't fight?"
Whatever smartass remark that was on the tip of his tongue froze as horror replaced it. His gaze, along with the others, was stuck on something behind her and she tensed even more. Though the sound of familiar rumbles of an engine relaxed her and she slouched a little, a lazy grin sliding on her face. The initiates' eyes widened as the truck crawled closer. A gleeful laugh had her spinning on her heels. Part ways down the street was one of Dauntless' patrol trucks. Flare guessed that the transfers hadn't really seen one up close and to an outsider they certainly were huge. Cameron and Felix however, had seen them before. Although the dependants are banned from such areas like the garage and other specialised departments, they would have seen the trucks driving in and out of Dauntless. Sometimes eve, they'd get lifts into the city or if the dependants were going on a trip with the day care staff.
The patrol members were spread around the armoured truck. Bulldozer waved at her from behind the wheel and then threw something small at the patrol member walking along side his side window, grinning when she swore and threw it back even as BD pointed towards Flare. Flare laughed as Issy did a double take and with one slight nod from her captain, she bolted forward. Flare met her half way and they collided, stumbling slightly.
"Flare!" She yelled as they pulled away. "This is a surprise! Shouldn't you be with the initiates?"
Flare gestured over her shoulder to where the four of them still stood where she left them. The pair started to walk back towards them. "We're doing something different today Beta. Getting them used to the streets."
"Ah yes." They stopped just in front of the initiates. Cameron watched them but still seemed to look uninterested in the situation. Both Brooke and Rose looked at Flare like they've never seen her before while Felix watched Issy with a narrowed gaze. "I wished we did that in my initiation. It would have been such a handy thing to know, especially in this job." Issy looked at each of them in the eye. Cameron was the only one to meet it without any emotion. In all honesty, Flare thought that Cameron would make an excellent soldier. The girls looked away after a moment and Felix… Flare sighed as he jutted his chin out even as he flinched. Issy noticed it straight away. Her eyes twinkled with gold as she smirked at him. "Felix, is it?" He nodded. Flare and the other instructors complained about him quite a bit… "I suggest you listen to your instructors. You'll only get into this faction by working hard, taking any advise they give you and some god dammed effort to want to do anything. I can guarantee it, time will go faster than you'd expect, and you'll think to yourself that you'll wished you worked harder." Issy stared him down, even as the truck drove past them with her colleagues walking around it. She shifted the rifle from her hands and slung it onto her back. Whether it was done on purpose or just subconsciously Flare didn't know but it had Felix twitching. When Felix finally looked away, Issy grinned and looked at Flare. "Now I have to get back to my patrol. We'll have to meet up sometime out of hours." She winked one golden eye at her. "Later Flare, enjoy your day."
"Later Beta!" Flare waved as her friend jogged off, re-joining her squad. Flare looked back to her initiates. "C'mon then. Lets go or they'll be sending out a search party." Flare took off down the street and back onto the route that was planned.
Even as they ran for at least another hour until they met up with the rest, not once did she hear another complaint from Felix, and nor did he lag behind.
xXx
A couple of weeks later, Flare sighs as she and Four dismiss the class for lunch. So far it had been going smoothly but it was outside of instructing that had her gritting her teeth. Just recently she's noticed that Kayden had been distant with her. She doesn't know why or if she's said something while absolutely knackered and not remembered it. They talk to each other, sure, but at the moment its strained.
That morning she had received a text from him asking her if she wanted to meet him for lunch. She had stared at the message for a good twenty minutes at least, wondering if this was the end of them. She wondered if he'd found someone on the same shift rota as he was on the fence and meeting up with her in a public place so that she wouldn't act out.
Bullshit really, seeing as its Dauntless. No one would care that much if she did.
Flare waved Four as he reorganised the knives that the transfers had just piled up. Originally she though he was just precise about the methods but now she realised that he just had OCD. She had found out just by accident. She had nudged one of the guns that were lined up one the table. Four didn't pause from explaining what the initiates would be doing that day as he leaned over the table and straightened it back out again. Now, as bad as it sounds, Flare tries to bring chaos to his order and each time his annoyance is glorious.
But anyway, back toKayden.
Kayden had picked the café that her parents had always taken her to. It was something special to her and that's why butterflies filled her stomach as she pushed the door of the café open. At first the interior gives of the Amity vibe with the deep red colouring, the old oak furniture and the coal fire in the corner. But the shop is built into the rocky walls and its catchphrase is simply Dauntless. Food that make you go fuck yeah! To Flare it feels like a home from home. Flare looks around the room and spots Kayden as he stands, waving slightly. Kayden stands in one of his fence jackets and his hands tucked into his jean pockets. As always, his hair was terribly messy, and her heart softened at the sight.
She smiled at him as she sat down, and he sat down just seconds after. An awkward air filled the space around them as Flare bit her lip and pretended to look at the menu even though she ordered the same thing every time she came here. She could feel his constant stare and she fidgeted under it. It took another moment before she looked up and saw the sadness in his gaze. He opened his mouth to speak. She raised her shields for protection. But before he could say anything, a waiter appeared, notebook in hand and pen ready. She chewed her gum rather loudly and Kayden ordered for both of them. Flare bit back the surprise as he ordered hers to her preference. A hot chocolate with added shot of peppermint with a chocolate fudge stirrer stick. For himself, he ordered a salted caramel hot chocolate. Their drinks were delivered quickly, and the silence fell again.
The silence hurt and it was grinding on her every second until she snapped.
"If you're gonna break up with me then don't draw it out!" She hissed.
Kayden's eyes widened. "What..?" His mouth dropped open and then the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. And then he was chuckling. "Oh Flare, I'm so sorry but that's not what's happening." Flare narrowed her eyes as he stroked the side of his cup. "I'm sorry I've kept you in the dark, but I didn't know how to tell you… Bella will hit me for letting it get this far but I swear, its nothing like that." He shakes his head. "Flare I'm just gonna come out and say it. I'm trying my sister for Dauntless."
Well… that's not what she expected.
"Adele? She remembers you?" Flare asks quietly.
Kayden grins brightly. "Yeah! I can't believe it, but she asked me to train her to transfer here and then Bella said she'd help too and it kinda rolled from there…" He stops when he notices Flare shaking her head.
"You could have told me."
He reached forward and held her hands in his. "I wanted to but I didn't know how. I am truly soring it got to the point where you started to think the worse, but I wouldn't dream of doing that."
Flare nods her head as she squeezes his hands. "I want to meet her. We'll have to see when my next day off is and then we can go over what you guys have taught her. And thankfully there's only a few months left of initiation so when that's finished I can help you guys train her and –" Flare looks up for where her gaze had lowered to the table to seeing Kayden beaming, adoration in his eyes and she blushes, ducking her head slightly.
"What, oh glorious instructor, would I do without you?"
Flare simply takes a sip of her drink and shrugs, grinning as Kayden winks at her.