The pain from the injury on her forehead had increased tenfold as Isabelle reached the infirmary, but the bleeding had mostly stopped which relieved the girl to an extent. After having the nurse there administer medication to ease Isabelle's throbbing head, she cleaned and stitched up the cut before the girl thanked the nurse and made her way to the dining hall to grab some breakfast; it wasn't going to be long before the initiates were to continue their training for the morning.
When Isabelle sat down at the table, she noticed that Mattie and Nikki were enjoying their food with three other people as they laughed at someone Mattie had said; they sat with a girl and two boys—one of whom was familiar to Isabelle. The one boy, Warsan, was a kid Isabelle had grown up with back in Erudite along with his sister who decided to stay with their family. He had dark skin that reminded Isabelle of rust, and thick, curly black hair that matched the color of his eyes. The other boy was much fairer in complexion compared to the former Erudite as his skin was almost as pale as alabaster. He had sparkling green eyes and thin lips that often found themselves curled upwards in a cat-like grin. The girl who sat next to the pale boy had similar features to him, only her eyes were a deep sapphire hue—a color that reminded Isabelle of the ocean.
"Want to introduce me to your new friends?" Isabelle asked as she started to fill her plate with food.
Mattie waved off the dark-skinned boy, "You know Warsan already, so I won't bother with him." Isabelle waved at him while Mattie then pointed to the girl, "this is Kathryn and her twin brother Robbie. They're both Dauntless born."
"Breaking bread with the enemy I see?" Isabelle grinned as she extended a hand to the twins, "I'm just kidding, it's nice to meet you. I'm Isabelle."
"Don't worry about it," Robbie said with a laugh as he shook her hand firmly, "the pleasure's ours."
Kathryn leaned in close to Isabelle, "Your buddies over here were tellin' us about your first task from Four. I also heard you face-planted the cement while doing laps in front of the leaders. That's a good way to get them to notice you, huh?" She laughed.
"Don't be rude!" Robbie snapped at her.
"I'm just being playful, chill out." Kathryn turned back to Isabelle, "You know I'm just messin', right?" Isabelle nodded. "See? She knows. At least you didn't finish with those first seven, yeah?"
Isabelle smiled, "I'm extremely happy that I didn't end up with the lowest scores." She glanced up at her fellow transfers, "how did you guys fare?"
"Warsan got first!" Nikki boasted, nudging him with her elbow. "The boy's a natural runner—didn't even break a sweat during the entire thing."
"Congratulations, Warsan. I bet Four and Eric were impressed."
"Thanks, but now they're gonna have an eye out for me; I have to continue being good or else I'll drop in the rankings."
"How about you, Nikki?"
"I got in the top three with the third spot!" She beamed, her entire face glowing in a confident radiance as she took a sip of water from her cup.
"I'm not surprised," Isabelle restarted, "you looked just as good as Warsan. Congrats, though. And you Mattie? Wait, let me guess: you got in the top two?" She joked, cracking a smile over at the tall girl.
"No smartass," she jeered with a grin, "I just missed being in the top three, but my feet couldn't take it anymore, so I got the fourth spot."
The brunette woman couldn't help but sigh with a nervous laugh, "Shit, I need to step my game up if I don't want to become factionless, huh? You all mean some serious business don't you?"
Mattie stuffed her face with some muffins she grabbed from the platter in front of Warsan. "You're safe for now, Is, don't worry. Besides, it's still early in training so you can make up for it. We're learning combat techniques after breakfast and we'll be having our first matches at the end of the week, so you can move up then. All you have to do is pay attention and show Four and the others that you want to be here."
"I guess you're right," Isabelle sighed, picking at her own muffin. She glanced over at the twins besides her with curiosity in her hazel eyes. "What did your leaders make you two do this morning?"
"We started right away with combat." It was the grin on Kathryn's face that made the transfer's stomachs drop, "Our leaders, Ashur and Imani made us do mock matches—you know, to get an idea of where we are right now—and I kicked ass. Got spot numero uno, baby! I'm a force to be reckoned with!" The blonde girl brimmed with excitement and adrenaline, punching the air with her bruised up fists.
Nikki laughed at the Dauntless-born's flamboyance. "I'm sure you are, Kathryn."
Warsan wagged his finger at the twins as he tried to chew and swallow his food quickly. Honestly, Mattie though the boy was going to choke on his breakfast. "Don't forget that even though you're doing well right now in your own training, eventually we'll be ranked together; even if you're the top of your group you might end up being ninth in the long-run."
The Dauntless boy dropped the bagel in his hand onto the plate below, giving the other male a displeased look that was slightly exaggerated. "Way to be a kill-joy, Warsan. Let the lady have her moment—her ranking won't last for long anyway."
Kathryn scoffed at her brother, "what, like you're gonna out-rank me? Please."
Robbie smirked slyly at his sister. "That sounds like a bet."
"You really wanna do this, Rob? In front of our new friends?"
"How else are we gonna entertain ourselves during this time of torture and torment? Why, are you afraid I'll steal your thunder?"
"Hardly, you finished fifth in the mock matches. I'll wipe your ass all over the scoreboard."
Nikki leaned into Mattie, but they all kept their eyes on the bickering duo who continued to be at each other's throats. "I betcha Robbie will beat out his sister."
"Are you crazy?" Warsan asked, interjecting into the girl's affairs. "Kathryn's got this in the bag."
"No way, Warsan." Nikki barked, waving the boy off.
"You wanna bet on it?" He snapped. His dark eyes brimmed with fire.
"Yeah, let's do it. I wager a month's worth of cake on Robbie."
Warsan contemplated what the girl was putting at stake. "That's a lot of cake, Nikki…but you're on; I bet on Kathryn."
Mattie pointed at the dark-skinned boy. "I'm with Warsan on this one; Kathryn's gonna take it all."
"How about you, Isabelle? Want to place a bet?"
The brunette thought for a moment, wondering which of the two would be the best bet to make; like Warsan said, it was a lot of cake to wager. To other people, they would think was strange that betting for cake on a wager, but they had never experienced the gift that was Dauntless' chocolate cake. "I'll go with Robbie. The boy's got spunk."
Robbie, catching the jest of what was going on, turned to the girls with a grin on his handsome face. "Any chance I can bet on myself?"
"No," his sister nearly shouted, hitting her brother on the arm. It was just then her eyes glistened mischievous, "but how about we bet on the transfers? There's four of them and two of us, so we'll make it even and bet on two each. It'll be the same deal, a month's worth of Dauntless cake."
"Fine. Who wants to take first pick?"
Kathryn grinned mischievously as her blue eyes sparkled with delight, "since I feel sorry for you, I'll let you choose first."
"Alrighty then, I'll return the favor and choose Nikki and Isabelle for having faith in me."
"That leaves me with Mattie and Warsan. And it appears we are evenly matched in our choices… isn't it exciting?"
The group of newly formed friends laughed and continued to talk as they finished up their breakfast. Isabelle remained silent, however, feeling a bit worried about training that was to take place over the next couple of days. She was the shortest compared to her friends, but not particularly the smallest; she felt that her thicker thighs would prove to be a disadvantage when it came to stealth and agility, but might come in handy in strength. Warsan was lithe, but wiry with much brawn hidden behind his small demeanor; both he and Nikki shared a subtle athleticism that would prove helpful during the first stage of training. Mattie was tall and headstrong—a natural contender as she would not back down or surrender when she was to fight.
The brunette knew that the first stage would be hard and she'd need to put a lot of effort and dedication into her training, but now there was the added pressure of possibly becoming factionless. Isabelle couldn't help but feel a creeping notion of dread start to course through her entire being, especially because she was up against Dauntless borns as well as the other transfers. The ones that had not transferred out to the other factions, the ones who remained like Robbie and Kathryn, grew up with this culture and knew what was expected of them—they had a better chance of making it through initiation than the transfers did; they were favored by the leaders over their transfer counterparts.
The more she sat and thought about it, the more Isabelle started to doubt her decision about Dauntless. The aptitude test said that Dauntless was the best choice suited for her, but was it possible that the test was wrong? The technicians handling the test would've known if something was wrong, if the test had failed or interpreted the results falsely, wouldn't they?
After breakfast was over the four transfers said goodbye to their new friends before departing from the dining hall, making their way back to the building to continue on with their training. Isabelle remained silent as the other four talked, the excitement was almost tangible in the air by all the other transfers. The only exception was Isabelle.
Four and Eric were talking to each other by a few large mats that were set up near the middle of the room, discussing what techniques to show the newbies on the first day of combat training. As they continued to talk, Isabelle hadn't noticed that she was staring at the tall blond with the eyebrow piercing. It was the gnawing feeling of having seen him before that was driving her crazy. She had been an Erudite all her life up to the past two days, and he was one once too, but she couldn't remember for the life of her how Eric seemed so familiar. There was something about the structure of his face, his high cheekbones, and the intense color of his blue-green eyes, the ones that seemed to always be bearing into one's soul if you were to look upon them.
After a few moments, the blond leader nodded finally looking up from the ground. His eyes caught a sight of Isabelle watching him, but she quickly looked away and acted as if she were paying attention to her friend's conversation while she felt her cheeks warm up. She had to admit, Eric was quite handsome; all the girls thought so to a certain degree, but many favored Four as he wasn't nearly as cold or ruthless as the blond. Being so young, of barely seventeen, and of being from a faction that valued intelligence, Isabelle was not accustomed to finding attraction towards another.
"Alright initiates listen up," it was Four who spoke, addressing the crowd, "Eric and I will be demonstrating some combat techniques that will prove helpful when you start practicing for the matches. Remember, the first of the matches will be held at the end of the week, so pay attention."
Eric straightened up, his face was hard and his voice mirrored his expression. "Opponents will never be random—each person is picked for a specific reason and the points for each match will vary. And as I've said before, the six initiates with the lowest ranking will be leaving Dauntless—permanently."
And with that, Four called out a transfer from Amity to demonstrate techniques on. Both Four and Eric showed a variety of moves, ways to punch, kick, and block. They also talked about the body's weak points and the most effective place to land an attack with the strongest parts of the body like the elbow. As the Dauntless trainers demonstrated the different styles and techniques, the poor Amity transfer was thrown to the ground, punched, and kicked.
After the demonstrations were over, the leaders allowed for the initiates to practice what they had learned on each other and the punching bags that lined one side of the room. The group of kids scattered quickly as they were all eager to start their training, half of them going to the punching bags like Isabelle and Mattie, while the others stayed by the mats in order to practice with each other like Nikki and Warsan.
Practice was long and it was hard. Four and Eric saw it upon themselves, as well as some of the other trainers, to walk among the initiates and examine their stances, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their determination to master the techniques shown. Nikki and Warsan stood at the mats as they performed the locked-wrists exercise, seeing how fast they could touch the back of their wrists with their partners without missing their target or messing up.
Isabelle stood in front of her punching bag and continued to hit the center of it while Mattie did the same. Isabelle twisted her body as she landed punches, alternating between hands to do so. Mattie stood with a little more control as she only twisted the upper part of her torso to punch. Eric saw this and made his way over to the girls.
"Your technique is wrong, initiate," he said bluntly as he stood beside Isabelle.
"Isabelle," she responded as she continued to punch, deciding to look at him.
"Excuse me?"
"My name—it's Isabelle, not initiate."
Eric cocked a brow at the girl as he took a step closer to her, nearly leaving no space between them as he towered over her menacingly. "I don't care what your name is, your technique is still wrong. Look over at your friend. See how her feet are planted while she only moves her torso a quarter of the way in order to control the range of her punch? That's how you're supposed to do it; you're sloppy."
Isabelle inhaled deeply as she glanced over at Mattie to study her form while Eric took a step back. After notching the differences between her friend's stance and her own, Isabelle adjusted herself and tried punching again.
"Your feet," Eric announced.
"They're planted." She defended.
"They are, but they are also too far apart." He stood just behind her so that his foot could be stationed besides hers before he pushed it so that her feet were now shoulder width apart. "If your feet are too close together or too far apart it will be easy for your opponent to knock you over. With your feet like this, it'll be easier for you to maintain your balance. Try again."
She did as instructed and continued only to be stopped by Eric once more.
"Do you listen?" He barked, making the brunette flinch slightly at his tone of voice. "You are only to move your torso a quarter of the way, not halfway. If you continue to fight like how you've been practicing then your opponent can easily overtake you." This time Eric stood behind the girl fully, his hands found themselves on her waist, causing Isabelle to inhale sharply as another blush arose on her cheeks. He didn't seem to notice as he guided her to move her torso one-third of the way as she mimicked the action of punching the bag. After demonstrating on Isabelle a few times, he took a step back. "Again."
Finally, she had mastered this simple aspect of her training which granted her much relief. She had not wanted Eric to linger by her side any longer than need be. When he was content with her improvement, Eric left to attend the other initiates.
Mattie took a quick glance over at her brunette friend who was hitting the punching bag vigorously, not wanting the blond to return. The taller woman's eyes burned into her friend's as a smirk laced her lips. Isabelle noticed.
"What?" the smaller girl asked, her fists never faulting from the bag.
"Twice in one day you earn Eric's attention, will you do it again after lunch?"
"Shut up," Isabelle scoffed quite harshly. "Its attention that I don't want. I'd rather ghost through initiation with a passing rank and nothing more."
"But some attention is good, no? You want them to notice you."
"Only when I'm proving myself beyond their expectation, not when I fall flat on my face or when I'm practicing wrong."
Mattie paused for a moment, deciding to choose her words wisely before speaking. "I also noticed how your cheeks reddened when Eric laid his hands on you."
"Stop it, now." This time Isabelle's tone wasn't as severe as before as she allowed herself to smile slightly. "All the girls here would do so if they were in my place; I am not so special."
Mattie couldn't help but laugh. "You got me there, but I would rather have Four's hands all over me."
A boy who was stationed besides Isabelle chuckled quite forcefully, gaining the attention of both girls. They turned to see look upon him, the boy from Amity with black hair and dark eyes, but he was nothing like the people there. "You got me there as well, Isabelle." The way her name rolled of his tongue caused the girl to grimace.
"How so…Avicus, was it?" Acting as if she didn't know. She knew how easily boy's egos were shattered.
The boy, Avicus, kicked and punched at the bag before him for a moment, seeing that his own actions were of priority over the girl's curiosity. "You said it yourself: you are not so special. Someone of Eric's status and authority would not degrade himself to someone so low as you. You're not particularly pretty."
Isabelle huffed as she stopped her own practice to turn and fully face the dark-haired boy. "I admit that I am more-or-less average looking and I accept that; it's true, I am not particularly pretty, so your words do nothing to me. But you say that I am low?" Her voice seeped with venom, her brows furrowed angrily. "Am I? That's rich coming from an Amity like you."
Avicus stopped his practice as well as he turned to face her, finding offense in her words. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh?" She breathed out as if he didn't know. "The people of Amity are held in regard just barely above those from Abnegation. That's not much of an improvement since the people of Dauntless and Erudite still mock your people's ways."
Avicus pushed the brunette girl hard enough that she stumbled onto the ground while the two leaders took note of the incident.
"Is there a problem, initiates?" It was Four who spoke out, his voice echoing through the facility.
Avicus' nostrils flared, but remained calm as he felt the eyes of the leaders bear upon him while Isabelle got up, brushing herself off. "None, sir. It was just a small disagreement."
"Well, then I think its time for a break. In ten minutes return here to complete the day's training. And make note that points are to be docked from both Avicus and Isabelle; we have no tolerance for such behavior among initiates outside of the matches."
And with that, the initiates ceased their practice and went to mingle amongst themselves as they sought water to quench their thirst and to rest. Nikki and Warsan came running over to the other two girls as Avicus stormed off.
"What was that all about?" the blonde girl asked.
"It seems Isabelle is making new friends of her own." Mattie replied, a sly grin on her pretty face.
The brunette shook her head, her eyes never leaving Avicus as he left the facility for fresh air. "Stay away from that one," she forewarned, "something tells me he is no friend." Isabelle eyes wandered over towards the leaders and found herself once again at the attention of Eric.