A/N: Did anyone read Blackest Shade of Gray...amazing :) I want to review but I also don't want to be derailed from my own story and I know it's so easy to get distracted. Lilz aint the only on who can get off track ;)

If I offend anyone with my writing I apologize in advance. I also want to acknowledge the real authors who bless us with their free work, you're the reason I feel inspired enough to attempt writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Divergent Collection. Those belong to Veronica Roth, I am simply borrowing some of her characters. Original characters belong to me. I will try to stay true to the original story as much as possible but I don't plan on staying canon...sorry.

Chapter 3

Early birds

Recap: Our favourite divergent made her grand appearance Tris. I wanted Eric to be the person who over saw her training as a trainer, simply because it would piss Eric off :D

I feel myself being jostled awake with the sound of my name being repeated in hushed tones. Slowly I begin to pry my eyes open in order to see what has caused such disturbance. A blurry silhouette of what I can only assume is a man stands above me hovering over my face.

"Lilz come on wake up" it's Anthony, but what on earth is he doing waking me up at this godly hour

"What time is it?" I say, sleep heavy in my voice evident in the huskier tone in which I ask

"It's just after 3...we figured we'd get some early training in" he says sounding slightly guilty. My eyes roam the room in an almost dream like state. All of the transfers are dressed geared and ready. I begrudgingly move to sit up shooing away both the guys when they offer to help me out of my bed.

"I'll meet you all there in five minutes, get warmed up" I crock out at the same time I weakly push their helping hands away. Not bothering to check to see if they've moved on, I instead head to the showers, in hopes that it will not only clean me but revive me back to life.

After a rather extensively long shower I made my way toward the training room, it occurred to me as I walked through the compound that it was quiet too quiet... eerily quiet. The halls were deserted as were all areas of Dauntless. It just didn't feel the same without the loud noise of chatter and banging of everyday hustle and bustle, if anything it made the compound seem dull and somehow more dangerous. As I continued on I found myself picking up the pace, being in the open like this and all alone made me feel exposed, I also couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I made a mental note to get access to the control room so I could scan the cameras, this way I'll know what or rather where to avoid when walking alone.

"How is me hitting you going to make me brave?" Maddison argues, with the others it wasn't an issue but with Maddison it's like fighting a brick wall, she can't seem to get past the violence. The others seem agitated with her lack of "commitment" however I find it admirable, after all she was born Amity. Conflict does not exist there.

Lowering my arms from their defensive pose I stand before her less aggressive and ask the question I've kind of been dying to ask "Why are you here?"

She looks taken aback by the question,."...I killed...

"No Maddison why are you really here?" I ask again cutting her off, I know she killed the dog heck we all did, that doesn't explain her reasoning for being here.

Her face turns down in slight embarrassment and she begins to fiddle with the end of her shirt "I wanted...I...I wanted to be Dauntless. Free and for the most part reckless...I wanted to be brave and help people with something other than kindness" She says hesitating over her words, though at least she's given me something to work with

"Alright! Explain to me what that looks like in your head. How does being Dauntless look to you?" I ask, I would rather her tell me the answer instead of me telling her. Everyone has their own perspective on things and it's up to them to know what that is.

She looks at me a little puzzled before she answers. "It's facing the unknown head on...risking your life for another"

"Okay and if... let's say I was standing in your way of the unknown or..." I think for a second thinking of tact. "Hurting someone would you stop me? Would you risk your life to help someone I was hurting?" I ask again,

Maddison's eyes grow wide but she doesn't hesitate to answer. "Yes" It comes out as a whisper but that's good enough for me

I let a smile slip because I know I've got her and I know just what to say to possibly change her mind. "It may not make sense to you right now Maddison but when all is said and done, you'll walk away from this with a much more realistic chance of helping someone out there. If you can move past the wall that is stopping you from hurting me... then you'll be able to face the city with more confidence and more capabilities of being the Dauntless you imagine" I conclude, around me the others are gathered and for the first time since Eric's spiel yesterday I finally see the spark I was looking for...Hope

Her eyes lock on mine as the realization of what I've said consumes her. "I get it" She removes the soft Amity stare from her gaze morphing them into something I recognize as determination and maybe even a little fight. "Alright Lilz... let's do this!" She says as her arms move into their defensive pose.

We start off slower than I did with the others but that means absolutely nothing as we really start to get into it. Maddison fights a lot harder than the others did and I guess it's because she now knows the reason why she's fighting or more accurately what she's fighting for.

For the duration of our fight I don't make hard contact with her body. I manage to stop right before causing any actual real damage while making sure to praise her for anytime she manages to do the same. After our fight concludes the others ask for another round, seeing as Maddison has done extremely well. I go a few more rounds with them each singly pointing out their errors as they make them and not forgetting to praise them for what they're doing right. All and all the whole lesson seems to be promising.

"How come you're so good at fighting?" Anthony asks, as we make our way back to the dorms before our actual training. The others left before Anthony and I finished our spar.

I turn to look up at him as I speak. "I always knew I was going to choose Dauntless, so I practiced" I say with a shrug of course I omit the part about my mission and the obvious part about my parents training me.

For a long while he just stares down at me, his eyes boring into mine before he finally speaks. "I watched you, you know" he chuckles as the words fall from his mouth. "Not in a creepy way...just out of curiosity. I thought you were made for Erudite, top of the class, nose always in a book" he sighs seemingly mad at himself for his wrong observation...well so he believes. "It never occurred to me that you would choose Dauntless...and yet here you are and better still, you fit in...I'm glad you came here Lilz" He says with a huge smile that could rival that of Peyton and Logan.

I'm not entirely sure how to respond to what he's said so I only offer him a smile in return. Silence falls between us as we walk the rest of the way back to the dorms, it feels like something has shifted between us...a truce an understanding I'm not entirely sure, but whatever it was I suddenly feel a little closer to Anthony almost as if he were an honorary brother.

Eric stands atop the mats as we enter the training room, his steely gaze fixed on the door behind us and his face set in his usual impassive state. I idly wonder what he'd look like if he smiled. Inwardly I roll my eyes at the thought and bring my focus back to today's lesson.

With his arms and hands clasped in front of him Eric takes a moment to scan our faces before he shifts his gaze and flicking his head in the direction to our left his right. Tris stands at the punching bags dressed in black form fitting clothes with her hands wrapped and a challenging smile in place.

"Today is all about how to defend. To demonstrate I've asked my good friend Christina to help aid me in our demonstration" Tris says pointing toward a girl slightly taller than herself with short shoulder length black hair and russet toned skin. Tristan freezes upon seeing this girl while her eyes grow to the size of saucers as her eyes make contact with his.

"Tristan...what are you doing here? Christina says shocked, before Tristan can respond or unfreeze for that matter Eric cut's in.

"Get on with it, this little reunion can happen on your own time" Eric growls from behind us, I peek over my shoulder to look at him and see that he is less than an arm length away. Before Eric can notice me looking at him I quickly return my eyes to face Tris and Christina, the last thing I need is to be caught staring at Eric.

Tris recovers quickly from Eric's outburst and resumes her lesson, though she manages to steal glances at Tristan and Christina a little more than necessary.

"Since there are five of you one of you will have to use the bag" Tris says, almost apologetically. Being that I am the most advanced in our team I volunteer to go at it with the bags, she smiles at me grateful and moves me to the nearest bag.

"Begin" Tris calls out.

There is something oddly therapeutic about hitting a punching bag, the repetitive pounding of the fists connecting to the bag and the bag never relenting does something for the soul. Any pent up anger that I may have felt dies almost immediately when I find my rhythm.

"You're holding back" I flinch at the sound of Eric's voice less than a foot away from me, he's close enough that his warm breath fans the back of my neck causing goose bumps to form everywhere. What a strange reaction.

"I don't follow" I respond innocently, however my eyes stay trained to my bag. What is it about this man that causes me to turn to complete mush.

"Don't play dumb with me nose!, hit the bag like you mean it" He whisper growls behind me. Whether it's the aggressive tone in which he uses or the fact that deep down I don't want to displease him I find myself doing exactly as he's demanded, with rapid speed I jab the bag respectively and forcibly causing the bag to rattle and shake. Behind me I feel a hand press right up against my lower back, the touch sends an electrifying shimmer throughout my entire being and causes my heart to go into overdrive. Instantly I tense at the sudden intrusion, though not entirely unwelcomed just unexpected.

"Angle your body slightly and hold your core" Eric says, his left hand moves above my stomach while his other stays on the small of my back so to better explain his words (not that I needed it). When he finally drops his hands back to his side I deem to look up at him, his stormy colored eyes hold mine for a few intense seconds before he once again speaks. "Alright" he growls, if I didn't know any better I would say he were hiding something. His voice still holds the same commanding edgy tone to it, but that definitely sounded forced not as natural as his usual growls...strange that I should know that. I nod to signify I've understood. His eyes briefly hold mine a second longer before he moves on to the others, leaving me slightly stunned and confused.

"Turn around Lilz you can partner with me for a bit" Tris says softly, I detect a slight edge in her voice but nothing about her facial features suggests anything out of the ordinary. Shrugging it off I take position as she taught before and come to stand before her.

Tris leads with the basic lesson in arm defense, we start off slowly at first and gradually get faster and harder as we progress.

"I hope Eric wasn't hassling you before" Tris says breaking the silence between us while still keeping up her reps.

I don't respond right away searching her eyes for her true intention here. "No he was just critiquing my technique" I respond warily, something tells me Tris knows something here and by the look in her hazel eyes which now seem conflicted I would almost bet my life on it

"Be careful Lilz"

Tris's words haunt me as myself and the others head toward the mess hall for lunch. There was no mistaking the seriousness behind them, her eyes burned into mine as if trying to convey a message of real warning in them. I know from my father that I was not to trust anyone should I transfer, keep your friends closer and enemies closer was always something he would tell me...but did that make Tris a friend or foe, she certainly has the best intentions for us transfers and her methods are much more effective and useful than I would have expected from someone so youthful looking. But that still didn't mean I could trust her however that also didn't mean that I didn't not trust her. I wish dad could have told me more, learning to lead alone was a lot tougher than I anticipated.

"So Tristan you gonna tell us how you know Christina?" Anthony asks, cutting through my thoughts.

Tristan's face turns almost beet red even though he has a darker skin tone to almost hide it. "I ah...we kinda dated back in Candor" Tristan stammers, unlike Anthony and Cassidy. Maddison and I manage to keep our reactions neutral while Anthony and Cassidy basically fall over themselves laughing. Poor Tristan looks highly embarrassed going an even brighter shade of red

"Leave him alone!" Maddison says firmly, I can tell she's just as amused as they are but she unlike them she keeps her composure. Anthony and Cassidy recover from their burst of hysteria but keep their smiles on display, heck Anthony even wags his brows and poor embarrassed Tristan

"I take it by your stunned reaction that you had no idea she was here" I say, trying to sound unamused, but in all honesty it is kind of funny.

Tristan's face sez it all. "No...the day of her choosing ceremony she'd broken up with me, claiming it was because I was too young. In her defense she did think I was the same age and found out that day that I was not...I just really liked her, I never thought I'd ever see her again" Tristan says sadly, Anthony and Cassidy squirm in their seats looking guilty for their sudden burst of hysteria as they now stare at our sullen friend.

I offer Tristan a small smile that I hope comes off encouraging and not pity before I try to smooth over the incident. "I know I have no right to say anything here and probably shouldn't even comment on the subject, but maybe she did you a favor" I watch closer for any sign that he might think I'm overstepping my boundaries but see and sense nothing of the sort. "At the time she probably thought she was doing the right thing, she obviously knew that she was not going to remain Candor, had she continued it would have been a dishonor to both her former and chosen faction...we do after all follow one cardinal rule and that is faction before blood. What she did was best for her and most of all you" I say, with a heavy sigh Tristan nods his head while slumping lower into his seat in defeat.

"Come on bro, look around. You could have your pick of the litter. I'll even be your wing man" Anthony says offering to help in the only way he thinks will do. For girls like myself I personally don't think throwing yourself around to the first available girl will do much help, but hey males are different species who knows what helps them heal.

When the Dauntless born join our table we drop the topic for Tristan's benefit, its bad enough we know his secret I'm not sure how he'd take it if they found out too.

"So how's training?" Peyton asks as she takes the vacant seat beside me,

"It's better than it was yesterday" I answer in a teasing tone to lighten the mood which has taken a somber turn since Tristan revealed his past.

"And its only day two imagine how much better it gets after today" Pey says, sounding optimistic. It's that award winning attitude that pulls Tristan from his slumped position to sit up and smile. If I thought he had a chance with Peyton I'd try wing manning it myself, but something tells me our Peyton has her eyes and heart set on another.

"Four's taking us out to the city today, what's Eric got planned for you guys?" Peyton continues, spitting out Eric's name with distain. I would image it takes a lot for someone like Peyton to hate a person, she's not the type to hate for no reason.

"We're just going through basic defense techniques with Tris. Eric hasn't said much but...he hovers around us like a vulture. I find him intimidating" Cassidy says dropping her voice to a whisper, almost every head at the table nods at her words.

"You should, Eric doesn't do nice. If he tells you to do something you do it or risk being hung from the chasm" Jared says, from the other side of Peyton.

"Wait! what! He's hung people over the chasm" Tristan says disgusted, his face contorting into a frown which is mirrored by us all. Was this what Tris meant when she told me to be careful, to warn me that this could happen to me should I step out of line with Eric.

"One person that I know of yes" Jared replies staring off into the distance as if recalling the memory

"WHO!?" all of us transfers ask

"You won't know her she's a member, her name is Christina"

We all knew that we had to give Tristan space to calm down after Jared shared details about Christina's initiation last year. You could see the rage building behind Tristan's eyes, but to his credit he held it together...until we walked into the training room that is.

"Go to the punching bags, Lilz can partner with me" Anthony whispers to Tristan, he doesn't say anything in response he just beelines for the punching bag and starts to pummel the poor bag. I hear Anthony sigh beside me and then pull me to his and Tristan's occupied space before lunch

I could tell Anthony was worried about Tristan his movements were sluggish and his eyes kept moving toward him. If any of us wanted to avoid what Christina went through last year we'd have to start focusing. "Leave him be Anthony, just focus on training. We'll talk to him tonight" I whisper so not to catch the attention of Eric

Anthony eyes peered down at me with a sad expression. "This isn't right Lilz, what if it were someone you knew" he whispers back,

"Now is not the time to discuss this. Focus...please" I plead, I really have no desire at hanging over the chasm nor do I intend to watch any of my friends be dangled over either, least of all Anthony whom I've grown fond of.

With a sigh Anthony finally relents and begins to focus more. Inwardly I breathe a sigh of relief for my caring friend.

Hours go by before I start seeing signs of Tristan beginning to calm down, Maddison offers to swap positions with him and he agrees partnering up with Cassidy, it's enough to make Anthony relax.

"First jumper and Amity in the ring" Eric calls out, beside me Anthony tenses up. I kind of suspected Dauntless would make us fight I prayed that, that was not the case but hearing as Eric let Christina hang for her life I guess he'd have no problems watching us pick one another off. I'm just glad Maddison and I discussed our fighting plan during our private lessons.

We both walk to the ring aware of what is about to happen and both equally tortured by it. It's one thing to practice fighting sequences it's another thing entirely to be scored on them.

Neither of us waits for Eric to call the match to a start we both just begin. I manage to mouth the words "Never give up" to her while she gives a subtle nod.

Maddison strikes first with a punch to my mid-section which I swiftly dodged. I curled my hand into a fist and aimed right for her nose. Her blood splattered all over the blue cushioned mat and the sound of the crunch in her bones echoed throughout the training hall. Maddison staggered back a bit losing her balance from the blow. But she never gave up. She came at me again, aiming blow for blow at my abdomen. She hits me again this time in the cheek and I taste blood. Come on Lillian, fight back, find her blind spot and fight back. She then grabs my head, her fingers digging into my scalp and lifts me until I'm dangling on the tips of my toes, she slams her hand into my ribs and I wince. The pain ripples across my chest. Come on Lillian, Focus. I lock my eyes on her honey brown eyes and palm under her chin. She reels back, releasing her grip. Taking advantage of her dazed like state, I aim right for her jugular puncturing it fast then completing it with a three punch combo to her body then a final blow with a knockout punch. I watch in slow motion as Maddison's eyes close and she tips over, I save her just as she's about to hit the mat.

"Get her to the infirmary!" Eric shouts, myself and the others gather to support Maddison, I feel like a complete jerk for causing this but I know deep down Maddison will understand...well I hope she does.

"The nose can take her, Anthony and Tristan you're up next" Eric growls as he comes up beside me to support Maddison's other side. As we begin to carry her out Tris walks in slightly flustered and out of breath

"What happened here?" She asks Eric

"What do you think, she was knocked out. Go watch the others!" Eric's tone is short and clipped as he addresses Tris almost like it pains him to have to speak with her. I can't imagine what these two are to one another but whatever it is can't be good. Tris gives a slight nod but she doesn't seem to be looking at Eric as she does, no her eyes are trained on me accusingly. I can't take the look in her eyes judging me...or rather seeing me for all that I am so I turn away pulling Maddison closer to me and walking past Tris in an attempt to wipe the memory of her searing eyes that seem to know too much.

Eric and I march to the infirmary in silence with Maddison between us I'm not entirely sure what to say to him or even sure if I should. I can sense his eyes on me every so often but like me he says nothing. The nurse says nothing as we being to haul in Maddison, with initiation just beginning I'm sure she's been through this quite a bit.

"Come on nose" Eric says while the nurse works on Maddison. I want to object to make sure she's okay but I know that would only get me in trouble. The nurse senses my reluctance. "She'll be fine come by after training, I'm sure she'll be good to go by then" I offer the nurse a small smile of gratitude and follow behind Eric.

The walk back though silent doesn't feel awkward, in fact it feels the opposite, nice. It's a comfortable silence that relaxes me...strange that I should feel that way when the person I walk beside is none other than Eric. When we pass the chasm I can't help shuddering, I tried to suppress it but instincts and recent information prevented me from doing so. Eric doesn't say anything at my sudden change but I do see his eyes glance down to my face from my peripheral vison.

When we get back to the training room Anthony and Tristan are still fighting, both of them are badly bruised and even limping, Eric and I both hear Tris urging them to stop but neither of them listens. "Hmmm I guess I got the better group after all" Eric whispers to himself not sure if I was meant to hear that so I pretend that I didn't. I can't help wondering what he means by it though.

"Alright that's enough, both of you go get cleaned up. Lilz you and Cassidy can continue practicing" Eric calls out as we near the sparring mat, instantly the two boys stop and much to Eric and Tris's surprise they both pat one another on the back smiling at each other before they proceed to leave. Cassidy rolls her eyes as she nears me but I can tell she wants to smile.

"How's Maddy?" Cassidy asks while we take place

"The nurse said she's going to be fine, we can collect her after training" I tell her, Cassidy nods her head before resuming her position. With the others out of the training room Tris focuses on Cassidy and me pointing out things to do though she's more helpful toward Cassidy than with me.

"Swap positions, Cassidy on the attack Lilz on the defense" Tris says, her tone soft but indifferent. Something is definitely off about her. Where was she? She disappeared for a bit after lunch and when she returned she did seem out of breath. The way she looks at me now is unnerving, I can't help feeling like I've offended her by doing something wrong I just don't know what it is. An hour before lunch she was all smiles now she looks like she's analyzing my every move.

During our so called private lesson with Tris the Dauntless born return out of breath and sweating from the sweltering heat outside. Peyton spots Cassidy and me training alone and waves toward us before she kneels over to catch her breath. Cassidy waves back smiling but my eyes move toward their trainer...Four I think his name was. His eyes bore into mine with the same look of suspicion that Tris has causing confusion within me. What on earth is going on here?...fear seeps through my body and mind at what these two could possibly know about me. Do they know? I've not spoken much and for the most part have kept a low profile...okay so being the first jumper maybe wasn't so smart on my part but I wanted to wipe that condescending look off of Max's smug face...did I peak too soon, have they made me. Judging by the look in both their eyes I would say so.

"What's wrong?" I jump at the sound of Anthony's voice coming from behind me, which only makes him frown at me in return. "Are you okay Lilz? You know Maddison doesn't blame you right. She knows this is just part of training" He continues guessing that maybe I would be more upset at the fact that I've hurt our friend rather than being worried for myself...selfish

"I'm fine. You just caught me off guard is all. Did you see her?" I ask moving the topic to Maddison and hopefully drowning out Tris and Fours? Wandering stares

Anthony smiles warmly down at me before answering. "Yeah! She's just upset she didn't last longer. Actually she wants to go another round" He chuckles, I smile in return at this information, the possibility that she may have been mad at me caused me dread now knowing that she's fine with how things ended...well to a certain degree...makes me proud and happy. Going into our early bird sessions I had underestimated Maddison at being the weakest, when in reality she's probably the toughest.

"Good, winning isn't fun if the competitor is a sore loser" I tease, all three of them chuckle at that and further to that Tristan and Anthony playfully shove one another taunting the other about who lost their fight. It's all in fun.

"Get back to work!" Eric tells us glaring at Anthony for some unknown reason. What in the world did he do to upset Eric...I have no idea what I feel toward Eric, comfortable, scared or even curious but one thing is for sure. He will never hurt my friends..not if I'm here to stop him.

A/N: I wanted the group to be more friendly than what Tris had to go through, or even Four for that matter. Not everyone is out to be number one, they just want to make it and with their friends. I know life changes and you can't always revolve your life around your friends but that doesn't mean you leave them behind.
Eric is always out for the best soldiers. I truly believe he wants that even, if he doesn't show it all the time. If you're curious about Tris, you'll find out soon enough.
Feel free to leave good or bad comments...like I said anything to help the story there are no bad comments just opportunities to make something better.