The Stiff looks just like all of the other young men and women in his faction; the sort of young people who could be so much taller and stronger if they held themselves up and had confidence, but who look small and scared and not worth much.

He looks like all the other Stiffs, but how can he be, when he chose Dauntless?

He won't survive. You need to be fairly strong, physically, mentally, and emotionally, to be accepted into Dauntless. Four years ago, they changed the training methods to make then somewhat more brutal; it used to be about friendships and fun, but now it is more serious. Perhaps four years ago, he would have survived.

But now, he has so much less of a chance.

He cut far too deep in his palm. I watch him rip off a strip of his shirt, and wind it round his hand; the grey cloth turns a deep red almost instantly. I wince in sympathy; everyone should know not to cut that deep, but I guess they aren't all taught the same way.

He stands next to an Erudite transfer; Evan? Ethan? Eric, who gives him a nasty glare. Erudite transfers are fairly common. I scan the crowd of transfers; mostly Candor, from whom we gain as many as we lose. A few Erudite, who all seem to know each other; and one Abnegation. He's limping slightly, and holds himself very stiffly. He's just like the initiates after a week of training.

I wonder what made him transfer to Dauntless.

We jump onto the train here. Tobias has fallen behind the crowd of shouting laughing initiates, who are sprinting ahead like they don't have a care in the world, but Tori still keeps pace with him. I leap onto the train. I love the thrill of Dauntless fear, being suspended in mid-air, holding onto the train bar only by my hands...

...and then my feet touch the ground, and it's over.

The Stiff is still running with Tori; she guides him onto the train. She jumps flawlessly, accustomed as all Dauntless are to the train, but the Stiff doesn't manage it so well. He jumps decently, bending his legs and stretching out, but isn't ready for the swinging of the train and hits his nose hard on the bar.

It looks painful, but I can't help laughing softly. 'Smooth,' I say, smiling.

'Finesse is for Erudite show-offs, ' Tori replies, with more than a hint of chastising in her voice. 'He made it onto the train, Amar, that's what counts.'

Tori and I are good friends. Once, a long time ago, she accused me of liking her brother far more, and just being friends with me so I could get closer to him; she knows the friendship Georgie and I shared, and I hope more than anything she that doesn't hate us for it. He was Erudite as well as her, though she is older than him, and they transferred at different times.

'He's supposed to be in the other car, though,' I say. 'With the other initiates.' I remember the way he lost them as they sprinted ahead at full speed. I've heard that Stiffs don't run around much; it's probably true. Apparently Stiffs don't do anything interesting. Some say it's why they rarely transfer; they don't have the heart to change routines. 'If he's friends with you, I guess it's okay. What's your name, Stiff?'

'You can call me Stiff for all I care,' he replies, in a sharper voice than I've ever heard an Abnegation use - though he isn't Abnegation, not anymore. I have seen people like him before; people striving to create a new identity, to be the person they want to be rather than the person they are.

As the train climbs gradually, he backs away from the door and sits against one wall. I ask Tori in a low voice, 'Do you know him?'

'Yes, I administered his aptitude test.' Tori takes my hint and speaks quietly enough that no one can hear us. The Stiff doesn't notice; I have a feeling that heights will feature heavily in his fear landscape.

'What did he get?' What do I expect? Dauntless? Abnegation?

She hesitates. 'Abnegation.'

'Really?' I'm surprised.

'Not all of them do, you know. Haven't you ever done an aptitude test?' Tori smiles, knowing just as well as I do that I don't do aptitude tests. Telling a sixteen-year-old where they belong for the rest of their life is a responsibility I don't want to have.

The train slows slightly, and I know we're approaching the Wall; a ten-storey building. 'Get up, Stiff,' I say, careful to keep my voice neutral. I don't like calling him that; gently mocking Abnegation from a distance is what Dauntless do, but when there is one sitting in front of us, still silently trying to staunch the flow of blood from his hand, it is obvious that he is not a Stiff, not anymore.

'It's almost time to jump,' I continue. They are supposed to figure it out for themselves; we don't make it that hard, it's not Erudite, but we like to give them a challenge; but seeing as he's here, I know it won't make that much of a difference.

He frowns up at me. 'Jump?'

'Yeah,' I reply. 'This train stops for no one.'

He gets to his feet without a word of complaint, and I feel vaguely surprised; most initiates at least voice their concerns, and if I had to choose the person I thought was most likely to freak out and refuse to jump, it would have been him. If he's not scared, I guess it's good, though; better than if he flipped out like I have seen all too often.

Tori shoves him to the front and he leaps, arms and legs flailing, a stronger jump than his one onto the train, then falls forward on his hands and knees.

Gabe makes his jump. 'Damn,' he says, 'I was hoping we'd get to scrape some Stiff pancake off the pavement later.'

I give him a hard shove. 'Shut it,' I hiss, landing him precariously close to the edge where the end of the train is just moving off into the distance. I'm not ready for anyone to criticize him, not yet, not before they truly know what he's capable of.

I step up onto the ledge; as the Dauntless main instructor, it is my responsibility to lead them through the very first step into Dauntless initiation. The Stiff works it out before any of the other initiates do, and fear fills his eyes. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath; he's perceptive, I'll give him that.

I can't stop the grin that spreads over my face as I look over at Tori, my excitement infecting her as she grins back at me. Letting out a euphoric laugh, I begin to feel the Dauntless mania. I love it here; I love it.

A new year, with new initiates, and a new method of training.

It's going to be amazing.

A/N: And this chapter is revised! I am now happy with all of my chapters! Thank you so much for bearing with me right now - I promise I'll get to properly new chapters soon…

Thanks for the reviews, follows and faves! They really keep me going! :)