Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent or it's characters

Dauntless

Not really a description, more a way of life. But I guess that's how I'd describe her.

Tris first arrived with the other initiates. I didn't bother to give her a second glance when she came. Overall she looked unimpressive, plain, and proper. None of these screamed Dauntless. I do have a right to judge the Dauntless in someone. My name is Eric and I am one of the elected leaders of my faction. Each piercing, each tattoo, each glare I had specifically designed to break away from myself. The initiates were scared, terrified, some even looked at me like I was the thing from their nightmares. But I wasn't angry, I thrived on their terror. I held their lives in my hands and it made me their God. They all bowed before me like some God, but then there was her. It wasn't fear in her eyes. It was hatred. You know hatred and love are actually a very similar emotion. Both so filled with passion and desperation. Back to the point though, this confession is supposed to justify my hatred. My trial, my confession, start with her.

Initiation Day

"You chose us, and now we choose you."

You could feel the air split and the tensions rise. The majority of it leaking from the transfers.

"You will be trained separately, transfers will learn basics while Dauntless borns will advance their training. We will have 3 rounds of training, but in the end only 10 of you will become Dauntless."

The shock and despair was delicious to absorb, their cries and gasps causing me to let out a laugh. It was loud and drawn out, just the kind of laugh I knew they feared. I'd practiced it after being chosen a leader. But then again, my purpose was much more than they knew.

"The first round will be physical. Dauntless born are to be trained by Lauren, and the transfers are to be trained by Four."

I spit out his name like acid. He was nothing but an un talented coward. During our initiation, he ranked higher than me in the end. I was second best. With him here I would always be second best. But I was the leader, not him. Which meant that I had much more power to abuse.

"Now I will not be instructing, but I will be watching very closely. Especially to the transfers. That said, let's get to work."

I turned my back and left them, thinking nothing of any of them.

It wasn't until the second round of fights that I noticed her. She was so small, so weak, so unskilled. I was sure she wouldn't last the first round, but then she fought Molly. Molly was a big girl, likely having half a foot and 50 pounds on Tris. But what I saw Tris do was the most well fought fight I'd ever seen from a girl her size. She took Molly down quickly, using her small center of balance and speed to capitalize on her opponents weaknesses. Until then I had been so sure she could never be Dauntless, now I knew. She would be.

After the fight was over, I smiled and began clapping. She looked over at me and hatred burned her eyes. I had never seen such rage coming from an Abnegation before. But then again she did transfer to Dauntless. She intrigued me, to my roots as an erudite. My mind studied her, eager to collect more data and learn more. I had to keep myself alert when this happened. In Dauntless, loyalty to your faction is the only thing that matters.

After their session was over, and they were meant to have some free time, I pulled Tris aside. "Nice fighting out there Stiff. How'd it feel to get your first taste of blood?"

She regarded me like something she was forced to eat, yet couldn't bear to swallow. I could see in her eyes what I looked like. A monster.

"I'm just doing what it takes to become a true Dauntless." There was a fire in her words, and yet even with her hate there was an under set of fear.

"How about you stay for a bit of extra training."

"That wouldn't be fair to the other initiates, so no thank you." I frowned at her, the politeness she was raised with as a stiff starting to creep in.

"How about I phrase it this way? I'm in charge and you're not leaving until I say you can." I stepped closer, and there was a wall behind her that kept her from moving. I was so close, she looked away. She had a tattoo on her collarbone, 3 birds flying. I wondered what it meant to her.

"Get on the mat." I ordered, moving aside to let her through. Gentleness was never my strong suit, but then again fighting isn't hers either.

"The first thing you should be able to do in a fight is distinguish your opponents weaknesses. Analyze me. What should be my weaknesses?"

She thought about it, her eyebrow picking up as she contemplated. "Well you're taller and bigger than me, so you have a higher center of gravity to utilize."

I nodded, making a rolling motion with my hands to show her to go on.

"That's all I see." She conceded, a blush running through her pale cheeks. It was something I was not accustomed to seeing in this place.

"I'll tell you what I see then." I began circling her to get a good look. "You're not very muscular so your punches can't deal a substantial amount of damage. You have weak knees that sometimes shake when you walk. Being smaller and thinner, Id have to be careful of your speed. All in all, you could prove to be a very fierce opponent with some training."

She smirked, beginning to say thanks before clearing her throat. "What should I have seen in you?"

"Well you were right about size and weight, and my center of gravity. There's also my piercings. If the fight got really bloody you could rip one out. But your most substantial advantage, is the fact that you're beautiful." I reached out my hand to touch her face and she jerked away in surprise.

"Shall we fight then?" She asked, her voice cracking as she addressed me, not looking me in the eyes.

"Yes, but I won't hurt you. That's the job of the other initiates. Well start with blocking. If I go to punch your jaw, where do you put your hands to block?" She raised her hands to her face and I sighed.

"To protect yourself from a punch, you have to catch their forearm with your forearm, give them no chance to recover the speed they had."

I swung slowly at her, and nodded when she blocked me.

"Now what about lower hits like your stomach or side?"

She placed her hands awkwardly in front of her, folding them together.

"No, the only way to block direct hits below is to move out of their way. When you punch lower, your center of gravity is lower which provides your opponent with a chance to avoid and knock you down."

I went to punch her stomach, but she jumped out of the way trying to kick my legs out from underneath me. She lost her balance trying and fell.

"Another thing," I said, helping her up, "if you're gonna try and get someone on the ground from a kick, aim for the knees. For example."

I stretched out my leg, twisted, and aimed for her right knee. She wasn't ready for it, so she fell to the ground. Her arm grabbed a handful of my shirt before she hit the ground, and I fell with her. She was underneath me, and I could feel her hot breath against my face. She was excited, but that same blush creeped up on me. She was beautiful like this, her heart racing, her instincts kicking in.

"There's always that too." I argued, clearing my throat and standing up. I raised out a hand to help her up.

She took it cautiously, and wiped herself off.

"You can go hang out with your friends now. You've made progress."

"Thanks." She muttered, running towards the exit.

That was the first time my heart beat strangely and Tris found her way into my head.

Sorry if they seem a bit out of character, this story just came to me after I saw the lack of Eric and Tris fanfic. Don't get me wrong though, Tris and Tobias is supreme. Please read and review.