#thechanging

The waterways of most cities have taken on a life of their own, dotted with isolated, human communities and strange creatures. While they are similar to the many tunnels and caverns that humans have colonized ever since the beginning of the changing, these waterways have the tendency towards being more outwardly supernatural. At times, they seem to go on forever, in every direction. They make you lose track of time, space, yourself.

The humans living here are an odd bunch, often forming cults venerating the greater monsters inhabiting these places, praying to them. Some of the creatures even answer.

I finally continued it! Let me know your thoughts, and if you want tagged/removed in future updates.

Tagged: @buried-in-books

•••

My body is pressed onto the soft leather couch in Eric’s apartment. My feet sit on him, having lifted up my legs so they rest on top of his, saying that “there’s no way in hell he’s letting me take up the whole couch.” After discovering where I was I nearly ran out the door but was stopped swiftly by a large muscular arm.

“Why am I here?” I asked him once he caught me and threw me back onto the couch, fresh waves of pain rushing over me.

“Because you refuse to go back to the infirmary and I clearly can’t trust you to make it around on you own out there. So here you are. I’m watching you.”

“Eric, I’m not a five year old.” I retort, watching him as he lifts my legs over his.

“I know. You just think like one.” He comments and focuses back on his tablet in hand. I sigh but leave the argument alone for now, too tired and in pain to continue.

I have nothing else to preoccupy my time other than watching Eric type away, the occasional vein straining in his arm.

“Eric?” I ask, gently as to show that I’m no longer wanting to fight with him.

“Eyre?” He says, placing his tablet on a nearby table and facing me. My stomach does a small flip when he says my name. Damn myself.

“Why are you doing this? And why haven’t we talked?” I pause, taking a deep breath. “I mean, I may be new to this whole ‘kissing thing’ but I’m pretty sure that the people that kiss each other are supposed to talk afterwards.” It’s his turn to sigh when I finish speaking. He drags his hand down his face, as if wiping away the Dauntless Leader mask. When he looks at me again I see concern in his eye, mixed with something I’m unsure of.

“It’s against protocol for a Leader to be with a Initiate.” He says, his voice deeper than normal. He shakes his head lightly as if he doesn’t understand it, or at least doesn’t agree with it. “I couldn’t be seen with you. I can’t be seen with you.” He corrects, with a small shake of his head. “Otherwise everything will go to shit for you and me.”

I simply nod. At this point I just want to sleep, for this night to be over.

“Okay.” I say, hoping that he’ll let this conversation be over. I should’ve known better.

“No, come on I’m not stupid I know you’re upset.” He says, waving his hands while he talks for emphasis.

“Upset?!” I all but yell, I know I shouldn’t snap at him but the pain coursing through my upper body only makes me more irritable. My brain felling fried, my body shocked.

“Of course I’m upset! The man I’ve had my first kiss with wants, or better yet is FORBIDDEN to do so ever again. Yeah Eric I think you could say I’m a bit unhappy at the moment.” I try and swing my legs off of his gaping figure and manage to get a few inches of space away from him. It’s the best I can do while on this couch.

My heart beats fast and it only causes my body to hurt worse.

“Turn around.” He says, more calm than I could’ve ever expected for him having just been yelled at.

“No, Eric. Why the hell should I?” I question, looking at him from the corner of my eye.

“Because you’re wincing in pain. Now come here.”

I slowly assess my body, like I do before walking into the ring. My shoulder has its own heart beat, each pulse sending a fresh shock of pain. My ribs, now crushed in an effort to move away from the man next to me on the couch, throb when I breath. Worse of is the involuntary wincing, every few moments my tears grinding and my breath catching. In defeat I let him grab my waist with his calloused hands, pulling my back closer to his chest.

“Fine. But only for a minute.” I cross both my arms and my legs and lean into Eric’s slow but strong movements across my shoulders.

••••

ERIC POV

She’s right.

I know she is but damn it if I’ll let others talk shit about her if I can help it.

I’ve heard the comments people can make, saying that initiates sleep with their leaders to raise their rank. It’s happened before and it will happen again. I won’t let that happen to her.

•••

My hands glide over her soft skin and I have to restrain myself to not pull her closer. With each pass my palms make over her back and shoulders small sighs escape from her mouth, I can tell that she is trying to rain it in but she isn’t even in control anymore.

“Listen,” I say, taking a deep breath before I begin. “I don’t lik-“ A loud knock bellows through the room.

“Fuck” I mutter under my breath and remove my hands from her back. She visibly shivers and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me smirk.

Reaching forward I open the door and the omnipresent Four rushes in. “Have you seen Asher she’s gone from the infirmary, I searched the do-“ He pauses, making eye contact with Eyre’s small figure on my couch, his breath catching. “I swear to God, Eric if you’re-“

I stop him, roughly holding my hand out, angry at his interruption, angry at his accusations. “No, number boy I’m not fucking her.” I state, hoping to get to the point as fast as possible.

Behind me I hear a small gasp, followed my coughing. Turning around I’m met with Eyre’s red cheeks, a blush covering her skin brightly as slight coughs rack her body for a moment before settling. “You okay?” I ask, getting a shy nod in reply, making me smirk internally.

“Well then what the hell is she doing here?” He questions, only making my anger grow.

How he has the nerve and the self righteous attitude to barge into my own apartment and tell me what is right in wrong I have no idea.

“Because she didn’t want to stay in the infirmary and I can’t have her walking around the compound practically defenseless. You seem so damn concerned about our initiate’s safety but don’t take a second to think.” I voice, my volume growing with each word, my body battling between wanting to punch number boy in the face and glide my hands over Eyre’s back again.

I watch in satisfaction as his face drops.

“Nonetheless she shouldn’t be in her trainer’s home.” He says, crossing his arms, thinking that he got me.

“You do realize I’m a leader and have the power to say a big ‘fuck you’ to that rule, right?” I comment, slowly making my way back to my door, opening it to let Four out.

“Now if you don’t mind I’m sure our injured initiate could use some rest and she clearly can’t get any while you’re here.” With this I motion him into the hallway with my hand, surprising me when he begrudgingly follows.

“If I hear anything that hints at a relationship between you two-“ Raising my hand again I cut him off.

“You’ll report me to Max. Im not an idiot Four, now get the hell out.” I state, closing my door in his face, staying put until I hear his feet backing away.

“Now do you understand why this,” I say, turning to the small girl on my couch, motioning between us with my finger. “Is so complicated?”

The waterways of most cities have taken on a life of their own, dotted with isolated, human communities and strange creatures. While they are similar to the many tunnels and caverns that humans have colonized ever since the beginning of the changing, these waterways have the tendency towards being more outwardly supernatural. At times, they seem to go on forever, in every direction. They make you lose track of time, space, yourself.

The humans living here are an odd bunch, often forming cults venerating the greater monsters inhabiting these places, praying to them. Some of the creatures even answer.

It is said that all the waterways in the world had been linked somehow. People say that if you walked enough in one direction you could come out on another continent eventually. Wheter that is true or not, it can't be denied that the Changing has taken a special liking to these places. While changed and twisted, they are relatively intact, certainly more so than the surface cities.

-------

Chapter 12

Eric leads me to a set of back doors, when he opens them a cool summer breeze blows over me. I smile and look up at him, seeing a similar expression on his face.

“Where are we headed?” I ask, now convinced that my present isn’t on the Dauntless’ ground.

“Right now, to the train. Overall, you’ll see.” He cracks a mischievous smirk at me and nods his head in the direction of the tracks. “Come on.”

We jog to the tracks, slowing as we get closer. “When’s the train supposed to be here?” I ask, not having mesmerized the train schedules just yet.

“Give it a second.” He says crouching down to touch the railings, he motions me forward with his other hand. “Here, feel.”

I reach down and lay my fingers on the thick metal. A small vibration runs up and through my arm. I glance to my left, searching for any other indication that a train could be near. I don’t spot anything for the first few seconds but then a large, silver blob emerges from over the horizon.

“And there’s our ride.” Eric comments, pointing over my shoulder.

The train barrels towards us, slowing down to barely 14 miles an hour for any passengers to jump on or off. Eric runs first pumping his fists as he takes off, his body even with the locomotive. I follow close behind and watch him easily board, seemingly as easy as taking a step up the stairs. My lungs burn as I grab the handle and thrust myself aboard. I sigh as I sit on the floor, needing a break from the intense minute of running that just took place. Eric follows suit and takes a seat to my right, being closest to the open door.

I grin at him, his hair is slowly coming undone from its normal gelled down appearance, hints of small curls poking through. Partnered with his rare smile he seems younger, or more so his own age, no longer a feared leader but a daredevil 19 year old.

“What?” He asks catching my gaze. I look away, focusing on the passing scenery, heat finding it’s way to my cheeks.

“Nothing.” I say shaking my head.

“No, I think it was something what was it?” He comments, nudging me with his shoulder, causing me to lean over slightly.

I cast him my most deadly glare, hoping he gets the concept that I don’t want to talk about this further, but he only laughs at me.

I sigh and throw my hands in the air with defeat. “Fine.” I say, turning my body to face him as I speak. I feel hyper aware of our knees touching, the warmth of his skin, under his pant leg radiating into me. “I was just thinking you look younger.”

He frowns. “I am young.”

It’s my turn to laugh now as I stare at his confused expression. I shake my head.

“No shit.” I say pushing his arm. “I just mean that you’re always so.. stoic. Even with your friend you always seem so uptight, like you have a mask on. But now you actually look your age. Not so much like a soldier.” I look away from his eyes, feeling like I’ve said too much, pried too far.

He only nods and stays quiet for what seems like the longest moment of my life. I’m reminded by the silence that I am merely and initiate, I have no reason to even be allowed out of the compound. Eric finally meets my gaze, speaking up to say, “Its my job to be a soldier, not to play nice. That’s why in public, with most people, I am a leader and nothing else.” I understand his words and the need for a cover of sorts, a public persona. I nod in understanding. Dauntless is full people who will walk all over you given the chance, you have to be tough to command an army. “However,” He says, turning his body to face me more. “I don’t think that necessarily makes me look 40.” He quirks a smile at his own comment and I giggle.

“I never said you looked 40.”

“Ahh,” He raises his finger in the air. “ But it was implied.” I shake my head, laughing more.

“No, it wasn’t. I just meant that you look different. Not like a normal 19 year old.”

“Mhmm.” He hums, not fully believing me. He turns his head to look out the door and I follow his glance. Decrepit buildings fly past us, the train taking us further than I’ve ever been. I half stand, half shimmy my way to the opening, trying to get closer to the passing scenery. I toss my legs over the side of the cart, letting them hang in the harsh wind, tilting more to the right.

“So.” Eric says, moving to mimic my position. “Tell me about yourself.” He says. I laugh, surprised that Eric, the feared Dauntless leader, wants to talk about anything other than how sloppy my left hook is.

“What do you want to know?” I ask, watching him as he leans back his muscular figure, his end position being fully in his back, staring up at the train’s roof.

“Whatever you’ll tell me.” He replies, not giving me much to go off of. I grown inwardly.

“Um, Okay.” I rack my brain for anything to tell him, forgetting everything about myself. “When I was five I broke my toe.” I say.

He lifts his head slightly, giving me an unreadable glare. “How?” He questions.

“Well,” I say, picking lint off of my shirt. “I was helping this old lady carry her groceries to her house, I was only carrying the bread, but I still felt like I had the most important job in the world.” I smile at the thought. “Anyways, I was walking down the streets, and there was a huge pothole in front of me. I was so infatuated with this damn loft of bread and keeping it safe that I walked straight into the hole. I inevitably fell on my face, somehow in the process breaking my toe on my right foot and smashing the bread.” He laughs beside me. “I just remember crying and having to be taken to the hospital in Erudite. I think that my mom even bought the lady a new loft of bread when we got home.” This causes him to laugh even more, sitting up to face me.

“Sometimes I forget you were a Stiff.” He says smiling at me.

I grin, unsure of how to reply to his comment. “You’re turn. Tell me something about you.” I comment.

He shrugs his shoulders. “What do you want to know?”

“Whatever you’ll tell me.” I say mimicking his earlier comment. I face the outdoors again, the sun blinding me in the process.

“My favorite color is black.” He says. I scoff at his so called admittance, my head snapping to face him.

“No.” I shake my head.

“What?” He questions, acting as if he doesn’t realize this isn’t how this ‘game’ is going.

“That doesn’t mean anything, or tell me anything about you. Try again.” I says, waving my hand at him.

He sighs, “Fine.” He stays quiet for a moment, and I hope it’s because he’s thinking of a legitimate confession.

He stands abruptly, dusting off the nonexistent dirt from his pants. I stare up at him.

“It’s time to jump off.” He says.

If he thinks he’s getting out is telling me something he’s wrong.

•••

We walk for what feels like hours but when I glance at my watch it’s only been 10 minutes. The heat of the soon to be setting sun burns down on me, hitting my back.

“You promise you’re not taking me somewhere just to murder me, and then dump my body?” I ask Eric, breaking the silence that had fallen over us since we jumped from the train, only half joking. He chuckles from beside me. He still keeps his rigid posture, and other than his hair which has managed to get even messier in our travel, one would never have been able to notice that we’ve been walking for so long just by looking at him. I however must look the complete opposite, I feel myself slouching more by the minute and my back and neck hold a thin sheet of sweat over them.

“No I won’t murder you. Just give it a minute.” He says, looking over at me, one eye squinting in order to block out the sun. “Better yet,” He interjects. “Close your eyes.” I look at him like he’s crazy.

“Why?” I ask, my voice notably higher than it was moments ago. I trust Eric, at least enough to bring me into the middle of nowhere with only a small book bag slung over his shoulder, but even now I could escape. I could run to the train, or if need be further into the ruins. But with my eyes closed I lose my small edge on him. I shrug my shoulders, figuring that I’m just paranoid, that I should put my faith in him. Sighing loudly I concede.

“Fine.” I say, and place my hand over my eyes, my vision becomes one blurry black and red blob. I feel Eric wrap his arm over my shoulder in an effort to guide me.

We continue our walk for a few more minutes before we come to a stop, I have the urge to uncover my eyes but I decided quickly that it would be best to just wait for Eric to give me the go ahead.

“So,” he speaks from beside me, his voice seemingly deeper with his proximity, a smile finds its way to my face.

“Yes?” I ask.

“You’re not afraid of heights right?” He asks and I gasp, nearly lowering my hand to see just what could be in front of me. However my wrist is gripped tightly and held in place before I can go through with my actions.

“Ah, ah, ah,” He says chastising me like a toddler. “Answer the question first.”

Impatience flares up inside me and I want nothing more than to see what I know must be in front of me.

“No, I’m not afraid of heights.”

He sighs, his chest loosening next to me. “Perfect.” He says, slowly lessening his grip on my hand. “Because if you were than this would have never worked.” With this he releases my hand and I let it fall.

It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden change of light and I stare up in front of me. A large building unlike any other I’ve ever seen stands before me, it’s nearly completely intact windows gleam the sun’s setting rays at me and I swear I must squeal. I turn to face Eric a wild smile on my face, astonishment and admiration coarse through my veins.

“You did not!” I nearly scream.

He gives me a cocky smirk, knowing he did well, but I don’t even mind his silent boasting. “Oh my gosh!” I say facing the magnificent building again for a second before I bring my attention back to him. “This is amazing thank you.” I say and give him a hug. He tenses up under me but only for a short period of time, quickly relaxing into the display of gratitude, hugging me momentarily back. When I pull away I’m sure that my cheeks must be blushing because I can feel the heat that has begun to reside there, but I don’t care.

“Can we go in now?” I ask, already starting to walk closer to the building. He simply nods and gives me a full toothed smile.

“Go ahead.” He says.

•••

Eric -being who he is- has already turned on an elevator so once we entered the building we were able to make it to the top floor no problem. The inside of the building is cleared, but debris is piled in the corners of the room. The elevator ride is a short and silent one, full of me tapping my fingers on my leg, and rocking back and forth on my heels. Anticipation coursing through my veins.

The elevator doors open with a ‘bing’ and I’m the first one out. As I walk into the room my jaw drops. The entire wall in front of me is composed of glass panels, allowing us to see over the entire city, with a gorgeous sunset above. I let my fingers touch the window, as if I’d be able to feel the sun and wind from the outside in. I’m nearly lost in the sights when Eric clears his throat from behind me. I turn around and am greeted by a picnic set up.

A thin black and gray blanket is draped over the floor, on top of it sits sandwiches, a thermos, and bottles of water. I smile down at his figure, him matching my expression. I take my seat, my arm brushing Eric’s as I do.

“So.” He says, facing me. “Good present? Or what?”

“It’s amazing. Honestly.” I say and reach for a sandwich, taking a bite of the somehow cool peanut butter and jelly.

He nods, styling a smug smile. In the time that it’s taken us to get to the top floor and eating he has managed to tame his hair back to its original state. I internally curse him for it.

“We have this place for an hour, but after that trainees are going to use it as a mock-raiding facility.” I sigh, disappointed but understanding that it’s impossible for us to have such a building to ourselves.

“What the scary Dauntless leader couldn’t get the place for any longer.” I tease him.

He shakes his head at me. “First of all, I’m not scary, at least you haven’t seen be be scary. And secondly, we could have had the place longer but you took forever to take down Tristan.”

I scoff, pushing his shoulder lightly. “That’s such a lie! I took him down in no time. He could barely touch me!”

“Yeah and that’s why you have this.” He says and reaches to touch my jaw. His calloused fingers lightly graze my bruised skin, causing a tingle of pain to shoot through me. I wince slightly but don’t move away.

“Casualties.” I say, my voice barely a whisper. In seconds Eric has moved forward, his breath coating my face with each exhale. He moves his hand from my jaw down my neck, sending shivers down my spine. His fingers play with my collarbone, dancing over it gently.

If we were in Abnegation right now we would have been caught and punished by now. My breath hitches when he makes his way back up, stoping when his hand has reached the back of my neck, grasping my hair slightly. My heart rate is so fast that I feel like I might explode.

Against my brain’s better judgement I move in further, staring into his steel grey eyes, the irises growing darker and wider by the second. His lips graze against mine and another round of chills washes over me.

“Eric?” I squeak, brushing closer to his, but stiff in every other way.

“Mhmm?”

“You know how you said you weren’t scary?”

“I can recall that yeah.” He replies, his other hand now coming to grip my waist, pulling me towards him.

“Well that’s a lie.” With this I summon all of my courage, pushing away the strict upbringing I’ve been through. I push my lips against his, unskillfully trying to get closer.

He grabs me and places me on top of his lap, so I’m straddling him, he kisses me deeper, more skilled than I. A soft moan escapes me when he bites my lower lip, his tongue gaining entry to my mouth.

I push myself further into him, not allowing a single inch to be left between us. My fingers run through his hair. Though his skin is touching mine, burning through me, I can’t get close enough. He grunts and something runs through me, heat coursing over my body. I pull away, needing air but feeling scared of going too far, too far that I can’t come back. He looks up at me lust glazing his eyes over.

“I don’t want to go too fast.” I whisper, nuzzling my head into the gap between his shoulder and neck.

He plants a gentle kiss into my hair. “Okay. We can do this however you like.” I nod and place a small kiss onto his neck. I take a deep breath and wrap my arms around him fully, pulling him flush with my body.

I know. I KNOW! It’s been FOREVER!!

But I’m here now and I hope you enjoyed! I’m already working on the next chapter, and this upcoming week should be way calmer than the last few that I’ve been having.

Love you all! Thank you for the support it means everything to me.

Chapter 11

My arms are weak and my legs ache by the end of our scheduled training, and my heart and ribs only hurt worse knowing that I have another hour of this hell to go. While the other initiates pack up the few things they’ve brought with them I take a seat on one of the mats, looking at my boots as they sway back and forth.

“Hey uh, Asher right?” I look up at the sound of my name, spoken by an unknown voice.

“Yeah,” I say, now recognizing the speaker. “Colt, right?” He nods.

“So I don’t want to bore you but I just wanted to say that you’re really good at knife throwing.” He says point at the wall full of people shaped targets. Only three of the twelve targets have noticeable knives sticking out of them, all either surrounding or hitting dead center.

“Thanks,” I say offering up a smile. “You did amazing too. Where did you learn that technique from?”

“Erudite lets you study anything you want, i happened to be interested in knife throwing, and fighting.” He returns a smile.

“Ahh makes sense now.” I say nodding.

“And how about you? How did you become so Dauntless so quick?”

“I’m forced to stay an hour after each day. Once or twice Eric couldn’t make it so me and Uriah, a friend of mine, threw some knives around.”

“Cool.” He says, shuffling his water bottle and thin jacket in his hand. “Anyways, I’ll talk to you later?”

“Sounds good.” I say, watching his back as he walks away. He has blond hair and blue eyes, not too different from Eric’s, but his build is similar to Four’s. Lean but still deadly.

“Hey!” Eric calls from behind me. I turn, sighing at the realization that I have to work for an extra hour.

“Yeah?” I question.

“Start lifting weights. Then get ready to fight.” I sigh, but agree anyways. In the few weeks I’ve known Eric he has yet to be outright rude to me, only criticizing me logistically, trying to make me better, however I’d be dunce if I didn’t recognize his other persona. The cruel Dauntless leader, hanging people over the chasm for fun, able to kill a man with just a stare. Bryn continues to warn me of my closeness to him, only she doesn’t see my side of him, what I hope is the real side, or at least close to it.

“Stop!” He calls out from the other side of the room, walking towards me. I sit down the weights but cast him a confused glare.

“You just told me to start like two minutes ago.”

“I know, but now I want you to stop.” I roll my eyes at his bluntness, clearly not caring that this makes no sense. “I have a deal for you.” He begins.

I nod, now intrigued. “You win this fight, and I’ll give you a present.”

“What’s the present?”

“Ah, now you see that’s where the surprise comes in.” He says pointing at me. I debate my options in my head and decide that even if I did say no to the bet I will most likely still have to fight.

“Okay, fine. Who am I up against?” I question, looking around the room to see if I can spot my opponent.

“Mhmm yet another surprise.” He says walking to the door, he pulls in a man, tall and muscular, but he looks to be my age.

“Met Tristan, Dauntless born initiate.” He greats me with a hand shake and I return the introduction.

“Hi.” I say.

“Hey, So uh, you ready?” He asks, clearly eager to get this over with. I hum in agreement and begin my walk to the ring. I do a quick mental check over my body, seeing if I can think of any weak spots. I still have a large bruise on my ribs but with the new medication that Erudite is pumping into me any kind of internal damage has been healed. I have my tattoo which is still a bit sensitive but I can’t see that being a big problem.

When I reach the ring, I turn to face my newly made rival, looking for a weakness, any weakness will do. He has chin length hair, but with him placing it into a bun now that won’t be much help. He sports arm tattoos and... bingo! A small nose ring, wrapping around his right nostril. I smile internally.

Tristan steps onto the mat and I do the same.

“Rules?” He asks, not taking his eyes off of me.

“Fight till first drawn blood, but god damn it no scratching or biting.” He says this looking at me. I give him a fake hurt look, placing my hand over my heart.

“Now why do you think I would ever do that?”

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe because Uriah now has a scar on his arm from you scratching the hell out of him last week.” He replies, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh yeah. That did happen huh?” I say, laughing slightly. “Okay. I promise, no scratching.”

I take my fighting stance, and Tristan takes his as well. I try and remember all the little bits of information that Eric and Four have taught me throughout these last two weeks.

Watch the opponent, see the weaknesses, find the tells.

Fight hard, but keep your head clear. Anger is your enemy when in the ring.

Hit first and dodge.

Quit being such a damn Stiff and just hurt someone already... Okay that one was definitely Eric’s.

Me and Tristan circle each other for a moment. He lunges forward, aiming for my exposed rib, but I manage to dodge his blow. While his arm I’m down I punch his jaw, making his head whip to the side, but he recovers quick. I put my hand up, blocking my face, it’ll be the first place to bleed when punched.

He takes another shot at my stomach, and then kicks me in the side, sending me falling to the floor. I grunt with the impact. He is on me in seconds, pining my arms under his knees and attempting an assault on my face. I dodge the first few blows but he ends up hitting me in the jaw, nearly in the same spot I hit him earlier. Pain explodes over my head, my eyes blurring over for a moment. I struggle against the restrain put on my hands and manage to free my left side, soon enough to block the next blow. I try and roll my body, using his weight against him, and pin him under me, switching our positions completely. I jab him in the throat causing him to make a choking sound. I send a furry of punches down on his face but DAMN IT THE MAN JUST WONT BLEED.

He pushes me off of him, sending me flying to the other side of the mat. My head hits the ground with a sickening echo but I’m up in seconds. He uppercuts me, causing me to grind my teeth, another pain erupts through me. I kick him in the side, then jab him in the throat once more. When he is defenseless I reach with sweaty hands for his nose piercing. I grab ahold and he does the rest of the work for me, pulling is head back reflexively, and yanking the silver ring clean out of his nose. He gives a yelp when he realizes what his just taken place, and drops of blood begin to fall onto his shirt. He reaches a hand up and touches his nose, staring at his hand intensely when it comes away covered.

I smile and cheer, far more happy than I have ever been in my life. I hold the piercing in the air like a trophy. I jump off the mat and land hard on the ground, my bare feet making a slapping sound when I land. I do a small dance and then realize that everyone is staring at me. I put my hand down and lower my head. “Sorry.” I say, feeling ashamed that I celebrated someone else’s pain.

Laughing erupts from the two guys in the room and I whip my head up quickly, shocked at the sudden change. Tristan gets off the mat and Eric claps him on the back.

“Fucking told you not to get that piercing till fear sims didn’t I?”

Tristan chuckles, still holding his nose in hopes to stop the bleeding. “Yeah you did, however I didn’t expect a transfer to be the one to rip it out.”

I give a sheepish smile, handing him back his blood covered ring. “Sorry, again.” I say as I place it into his open palm.

He shakes his head. “You’re fine. Frankly I’m impressed.” He gives me a Well meaning smile and I do my best to return it.

“You should get to the infirmary.” Eric said, once again patting him on the back.

“Yeah I should.” He says walking away, placing his piercing him his pocket. “See you around Asher.” He calls back to me before he exits the training room.

“See ya!” I call back.

Once we’re alone, a big smile breaks out across Eric’s face, the first one of its kind I’ve ever seen. When I look in his eyes I see pride, even (dare I say) real happiness.

“That was sick!” He says giving me a high five. My smile grows larger, loving any praise I can get. “I have to say I didn’t think you would beat him.” He says.

“What?!” I yell, playfully hitting his arm.

“Hey don’t look at me like that you’re from Abnegation, I figured you’d hate to draw the blood of a stranger. However,” he says pausing, grabbing his jacket from behind him. “You won.”

“Exactly.” I say. “ I won and now,” I pause for dramatic effect. “You sir owe me a present.”

He shakes his head. “That I do. Follow me.” He says walking towards the doors.

•••

"Come in; I do not bite. Can't say the same for Anri here though."

Tanmu, known among his kin by many titles, be that simply "the liberator" or "The King in the West" is the current pride leader (as of 2094) of the westernmost fourbeast pride, roaming around in the changed savannah of the former, german state of thuringia.

Tanmu spent most of his life, once he had become a fourbeast, raiding dresack villages and freeing the slaves there. The practice of slavery was one, that even in his former life as a human, caused in him visceral disgust and scorn.

When he learned that the practice had taken hold in his homeland, while he was out of action, he made it his life's mission to eradicate it again. While this did drive him into a life of an anti-slaver, his deep hatred for the practice and its practicioners did lead him to making some rather controversial decisions.

One of these was his assault on the Dresack tributary of Gera, during the Dresack invasion of Hesse, where he had all the adults of the town's 6 most influential slave-holder families executed, in broad daylight, in front of thousands of eyes.

As he and his growing pride of freed fourbeasts were considered to be an ally of the Republic of Frankfurt at the time, the republic issued a diplomatic protest to his actions due to the lack of due process.

This was dismissed by him on the grounds that there was no entity that could have carried out this process, claiming that even Frankfurt's own legal system would have not been able to do this due to a lack of both qualified judges and lawyers. Furthermore did he claim that, as his pride did not recognize Frankfurt's claim to being the true succesor state to Germany, therefore denying its territorial claims over the land of the former federal republic, this whole affair was outside of their jurisdiction anyway.

While most people outside of Frankfurt and especially those who suffered under the six families believed every single member of the six families to have been complicit in slavery, in some form, this was never legally proven.

Post-war, Tanmu's pride had become a band of nomads, hunting the mutated life among the steppes, forests and grasslands of Germany. Animal husbandry is something they are still trying to figure out as even much of the surviving lifestock post-changing had mutated and become much less tame.

They are still aligned with Frankfurt, often offering various services to the city in exchange for access to some of the last industrial capacity east of the rhine and west of the urals.

Overall, as you can perhaps see by Anri on the right and Renia to the left of the picture, fourbeasts are naturally polyamorous, monogamous individuals exiting, but being rare and facing some social issues when interacting in fourbeasts cultures. Many asexual, aromatic and monogamous fourbeasts actually find themself joining human societies as they do not feel comfortable at home.

"Once our world broke, few of us had to take on the mantle of living anchor, to hold the fragile pieces in place, lest everything we knew would have drifted off into the darkest sea forever."

"What are you doing, little one - stay with us - stay with me - there is so much to show you - we love you - thats why we do - what we do"