Divergent (Moogle&RacingTheSunrise)

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iApollo

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Tyler stood up from his bed, looking at the blaring alarm clock as he groggily silenced it. Today was the day that he'd have to take the aptitude test and he was very reluctant to do so. His mother was downstairs cooking breakfast. He could smell it. The aromas of the eggs, bacon, and toast filled the air as he stood up and got dressed in a blue suit. The pants were a light blue to match the color of his button-up shirt and tie, while the coat to the suit was a slightly darker color.

Sliding on a pair of shoes, he left his room and went to the bathroom. He combed his dark brown hair downward, it making its way down to the mid-section of his forehead. Tyler brushed his teeth and splashed a bit of water on his face to help wake himself up. Proceeding this, he straightened out his tie and made his way downstairs to greet his mother. His mother spoke before he could, without even turning her head, basically sensing his presence. "Hey Tyler. Breakfast will be ready in a few moments. Your father left to go prepare to administer the aptitude tests. How'd you sleep?" Tyler let out a slight yawn, pulling a seat out from the table and shrugging his shoulders. "Alright I suppose." His mother placed down the plate of eggs, bacon, and toast and grabbed a can of Erudite Soda and placed it onto the table. He glanced at the food, his taste-buds going into salivary overdrive. He began eating rather quickly, however still using proper table manners. He was careful not to get any of the food onto his suit. Tyler washed the food down with his can of soda and gave a small smile to his mother. "I'm going to leave for the testing now, I'll be back later. Love you mom." He stood up from his seat, leaning down a little bit to plant a kiss onto her cheek and then left through the front door, grabbing a book on quantum physics to entertain him while he waited.
 
"Wake up! Wake up!"

Cordelia could feel the bed shift as her little sister Lily scrambled up beside her, quickly climbing on top of her and starting to prod and poke at her older sister. She stifled a smile, instead rolling over so the little girl was knocked over on to the bed beside her. Lily quickly fell into a fit of giggles. The elder followed almost immediately- she never had been able to stop her smile when it came to her sister.

"You get to take your... your aftatude test today!" Lily said suddenly, sitting up and squishing Cordelia's cheeks between her little hands. "Then you get to choose a faction! How exci-citing is that!" She felt her smile waver slightly at the thought, but quickly forced it back for the sake of the small creature in front of her.

"It's so exciting, Lily!" she responded, reaching out to ruffle her sister's hair gently. "I've gotta go get ready!" Cordelia pushed the sheets off herself, throwing them playfully on top of her giggling sister before grabbing a plain grey dress out of her closet. She changed quickly and pulled her long, curly blonde hair into a quick bun before proceeding to meet her parents and Lily in the kitchen.

"There's breakfast on the table," her mother told her, smiling warmly from the other side of the room.

"I don't think I can eat anything!" Cordelia answered, her hands shaking from either excitement or nervousness, she didn't know. "I think I'll just head over now." Quickly she kissed her mother and father on the cheek, and picked up a quivering Lily. She bopped their noses together with a smile. "See you later, kiddo." With a quick 'I love you', Cordelia was out the dorr and on her way.
 
Tyler made his way down the hub where the aptitude testing would be held. He quickly notcied that all of the kids of every faction were seperated entirely, looks like he'd arrived just in time to see a group of Dauntless jumping off a train and landing almost perfectly inside. Tyler sat down in the area where all of the Erudite were, it was very rare for factions to intermingle unless it was among adults. Even though he was among his faction, he didn't feel like talking at the moment. His book was more interesting at this point. He cracked it open, somewhat bothered by the fact he'd chosen a book he was almost finished with. I just hope my name gets called soon....ugh. It better. He thought to himself as he quickly read through the pages of the book, soaking in all the knowledge of it.
 
Cordelia found her way easily towards the large group of Abnegation teens, taking a seat amongst the sea of grey. She was almost quivering by this point, and had to press her hands tightly between her knees to hide the fact that they were shaking uncontrollably. "Are you nervous?" She asked the boy sitting beside her, who gave her a slight shrug and shook his head before turning back to the notebook in his lap. Cordelia looked around the room again, taking in the people. Her eyes were drawn immediately to the group of Dauntless- they were loud and laughing, completely unfazed by the odd looks they were getting from other factions.

Maybe... No. Picking any faction other than Abnegation would separate her from Lily. Cordelia loved her sister more than anything else in the world, there was no question about it. She hoped with her entire being that the aptitude test would point towards Abnegation, so she could choose her current faction and stay with Lily with no regrets or questions, but somehow she knew that wouldn't be the case.

She had always fit in with the Abnegation to a degree. She loved people and honestly cared about the factionless, but was she selfless? That was a much harder question to answer.
 
Tyler let out a small sigh as he name was called over the intercom. "Tyler David Hodge of Erudite. Room #4 Please. I repeat. Tyler David Hodge, Erudite, room #4 Please. Thank you." The intercom paused briefly and then called out some other girl's name from the Erudite. He'd finished his book a good ten minutes before his name was called. He plopped it infront of one of his friends. "Hey, William, can you hold onto this for me while I go test?" The kid nodded and Tyler went forward.

He walked through a hallway for a solid two and a half minutes before coming across testing room four. He entered the room, a blindening white light hit him like a train as he entered the room. He shielded his eyes and made out the outline of a figure in Abnegation grey clothing. "Take a seat here young man." Tyler's eyes were finally starting to adjust to the light and he let out an audible sigh. He sat down on the white dentist-like chair and it soon reclined backwards. "Drink this please." He was handed a cup with a small amount of liquid and quickly downed it. After relaxing in the chair, a few electrodes were attached to his head, and then a needle penetrated his neck. Soon after, his eyes slowly fluttered to a close.

After the simulation was done, the look on the man's face was almost frightening. "Son. I'm going to tell you something now. And you mustn't tell anyone. Your results were inconclusive. You tested for Erudite and Dauntless, neither one of them were narrowed down completely. Now, I'm going to tell you this....you really can't tell anyone else. Your life will be at stake if you do. You are a Divergent. For now, I'm going to document you as Erudite, for your safety. Don't tell anyone else." Tyler's eyes went wide with both horror and confusion at what he'd just heard. He shook his head and quickly stood up, leaving the room. Divergent? What the hell does that mean.... He thought to himself as he made his way back to the lobby, grabbed his book, and headed for the library.
 
Cordelia heard her name called over the intercom and was out of her seat before the voice had finished saying the name of her faction. In her haste she tripped over a pair of outstretched feet, and multiple people reached out to steady her. That was one good thing about being in Abnegation- no matter what, someone would always help you. There would always be someone to help you up, and you never had to worry about being alone. But in a world where everyone cared for everyone, it was easy to feel lonely.

She quickly brushed herself off and headed in the direction of the correct room, nearly getting lost once or twice along the way. When she arrived, she hesitated outside the door. This was the time when she would find out where she belonged- if she belonged. This was potentially the time when she would find out if she had to leave little Lily behind.

She opened the door.

"Take a seat, please."

Cordelia sat down, tugging on her plain grey dress and peering up at the woman who was handing her a cup to drink from. The woman was pretty, and Cordelia wondered for a moment what she herself looked like. It had been a while since her last haircut, and she couldn't fully recall the details of her face. It was a sad thing, she thought, to not know yourself. Because who else could really know you, other than yourself? Not much of a philosopher, she tipped her head back and downed the odd tasting liquid.

When the simulation was over, the woman peered over at the small girl with an odd look on her face. "You're... you tested for- Dauntless." The woman held her gaze, unblinking, for a few moments, and Cordelia had never felt more pinned by someone's eyes. She felt sure there was more the woman wanted to say, but before she could, Cordelia was already out of the room and walking quickly down the hallway.

{Do you want them to meet now or later on?}
 
Tyler roamed around the library, thinking about the events in which had just occurred. Seriously...what the hell does Divergent mean. I've never heard that word before....it's bothering me. He made his way over to a shelf of books in which began with D. He looked for the Di area, and found that it was empty of anything about the word 'Divergent.' He let out a soft audible sigh and shook his head. He had gotten sidetracked and finally remembered that he'd come here to return a book...nothing else. There was now something else eating away at him, he needs to find out whether or not he'll stay in Erudite...or join Dauntless. Dauntless always seemed pretty badass to him, but it was full of dumbasses, which he couldn't really tolerate.

Tyler returned the book into the book drop and left the library. There was no point in being there. He just needed to take everything in. He had a lot of time to contemplate what he needed to do, and he wanted to do it in the familiarity of his home. After a good twenty minutes of walking, he made it into his home, his mother greeting him. He wasn't allowed to discuss the results of his aptitude test, that was strictly against the city's rules. This was to keep from any family/friend influence over which faction a person might want to join. Tyler returned the greeting to his mom and went up to his room, removing the blue suit and instead replacing it with a pair of comfortable blue shorts and a blue t-shirt. He laid on his bed, lost in contemplation.

(Do whatever you want.)
 
With her feet moving seemingly of their own accord, Cordelia soon found herself at her own front door. Her long, thin fingers hovered over the doorknob. When she entered, she knew she would be greeted by Lily hugging her legs. Her parents would be sitting at the table like they always were at this time- her father reading something and her mother knitting quietly. Both would assume she tested for Abnegation, because she had never given them reason to think otherwise. Neither would suspect that she had an incredibly hard decision to make.

Cordelia opened the door and, as expected, Lily immediately rushed towards her and hugged her legs. Their mother smiled slightly at the two, and their father set down his book to greet her politely. This could be you. She thought. Settling down, knitting at the kitchen table, two kids. A quiet life. Suddenly sick to her stomach, Cordelia excused herself and went up to her room alone.

Abnegation or Dauntless? She asked, sitting at the edge of her bed, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. Simplicity or adventure? Her choice between those two was obvious. Adventure, any day. The question, unfortunately, didn't come down to that. What it came down to was where I belong, or Lily? She wouldn't sleep that night, Cordelia knew.
 
Everything I know is....here. Books. School. Library....family....home. But...faction before blood. But....I have two. Which faction is right for me? Learning before everything....but being able to live life on the more extreme end of the spectrum could be cool as well....plus I'll be able to see my family too....it won't be that big of a deal. Right? Tyler felt conflicted. I wonder if anyone else is having trouble deciding. Probably not. His eyes shut and he fell asleep. Tyler wasn't even woken up by his mother when she'd entered his room to get him for dinner. She figured she'd just let him rest. He didn't normally nap, so she knew something must have been up.

He awoke the next day, dressing not quite as formal for the choosing ceremony. He pulled on another plain blue t-shirt and slipped on a pair of comfortable fitting blue jeans. His parents were rushing around the house, getting ready for the choosing ceremony. He wrote a note and placed it onto his bed. This was just in case he decided to choose Dauntless, he wanted his parents to know why.

Mom and Dad. I've decided to join another faction. I feel like Dauntless is the way to go. I hope you won't hate me, and I really look forward to seeing you both on visitation day. I've wanted nothing more than to make you two proud, and I feel like this is the true way to do so. I love you both very dearly, I really hope you can come to understand my decision. -Tyler.

A small tear fell from his right eye. I haven't even decided and I'm already acting like a bitch. Wow. He thought to himself and shook his head. Tyler sniffed once and wiped his face. He quickly showered and brushed his hair and teeth. He went downstairs and ate a quick breakfast before traveling with his family to the Hub for the choosing ceremony. They took the elevator up. He gave them both a hug, his dad taking him off to the side. "We want you to both go wherever you feel like you need to go. We'll love you no matter what." He took a small gulp and nodded, giving his dad a hug, and then giving one to his mom. He entered a seperate door and took a deep breath, taking a seat among the Erudite. After a bit of waiting, the selections began. They did it in order of faction, Erudite came first.

On a table was five bowls. In each of the bowls contained an item. For Abnegation, a grey stone; for Erudite, water; for Amity, earth; for Dauntless, hot coals; and for Candor, glass. It was finally Tyler's turn. His heart was racing and he made his way up to the representative of Abnegation who was hosting the Choosing ceremony. He grabbed the knfe, and approached each of the bowls.

He did a slow 360 degree turn, making eye contact with his mother and quickly breaking it before he got distracted. He looked into the contents of each bowl and took a deep breath, holding his hand over the coals of the Dauntless and brought his left hand up, which was holding the knife, and brought it down in a swift motion, cutting a huge shallow gash into the palm of his hand. He held his hand over the coals, heat radiating onto the fresh wound. The blood caused a bit of a steam-sound as Tyler pulled his hand back.

Tyler made his way over to the Dauntless, a few of them patting his back and welcoming him to their ranks. It was finally finished. He made a decision. He couldn't look at his family, embarassed to see their reactions. Finally, the Abnegation were the last to be called.
 
With each passing second Cordelia could feel her heart beating harder in her chest. By the time her name was called, she was sure it was pounding with enough force to break a couple ribs, and it seemed miraculous to her that her parents beside her couldn't hear it. She had read once that there were an average of 60,000 miles of blood vessels in a human body and had never really been able to wrap her mind around that fact. But in this moment, with the blood pounding in her ears and her heart beating like a hummingbird's wings it seemed to make sense.

"Cordelia Connors."

It took Lily tapping her lightly on the arm for Cordelia to rise from her seat, and she found herself unsteady as she made her way down to the table and the five bowls. The five bowls that would determine the rest of her life- that would determine her happiness. Time seemed to pass simultaneously faster than the speed of light and slower than a lame turtle, in the moments it took her to reach the table. And when she finally did, Cordelia was sure that time stood still.

All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing, of the blood pounding in her ears and through some 60,000 miles of blood vessels. As the cool knife was set in her hand she curled her pale fingers around its handle, forcing them to stop shaking. There was no way to delay the choice, she knew, and in one quick motion sliced cleanly across the palm of her hand. She held her fingers together, keeping the blood contained for the few long, precious seconds before it had to drop and seal her future. It was almost funny, Cordelia thought, how such a simple thing could have such wonderful and such dire consequences. How the dropping of liquid in a bowl would decide your entire future.

Adventure or calamity?

Corrie looked back at her parents, perfectly content in living their lives for other people. Perfectly content with knitting and reading and knitting and reading. Perfectly content with a simple, calm life. Her gaze flicked towards the Dauntless, standing together in unity and accepting the newest initiates. The Dauntless she knew would never live a boring day. Who would never settle for less than adventure.

Equal or fair?

Did she want to be loved because she is a person, because every person deserves love- or did she want to be loved for the person she's worked to become? Treated like everyone else, or forced to own up to her actions?

Lily or-

Without thinking any more, Cordelia thrust her hand towards the bowl of burning coals and uncurled her fingers, letting the drops of blood splatter and sizzle against the rocks. Without looking back, she made her way towards the Dauntless.
 
Tyler had started to calm down, his heartbeat was back to a normal pace and he felt more confident about his decision, about the lifestyle he'd just brought himself into. Tattoos. Tight and dark clothes. Seemed pretty badass. He scanned around the room and noticed a few of his old erudite friends scowling at him. He shrugged it off and simply stayed where he was. Suddenly, a girl in Abnegation grey approached them. What the hell. Since when do stiffs go for Dauntless? Who the hell knows. Maybe there's an inner adrenaline junkie just waiting to come out. Tyler joined along with the other Dauntless, cheering and congratulating the girl on joining. He then went to stand off to the side where the other transfer-intiates were.
 
Cordelia joined the group of Dauntless transfers, her thin hands shaking like leaves. Part of her was quivering with excitement at the prospect of being Dauntless- of the jumping off trains and getting into dangerous situations and living an adventure every day. But the other part of her was sobered completely from her normal bouncy self, because she knew that she would see Lily very little for a long time. She knew, logically, that Dauntless was the right choice. After all, it was what she had tested for. But she couldn't bring herself to look back at her family even so. Instead, she forced a smile onto her face and let her mind go blank, filling up instead with the cheers and congratulations resounding from the people around her.
 
As soon as the ceremony concluded, Tyler followed the group of Dauntless initiates out to the stairwell and smiled as he saw the Dauntless-Born running down the stairs and sliding down the rails. He followed their lead and ran down for a bit, feeling the pressure against his lungs as he experienced this new feeling. He was never very agile, active, or even athletic period, but the burn that overwhelmed his body felt euphoric. Tyler reached the base of the stairwell and heard a train in the distance, he followed the rest of the Dauntless out of the building and a smirk grew upon his face as he saw the train approaching. It began to slow down. He followed the Dauntless-born initiate's lead again and watched their moves.

Tyler ran quickly alongside the train and forced his body upwards, successfully gripping a handle. He was helped inside by a girl with bright blonde hair who had a few piercings on her bottom lip. "Thanks." The girl nodded. Tyler let out a few breaths and then eventually turned around to the openings of the train carts and held his hands out to help more people onto the train. ~I hope no one misses...that means becoming factionless.~ A shudder overcame his body as he imagined the possibility of factionless life.
 
Racing along with the other Dauntless initiates, Cordelia had never felt more a part of something. The group was moving like a singular being, surging towards a singular goal, and she was part of it. A weaker, more awkward part of it, but it was a start none the less. It was a good feeling to be running, with the wind tugging long curls of hair out of her bun and burning her cheeks. She had always been pretty active by Abnegation standards- nothing intense like the Dauntless Born initiates, of course, but enough so that the running to catch the moving train was easier for her than some. Still, her short legs didn't prove to give her much speed, and it was still a bit of a struggle to find a spot where she could jump to grab hold of a handle.

After a few seconds of very minor panic, Cordelia jumped and grabbed hold of a handle. She swung herself up, grabbing the outstretched hand of a boy in Erudite blue and allowing herself to be helped inside. "Thank you," her words came out sounding slightly winded, but the grin on her face was wide enough for that to be overlooked.
 
Tyler nodded and patted the girl on the back in an aggressive-comrodery sense. "Feels great doesn't it?! Nice jump by the way!" He said with a smile of adrenaline-induced insanity. "Catch your breath and help us get the rest on board." Tyler continued helping people onto the train until there were two that had been left in the dust. Factionless. He looked at them with a frown of empathy but then turned to face the newest initiates and noticed that he was the only one Erudite among them. The other Erudite were, coincidentally, the two that were left behind. Along with that, there were no Amity among them. Not very surprising. He was intrigued to notice that the majority of them consisted of Candor, Dauntless, and a single Abnegation. Abnegation huh? Guess I didn't really notice her in the choosing ceremony. Not surprising with all the shit that went on. Tyler noticed that he was still wearing his Erudite glasses and then grabbed them, throwing them out of the open are of the train.
 
{Hey, I'm so sorry for not responding! Life got really hectic really suddenly. }

Cordelia did as she was told, helping other initiates on to the train until all but two were on. She felt a stab of sadness as she watched them grow smaller and smaller, finally disappearing in the dust. She felt tears pricking her eyes, but quickly blinked them away. Even she knew enough not to cry in front of the other Dauntless- the last thing she needed was to be singled out as weak from the very beginning. She knew that her status as a transfer from Abnegation would give her enough cause to be ridiculed already. So, instead of crying, Cordelia did what she always did- she compartmentalized and revoked her own permission to be sad. She put the event out of her mind, along with the slowly growing thoughts of Lily.

Shaking her head quickly, Cordelia allowed herself to smile. Softly at first, but before long it was a full on, slightly lopsided grin of exhilaration. She was almost quivering with excitement now, and found herself searching the train car for a friendly face to talk to. She decided it would be best to start with the only person she had spoken to so far, and walked the few steps it took to reach his side. "I'm Corrie," she introduced with a smile, sticking out a slightly awkward, obviously quivering hand for him to shake.
 
Since when do stiffs shake hands? I thought they didn't do that until like....marriage. He thought to himself as he saw her introduce herself to him. He stood up from where he'd been sitting on the floor previously and made eye contact with the girl. Tyler nonchalantly shook her hand, not having too tight of a grip; not being disgustingly sloppy and loose with it either. "Tyler. Call me Ty if you'd prefer." He sat back down, thinking the whole situation was awkward, and glanced upon the other people inside of the train. It wasn't surprising to him at all to see the other transfers sitting down and catching their breath, while the Dauntless were acting more casual and conversing among themselves. Tyler hadn't exactly been too athletic himself due to a mostly sedentary life of classroom learning, self-teaching, and just lounging around and reading.
 
"Nice to meet you," Corrie smiled, but quickly retreated when she saw that he was. Around her others were stopping to catch their breath, but she had never felt more alive and full of energy. Out of breath, yes, but too excited to sit down. She hovered around the train car, observing the reams of people around her. The Dauntless born initiates intrigued her, to say the least. With their brightly coloured hair, tattoos and piercings, they were a sight she liked better that the crowd of grey she was used to. Even as a child, Cordelia had wondered what it would be like to have a certain freedom one couldn't find when living to serve other people. Now that she had the chance, it scared her.
 
Tyler was confused by the strange behavior of the girl, until the realization that she was Abnegation finally hit her. The Erudite and the Abnegation have had a small dispute over who should be leading the city, however the majority of it has been slander against the Abnegation. "You don't have to feel afraid. I'm not like the rest of the lunatic Erudite." He said with a rather expressionless coolness as he turned his head to look at the other Dauntless-Born. What should the first thing I do, be? He thought to himself and then a small smile of smugness appeared upon his face. A tattoo would be a cool. Not anything too big. But something to say 'Hey, I'm Dauntless too.' He raised his eyebrows and leaned back against the walls of the train and let out a small sigh as he finally felt the headache from the running.
 
Corrie tilted her head in confusion, the curls that had fallen from her tight bun now drifting into her eyes. She blew them away in annoyance before turning back to the boy- Tyler, Ty, Tyler, Ty, she reminded herself -with that same slightly confused gaze. It took her a moment to realize that he was no longer Erudite, and wasn't criticising his own faction. In a domino effect, it really hit her now that she, too, was Dauntless. No longer Abnegation. No longer a Stiff. Dauntless. She knew, of course, that proving herself would be hell- but worth it. Completely, totally worth it.

After a moment she remembered that she had been spoken to, and shook her head as if her thoughts were tangible and she could clear them. "That's a relief," she breathed out, a slight giggle of disbelief of the situation slipping from her lips. "I'm glad to be away from that stupid situation. Well, as away as I can get I guess." She paused, a smile tugging at her lips. "Short of choosing Amity, I mean."
 
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