Hi! Just some stuff I need to lay out before you go ahead reading.

- I don't own Divergent or any of the characters from the series (those belonging to Veronica Roth) but I do own any OCs and the added ideas.

- Choosing ceremony age is 18

- War and Tris's batch is pushed a year back. So Eric and Four are 20, while Tris is 17.

- There hasn't been an Amity transfer for more than 20 years.

- The main character - Anna - is a divergent

I take a step back the response is immediate. Something presses itself to my side - a warm firm body. Instinctively, my right-hand reaches down, fingers threading itself through soft, half-inch long fur.

"Wait." The fur beneath me only bristles in response before releasing a menacing growl. Nodding once, I watch the armor-clothed figure – my cousin – take a step forward. The air shifts and the silver beast paces to stand in front of me, elbows and head bent, ears slightly back – the last warning.

I stare at my cousin, his face tense and chest puffed out. Even with his seemingly intimidating posture, his eyes give way to fear. Sucking in a deep breath, I breathed out: "Go." The command was barely a sound, yet immediately the ears of the hound laid flat. Like a coiled spring, the beast surges forward, hind legs propelling its body at such speeds that none can outrun. It crosses the gap between me and the man within mere seconds – so fast that John barely has time to react or run. He lifts his arm, a reflex to protect his face, but before it reaches it's violently thrown back. A 65-pound dog clamped down with its jaws, body mid-air from the leap. I watch as the dog deftly twist itself, the impact causing the arm to jerk oddly, throwing the victim off balance. John follows the inertia with practiced movements, careful not to resist as it may risk him dislocating his arm. He lands ungracefully onto the soil, grunting as the air escapes his lungs. The hound releases the arm, going straight to the supposedly twisted shoulder, just as he's been taught.

In a real situation, the shoulder would've taken months to recover, especially with the way my dog throws his weight around as he continues to severe the man. Sabre is an absolute beast, the deadliest due to his lack of hesitation to attack and his ridiculous acceleration. I watch with pride as the silver-coated dog continues to fight against John, latching his jaws onto different parts of the body when John attempts to hit him.

"Break!" I yell over the curses my cousin – something about not being prepared. The dog stops, releasing the thick cloth immediately before trotting back to my side, tail wagging and tongue lolling out. He turns to look back before reaching me, making sure that John was still down. I shake my head and smile, crouching down to hug the dog. "That's my boy." I coo, hands ruffling the scruff of his neck.

I then walk over to John, peering down at him lying on the ground. Flicking a hand, Sabre trots off to trees, slinking back into the background. "I'm telling you, these dogs? Absolute killers. I don't see why you have to train them anymore." I chuckle and stick out a hand, John clasps my arm as I pull him to his feet.

"Oh hush," I roll my eyes, "you speak like you get the brunt of it."

"I do!" He exclaims, throwing his arms in the air before gesturing to himself wildly. I suppose he does have a point. The baggy cloth he wore had many tears that weren't there minutes before. It was my idea to have John wear Nano-armour over the bite suit. Without it, John would've been getting the same scars that coated my forearms. He's lucky that I learned from my mistakes.

"It's the last day, loosen up a lil, yeah?" John huffs and rolls his eyes, looking away.

"I think I'm just glad that I don't have to wear these pathetic excuse of protective gear anymore" he scoffs, gesturing at the battered cloth. But his face softens for a moment and then his eyes bore into mine. "Promise me you'll do well?"

A sad smile forms at the corner of my mouth. "I'll still come to visit, it's not a big deal," I attempt to ease the worry in his eyes. I'm not sure who I was convincing, cause that's a lie. It was a big deal. Choosing ceremony was tomorrow, and for the first time in my 18 years, I'll be alone, no dogs, no parents, no John. I push those thoughts away before they escalate, we still have work to get done. Giving him an awkward hug as the suit he was wearing is still bulky and baggy, I slapped him on the back. "Don't get all sad on me now, it's illegal here." A grin spreads across my face, "Plus, we still have two hounds more to go. And I promise they won't be as bad as Sabre."

John groans, crushing me into a hug for a moment before letting go. Straightening his rather flattering outfit, he steps away and smiles, huffing in annoyance. "Let's get this over with."

We ended slightly earlier today, with him claiming that I need to spend these last few hours with my dogs. He passed me the cloth-based frisbee and shoo me out of the backyard, grumbling about how he needs a good shower.

So here I was, out in the fields that stretched to the fence. My dogs trek alongside me, occasionally pausing to sniff the grass before continuing. I stop when we reach a good distance away from civilization. It was still early in the evening, and the sun was yet to set. Glancing at the fence, I watch in mild interest at the Dauntless stomping along the fence. They guard the city against things no one knows. I often wonder how they do it, standing there in the stifling heat dressed in black for hours on end. I can barely make out what each person looked like, just their hair length and body build – that's how high up they were.

Turning back to the fields, I lay down. My palms smoothen out my slightly dirty, red pleated skirt before lean against my arms. Gunner digs the earth at my side, uncovering soft soil before lying down beside me. He seemed to have tired from the other two antics, choosing to enjoy my presence instead of playing the endless game of chase. Despite being the most serene among the three, Gunner was the most protective. He always stuck close by me, regardless of whether it was needed. I stroke the back of his ears, my fingers easily sliding through his fur. Gunner was bigger than the other two and had a longer coat. His fur was gold, with a black overcoat. Though, his gold fur was still easily seen, accentuated around his shoulder blades, neck and thighs. Sable, that's the official name for his coat.

The loudly thumping of paws and panting of breath makes me groan. I only manage to twist my back halfway before familiar grey-black fur barrels into my back. "Sabre!" I whine, laughing as the attack dog lick my cheeks and mouth. My face scrunches up and I spit onto the ground, disgusted. Crazy creature, he was, and an annoying one too. Sabre was a bundle of joy and irritation the moment he came out of the incubation pod. The loudest and rowdiest of the trio. I pushed him away with my arm, and he thankfully backs off, not before tugging my skirt with his teeth to get me to play with him.

Minutes tick to hours as I stay at the fields, throwing the frisbee for Sabre and Hawk. It's a delight to watch the dogs have fun, definitely something I'll never tire from. At one point, joy bubbles in my chest and I find myself chasing the dogs, laughing and squealing as they chase me back to nip my skirt. I'm vaguely aware that I was acting like a hysterical Amity; though, I don't particularly care. At one point Sabre runs towards me, making me stretch my arms out as he jumps onto me. I manage to catch him, my feet still firmly on the ground despite the 65 pounds of pure muscle that decided he was now a lap dog. I giggle and spin him around while he whines and shuffles in my arms, realizing that he wasn't cut out to be one.

As I'm about to place him down, another mass of muscle collides with my front. Instantly my legs give out, falling with Sabre on top of me. The silver dog yelps and scrambles off me, going to the side of my face to see if I still alive enough to feed him dinner. "Hawk!" I groan, rubbing the back of my head that wasn't too badly injured, we were on soft soil after all. A light brown dog sporting black ears and mask comes into view, panting heavily over me. "You ass!" I grumble, shoving him off as I move to sit up. Gunner barks from behind me, growling at Hawk. "Both of you!" I gesture to the silver and brown ones condescendingly, "Just horrible! Most of my wounds come when you guys decide to have an adrenaline rush!" I sigh and stand while Hawk looks up apologetic towards me, at least, I think it's apologetic. Waving him off, I dust my clothes to remove the grass and soil that stuck.

The sun is beginning to set, the colors mixing between coral and azure. It's a magnificent sight, one I don't often see despite coming to the fields every day. However, right when I'm about to head home, something heavy settle on my back, something akin to someone staring. I turn around and look at the fence, for there was no one else except for the Dauntless for a good mile radius. And right there, multiple stories high is a man. Now, of course, he isn't the only man on the fence, but with his back hunched as he rests his elbows against the railings, I knew his attention is to me. Blood creeps to my face as I wonder how long he's been standing there, watching me frolic and fall like a lunatic with 3 dogs. Gunner comes to stand beside me, noticing the way I tensed. I stroke his back and glance at the dog whose head came to my hips, it didn't help that I wasn't very tall. The sable dog looks at me questioningly, I shake my head. Despite my assurance, the dog continued to stay tense beside me, ears perked and twitching towards every sound made.

The Dauntless stares back unabashedly, and I can't tell what he's thinking,\ for I can't see. Is he smirking? Frowning? Leering? Smiling? Is he even looking at me? For all I know, he could be watching the sunset too. It was, after all, a beautiful sunset; though, the sunset is the other direction. The Erudite in me tells me to not be stupid, of course, he's staring at me. The Dauntless cocks his head to the side and I note his bulky muscular build. He wears a sleeveless vest that seems to cling to his torso. His hair short or tied, and from what I can tell, a dark color.

As minutes stretch on, I contemplate going up to the fence to get a closer look, maybe ask him why the hell he's staring. I should feel creeped out, yet I don't. There's something about him, like he wasn't some perv checking me out, as much as his actions suggest so. I can't help the warmth blossoming at my chest when I look down, breaking eye contact – if we were maintaining eye contact in the first place. It kinda felt oddly nice.

Being with dogs has desensitized me from people around, minus my parents and John. I don't have friends, nor do I feel the need to have any. Most of my schooling life was spent alone, even before the dogs. I never felt particularly lonely or left out, mainly because Amity never actually leaves anyone out. So, despite being somewhat a loner, there were still people who engaged small talk with me. But most of the time I find myself withholding a rude remark about how I don't care how your day is going – not that I've told anyone that.

The sun's almost gone and the sky's settling into a deep blue. I start heading back home. My dogs tag along behind me, somewhat tired from running the past hour.

I don't look back as I trek. Maybe it was the fear of disappointment if he was wasn't staring at me anymore, or the hope if he still was, I wasn't sure. I decided to give myself the benefit of doubt, and walk home with a slight skip; stupid Amity roots.

A/N

So, I had this idea for a while now. Decided to give it a shot after I realised I spent to much time day dreaming over it.

Definitely going to be a slow burn. What do you guys think of it so far? I did write a story before elsewhere, but stopped. Any feedback is appreciated, I hope my writing isn't too choppy. (if it is, please tell me :'D)