Dauntless Member ||Eric Coulter||

|XVIII|

Since the first fear landscape days, it had been alternating all between the fear simulations, the fear landscapes, and the fighting arena.

It had been nearly a full year, just right as Max had stated at the very first meeting of their leadership sort of candidates.

It was the final day of their fighting ranks and tomorrow after these last fights, at least four of their remaining leadership candidates that numbered 12, would be eliminated.

Currently Tempest was at spot Number 8 on the board, indicating that if she lost her fight today, she would be one of the eliminated candidates tomorrow.

Tempest was slowly, choosing to go very slowly in climbing back up the ranks, despite her proficiency for all the portions of their current training schedule.

"You know that you're almost below the red cut line and it is the last stage, right?" Tempest had finally, gotten a bit more used to having Eric appearin' at her shoulder every other minute as she looked at the rankings board.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I have definitely got something up my sleeve to get myself back in the top five. I mean, maybe I'll even get back on top and beat your ass." She murmured to him with a bit of a smirk on her face.

"Brave words, naturally coming from a Stiff, of course. Because that makes so much sense." Levi was one of the other Dauntless, one of the ones who wasn't much older than Eric and Tempest at the moment.

Tempest's smirk dropped from her face like it had fallen off of a cliff and it was replaced by a solid wall, of cold steel with no emotions.

"This former Stiff," Eric began in a slow voice that was menacing in the most fear-inducing way, that Levi had never heard before, and most of their fellow Dauntless, hadn't either. "She is a strong fighter, that you will, want to watch out for." He said, as Levi rolled his eyes at him.

"Sure thing, Nose." Levi stated and Tempest's eyes flashed with somethin' like anger, and Eric's arm was around her shoulders now, a very much sort of subtle warning to leave it to him.

"We will, I guess soon find out who is really the better one in the ring. After all, Tempest is definitely kicking both of our asses in the other two thirds of this final assessment." Eric points out, and Levi's lips pulled back, in an ugly grimace and he spat on the ground in front of them, before he walked away.

"Well, that was a simply lovely encounter now, wasn't it?" Tempest asks in a low growl of a very sarcastic tone. Eric shrugged his shoulders and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Let's check out the fighting boards for today... oh, shit." Eric said quietly and they both stared at the board.

Levi was going against Tempest and they were the second-to-last fight, of the day.

Just before their fight was Eric and Skull, a Dauntless-Born who had been one of two people so far that had been dared to tattoo his entire face to look like a human skull and he had done it.

"I'm up against Bones and you're up against the asshole." Eric muttered as Tempest nodded, looking over at Levi with a studious glance.

She looked back up to the board.

"Eric, you can beat Skull, totally and make it look easy. But I am not so sure that I can beat Levi." She admitted as Eric scoffed quietly.

"You beat me, I'm sure that you can beat his sorry ass. He doesn't think as he fights, he has no strategy. He relies completely on brute strength and you are quick enough to beat him. You just have to keep moving, try to not get hit and tire him out. He is huge, slow and easily tired. You just need to keep him moving, until he is dizzy and then you can kick his ass." Eric muttered as she looked over at him. "What?" He asked.

"Anyone ever tell you, that you are actually surprisingly good at pep talks for nervous people?" She asks quietly as he shrugged at her.

"Not really." He admitted and Tempest, she grinned a little bit and Eric was called up into the ring along with Skull, who looked like he was all too ready to fight.

"What are you gonna do, now that your boyfriend isn't here?" Levi was standin' directly right behind Tempest who to her credit, didn't even flinch.

"I will see you in the ring, Levi, that is what I will do." Tempest spoke calmly and her voice was like steel, as he was standing further away from her again as she watched the fight.

Eric won, as was predicted by many of the other leadership candidates, as she heard whispers of bets and now, it was her turn to go up against Levi.

"Ding dong, the witch is dead." Levi said with a sadistic grin and Tempest's eyes flared up as she left her jacket on the sidelines to free up her arms and a bunch of Dauntless went silent, at a glimpse of her howling wolf tattoo on her back.

"Sure, whatever you say." Tempest said with a glint of annoyance in her eyes and Levi charged. Tempest steps to the side and her kick slammed him in the back, sending him almost out of the ring almost immediately. "Really, I expected better." She said and Levi's anger was clear and he lunged again.

As Eric had suggested, she used Levi's rage against him. She felt a flash burst of pain when a stray punch connected with her jaw, but after that, she was a blur of fighting techniques.

Levi was on the ground and Tempest knocked him out, with a hard kick to the jaw and everybody was in clearly unexpected shock at her ruthlessness.

Eric was the only one who didn't seem at all surprised, as Tempest looked at Levi, who was unconscious on the ground and she walked over to Eric again, who handed her back her jacket. "Well done." He murmured as Tempest shrugged it on.

"I hope that was enough. Beating the Number Two. Though, you might still rank higher than me, in this section."

She pointed out as Eric shrugged his shoulders at her. "Doesn't matter, you know. You'll be right up there anyway, doesn't matter who is above you. Your fear landscape and fear sims are what will propel you to the top." Eric said and Tempest nodded, and she wiped her knuckles on her pants and they'd all be dismissed for the day.