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It was barely eight in the morning, yet the Dauntless crowd was already wide awake and reunited in the Pit.
Lilith couldn't deny that her stomach churned with anxiety as she watched her faction from the trails above, curling and uncurling her fists in a rhytmic manner. They were waiting for her, for her speech as a leader. Most of them had barely laid eyes on her since the events on the roof, and now here she was, with a plan that would put their lives on the line once more. As more people appeared from the direction of the dining hall, she couldn't help but wonder if she should be the one speaking.
Tori had insisted. She'd said that it was mostly Lilith's plan, and that it would do Dauntless good to hear from the leader who had "mercilessly" shot Max in the chest. They'd be more inclined to hear what she had to say because she'd proven herself as one of them, because she'd had the bravery to do what no one else would. The brunette still wasn't comfortable with being praised for something that had ruined Shauna's life, even if it had been a big step to defeat Erudite.
But it wasn't like anything could be done about it, at that point.
"Hey," a voice greeted from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see Granger and Eric coming down from the Pire. The blond had been the one to speak, and Lilith gave him a small smile as she moved to the side to let them pass. It wasn't enough to fool him, "Are you okay?"
"Peachy," she replied, instantly able to tell that none of them believed her. She nodded towards the Pit, "You should head down, if you want find a decent place to watch. Turns out the Pit is a little too cozy for meetings like this."
Granger raised an eyebrow, "You sound like you need a pep talk."
She shook her head, "I really don't-"
"That's what you all say," he cut her off, his eyes flickering to Eric as the other man glared at him. He then shrugged his shoulders, "But you're in luck. I don't have a pep talk for this. I'm terrible when it comes to speaking to an audience," he grimaced, and Lilith couldn't help but chuckle as she remembered how shy he had seemed to be when they'd gone to the fence, during Initiation.
That memory brought back a vision of Siobhan encouraging him from the middle of the crowd of initiates and, for the first time, Lilith was able to remember her fondly, instead of wanting to curl herself into a ball and cry.
She was doing this for Siobhan and for all of the people that had passed because of Erudite.
A little speech was nothing compared to what she'd faced before.
"Well, I give you a three out of ten," she said, "It wasn't a pep talk, but it helped."
Granger's mouth opened into a bright grin, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, "I'm glad," he looked at Eric again, and Lilith did the same, only to see that the former leader was already looking down at her with an expression that she couldn't quite place. The three of them stayed silente for a few instants, before Granger moved past her, "I'll give you two a minute. I'll try to find a good place to stand."
