Snow Crush

Chapter 31

She sits down beside me and takes off her jacket. "I just wanted to talk to you about what happened at Bunny's Run." And there it is. The thing I was hoping she wouldn't have wanted to talk about.

"Uh, w-what about it?" I stutter out.

She sighs and her gaze lands directly on me. "The tattoos on your back, what do they stand for exactly? I've never seen anything like it before."

Well that is something I definitely didn't expect. All she wanted to know about was the tattoo's. Thank god that's all.

"They're symbols from an ancient tribe that was originally from Indonesia, but settled in, ironically, Illinois since there were said to be hidden treasures in the mountains. The tribe was called The Berbeda, which is Indonesian for Divergent." I explain to her.

"Oh, that's cool. Can I hear the full story to your tattooed back? And I don't mean how you got it. I mean the symbols. Like, what they stand for and all that."

My lips purse together as I begin to contemplate on how to tell it to her without confusing her. I slowly nod my head as think more about it.

"Yeah. It's a long story though. Just warning you."

She chuckles lightly and leans back into the couch, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. "I've got plenty of time."

"Okay, where do I begin?" I mutter as I tap my chin to think.

Once I think of a way to start, I being to explain immediately.

"The Berbeda were split into five different titles based on their aptitude." I say. "These five different titles were called faksi, or factions. Each faction played a critical role in maintaining the daily responsibilities of the whole tribe. No one faction held a higher ranking then the others. They were all an equilibrium, which is why each faction played a different role.

"Each faction had a core belief that they valued and saw as the only way to ensure peace. Which is why each faction has a different aptitude. Every faction also has a certain symbol that they believed to have perfectly described their faction.

"The Gigih, or Dauntless, were known as the bravest and most fearless ones in the tribe. Their job was to be the courageous warriors if there were to ever be a battle. Whenever there wasn't a battle to be fought, though, their job was keep everyone in the tribe safe. They guarded the area and made sure to get rid of any intruders or criminals. They believed that cowardice was the reason for the world's injustices. The motto they had was, and I quote, "We believe in ordinary acts of bravery. In the courage that drives one person to stand up for another." Their core belief was to have freedom from fear. The official symbol of the faction was a flame. They believed that the flame stood for the upmost bravery and fearlessness."

"Wow." Tris breathes out. Her eyes have a certain spark in them that tells me that she's truly interested in what I have to say. So I continue.

"The Pelepasan diri, or Abnegation, were the selfless ones of the tribe. They didn't ravish in self indulgence at all like everyone did. They did nothing for themselves since it would seem as they were being selfish. Their job was to help run the governmental, I guess you could say, part of the tribe. That and they helped other tribes with anything they needed. Whether it be helping with making clothing, tending to the wounded and ill, or simply making food. They helped do it all for their tribe and others. They believed that self indulgence and selfishness was the reason for the world's injustices. Their motto was, "It shall be my I doing if I become my obsession." Their core belief was to put them before I. Or in other words put others before themselves. Their symbol was a pair of joint hands. It looked like one was helping the other. They believed that the joints hands stood for help being given to those who need it.