Zinovia POV
I sit idly on the hard metal bench in the Dauntless tattoo parlor. I was waiting for Tori to come out of the backroom to come and wipe down my arm with antiseptic. I'm getting a family tattoo with my mom and dad. Three flames. One is filled with black ink, the other two are left hollow. My filled one is going to be closest to the bend in my left elbow, the other two above it will be hollow. My mom's getting her filled one in the middle, and my dad's getting his at the top.
I already have... twelve tattoos. I have devil horns and an angel halo in color on my shoulders. A black hourglass marks my abdomen, and the Dauntless flames are on my left ankle. There's a figure 8 on the side of my left middle finger and an armband of flames is on my right bicep. The phrase 'Be Brave' in calligraphy is marking the bottom of my spine. I also have lines starting at my armpits, down the inside of my arms, to the tip of my middle fingers, and then lines from where my ass and thighs meet to right above my heels. And finally, I have angel wings with a halo above them, the letters ZCH in the middle. Standing for Zachary Caleb Hunt. My brother, who jumped over the chasm with his fiancȩ.
Yeah yeah, I know, I have lots of tattoos, but that's nothing in comparison to the number of piercings I have.
I have a standard lobe, transverse lobe, and an upper lobe piercing in both ears. Then there's the orbital, helix, and industrial piercings in my right ear, and the snug, rook, and forward helix piercings in my left ear. Nine. And that's just my ears. I have a septum piercing in my nose, snake bite, and venom piercings on my bottom lip and tongue. An eyebrow piercing through my right eyebrow and a navel piercing in my stomach. Fourteen. Twenty-one extra holes in my body. A normal woman has nine holes. Count if you want.
Tori came back with the antiseptic wipes and pulled my arm toward herself roughly.
"Back again, are we?" Tori asked as she wiped my arm vigorously, making my cocoa skin glow a faint red.
"Yeah, but this time I'm here with my parents," I said, "And there's a proper reason behind this one."
"Care to share?" Tori asked while she prepped the needle and grabbed a stool to put between my legs to rest my arm on.
"Sure," I said with a small shrug, making my funnel top shift further down my chest, I don't mind, "My initiation is tomorrow, the aptitude test was today, but you already know that. My parents are worried I might leave. I've told them so many damn times that I'm not leaving. The only place I'd fit in other than Dauntless would be the Factionless."
Tori looked around the room quickly with wide eyes before refocusing on my arm and the buzzing needle. She placed the needle to my skin and the wince that would normally accompany the - now slight - pain is so pathetic I can't believe this ever hurt.
"What were your aptitude test results?" Tori asked suddenly, my eyes snapped to hers, yet they were focusing on the needle, "You know you can trust me."
I do know I can trust her, but I was told not to tell anyone of my results.
I sharply inhaled and my breathing picked up, I gulped, "It was Dauntless," I lied. I'm a bad liar. And that's what makes me Candor.
I'm not just Candor. I'm Dauntless, Candor, Amity, Abnegation, and Erudite. Explicitly in that order. My test administrator told me my results and shoved me out the door before I could ask any questions.
"Tell me the truth," Tori hissed.
Can I trust her? Yes. Tori has been my best friend since I got my first tattoo at fourteen years old.
"I'm Dauntless," I paused and Tori quickly glanced at me, "And Candor, and Amity, and Abnegation, and Erudite," I said quickly. Tori's hand almost slipped, "Hey! Watch the tattoo!" I barked.
"I can't believe you're Divergent," Tori muttered as she was finishing up on the bottom flame.
"Di-whaty what what?" I asked, utterly confused.
"Divergent," Tori repeats, "The government is scared of you, they can't control you."
"Why would they need to control me?" I questioned.
"I'm not sure, but they've done it before so it wouldn't surprise me if they did it again," Tori said, finishing up the second flame.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise was that of the buzzing needle and the sound of Dauntless life outside.
"Do you know anyone else that I could talk to about this?" I wanted to know if there was anyone else with that I might be able to relate.
"I can't tell you, it'd be disrespectful to the privacy of those around you. But you're not alone, there are more of you than you think," Tori said, finishing the third and final flame and leaving the room.
()()()
I walked outside and was immediately greeted by my parents, who had gone before me. My mother kissed my head before pulling my arm out for her to inspect my newest tattoo.
"Did this one hurt at all?" she asked me, "I wouldn't expect you to be able to feel the needle after all these," she motioned her hand around my body.
I smirked, "Nah, it didn't hurt, barely felt the needle," I admitted before pulling my arm back, "I need to head home, Amar asked to speak to me and I need to meet him before he needs to do initiation stuff."
I walked back inside to grab my jacket and thank Tori before walking back out and heading toward my apartment. I only have one thanks to Max. He understood that I needed a place of my own to learn how to be more independent. Zeke and Shauna are gonna move in with me after initiation when it's over.
I walked through the Pit, admiring the way that the older Dauntless fight, watching the way they move. It's better to study them than anyone else. As I was walking into apartment A13, I heard rustling from inside.
"Amar!" I yelled, throwing my black leather jacket onto the little table by the door.
"Zinovia, hey," Amar said, walking forward and hugging me.
"What'd you wanna talk about?" I asked after we pulled away, walking past Amar and further into the apartment.
"I need to head out, Vi, set up some stuff for tomorrow, you know the drill," Amar said before heading out the door.
"Seeya," I sighed, "Forgetful dumbass."
"Wait wait wait!" he yelled again, "This might concern you, but the Dauntless-born and transfers are gonna be doing initiation together this year."
"What?" I asked, "But, the transfers will fail. Oh yeah, good idea."
Amar laughed before waving, "Seeya Vi."
"Seeya Mar," I called before walking into the living room.
I headed to my bedroom before changing and admiring my new tattoo.
I walked back out to the kitchen to find Zeke and Shauna sitting on the couch.
"Why hello there, fellow Dauntless," I greeted before punching Zeke in the shoulder playfully.
"Hey Vi," Shauna said with a smile, "How's Amar?"
"He's good, nervous about initiation as usual, but he'll live with it," I said.
"He's already instructed several groups, Zinovia, I don't see why he's nervous," Zeke said.
"I know that, Ezekiel," I teased, "But he's gotten older and he doesn't think he'll be able to keep up with a group of sixteen-year-olds anymore. Especially Erudite know-it-alls and Candor curiosity who are bound to come," I rolled my eyes at the thought.
"Ugh, Erudite and Candor," Zeke said with a wrinkled nose, "Abnegation and Amity are fine, but the other two are not."
"My thoughts exactly," I said, lying back on the couch.
"Enough with all the faction crap," Shauna exclaimed, "I wanna get drunk."
"Not the day before the Choosing Ceremony," Zeke said, "That's not a good idea."
Shauna rolled her eyes, "Wimp," she muttered and I burst out laughing.
"Bitch," Zeke muttered.
"Jerk," Shauna shot back.
Meanwhile, I was laughing my ass off on the couch next to Zeke.
"Yeah but we're not going to," Zeke said, "Anyways, it's getting late, I'm gonna turn in. G'night, ladies," Zeke said, waving and getting up before walking out the door.
"All my life I've never known Zeke to turn in early. Strange," Shauna said, "I'm gonna go too, do you need to talk about anything before I leave?"
"No, you can leave," I said, "If you want."
"Will do," Shauna said with a smile, "Question, do you think Zeke is a pistol or rifle?"
I gaped at her before laughing.
"A pistol. Did you notice his fingers?" I asked.
Shauna burst out laughing, "Oh my God I can't believe we're talking like this," she said before hugging me and leaving.
I smiled after her before going to bed as well.