You spend hours, days, weeks, months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together.
16
years old
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Straight
Single
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Dauntless-Born Initiate
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Quinn
is Offline
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48 posts
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Dauntless
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Post by Payton G. McHale on May 25, 2014 9:43:46 GMT -5
The wind rushed through her hair, ruffling it and throwing it into the sky where it blew free and wild. Payton McHale ran against the gusts, pushing her body further and further as she heard the sound of the train coming. The thundering of the vehicle against the tracks was enough to send shockwaves through her legs, but she didn’t let it stop her - nothing could stop her. She was Payton McHale. She was Dauntless. The train came thundering beside her and she reached her hand for the handle on the door, prepared to pull herself into the cabin. That was when she felt it. The gravel loosened underneath her feet, sending her skidding forward onto her knees before she even had a chance.
She was Payton McHale. And maybe she wasn’t Dauntless.
The dark haired girl sat there on her knees for a little while, listening as the wheezing of the train slowly disappeared into the distance. The throb of the stab wound was beginning to worry her and she wondered if she had managed to open up the healing gash again. This was turning into a disaster - some sort of sickening nightmare. She hadn’t even been able to make the train jump...who was she? Pay didn’t even know anymore. Slowly getting to her feet, she looked down at her black pants, observing the sliced knees from the gravel. She would need to buy a new pair before training tomorrow, lest the rest of the initiates start asking questions. Heart heavy and full of confusion, Pay headed back to the Dauntless compound.
Her walk was long and mildly therapeutic for the young Dauntless-born. She stayed away for as long as she could before rounding the last corner and slipping back into the compound. She didn’t want to go back to the Initiate chambers. There would only be questions and loud noises. No, she needed quiet right now. She needed comfort. She needed home.
She turned a couple of corners and before she knew it, she was standing in front of her parents’ compound. They always left the key under the mat, and as she kicked it slightly to the left, she saw the familiar glint of the gold metallic entrance device. It was late and they would hardly know that she was here...she would just leave before initiation training started tomorrow morning. Everything would be fine, she assured herself.
The familiarity that surrounded the rooms in this small compound instantly soothed her. The chair where she had climbed to the table and eaten the left-over cake her mother had been saving. The coffee table that she had once gashed her eyebrow open on when she fell over. She continued down the hallway, peeking into her parents’ room. They were asleep, her mother’s arm resting on her father’s chest as they slept peacefully. The next door down belonged to Andy, her sweet darling Andy. She pushed it gently open with her foot, smiling at her brother’s sleeping body wrapped up tight in his sheets.
Finally, she reached her room - plainly decorated with the Dauntless symbol. Crawling into her bed, it was there that Payton fell asleep...until someone decided to wake her up in the morning.
notes; hope this is an alright starter! let me know if you’d like anything changed! :]
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I am now In a world where I have to hide my heart and what I believe in.
15
years old
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Heterosexual
Single
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Student
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Palisade
is Offline
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22 posts
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Dauntless
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Post by Andy J. McHale on May 25, 2014 15:31:58 GMT -5
 He was running, down some darkened hallway, before he was suddenly in an open field. No…wait, he had just been in the Dauntless compound, he couldn't be outside in the city now. He turned, prepared head back in when he realized the hallway had disappeared. Andy blinked, not sure what was going on. He was too young for this to be the aptitude test. What was going on? He blinked, and headed towards a small clearing, a sudden bright light engulfed him, and he ended up placing a hand over his eyes until it finally dimmed.
To his shock he was on stage, several people were looking at him when he realized they were waiting for him to do something. He turned, staring at the bowls with his eyes wide. He took a step forward he realized there were only four bowls - the Dauntless one was missing. "Choose Andy." The voice filled his ears as he turned to see his family staring at him and pointing. "Choose Andy." How could he? One was missing, the one he was supposed to pick! "I can't!" he cried, staring at them helplessly before glancing at the bowls again. There were still only four, but he couldn't choose them. The one he needed to be in wasn't there.
"Choose Andy!" No! He couldn't choose…he wouldn't. "I am Dauntless! It's not there!" Suddenly they began chanting it, he could hardly think, all he could hear was the resounding 'Choose Andy!'. He couldn't choose…they couldn't make him. "I am Dauntless! I am Dauntless!" he cried, shaking. It suddenly went dark, but he still kept muttering until he realized he was awake now. It had all been a dream. "I am…Dauntless." he said again, but this time quieter, he was shaking. He was home, he was safe…it wasn't choosing day. Not yet.
The morning was quiet accept for the twittering of birds. Andy rose from his bed and got dressed before heading into the hallway. He stopped when he realized the door to Payton's room was open. He paused, staring at the opening with a surprised expression. He was awake…wasn't he? Swallowing he headed towards it, before seeing a sleeping form in the bed. As he got closer, he realized it really it was Payton. He small smile appeared on his lips as he reached an arm forward and shook her shoulder, seeing if he could wake her up. "Payton wake up." he murmured gently, watching her sleeping form. She almost looked harmless asleep...
He hadn't seen her since she was initiated, he knew she was hard at work training. Training that he would face next year once he chose. His stomach churned suddenly as he remembered his dream. That wouldn't happen though…the Dauntless bowl would always be there, he was sure of it. The dream had merely been a nightmare, nothing more. He was just nervous because Payton was going through initiation, and he knew that next year he would be going through the same thing as a Dauntless. He swallowed but the smile remained on his face as he waited for his sister to awaken.
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You spend hours, days, weeks, months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together.
16
years old
|
Straight
Single
|
Dauntless-Born Initiate
|
Quinn
is Offline
|
48 posts
|
Dauntless
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Post by Payton G. McHale on May 26, 2014 14:17:41 GMT -5
No dreams came that night. For the first time since she had begun her training, she wasn’t fearful of losing herself within the compound. She wasn’t worried about whose name was on top of hers. She wasn’t worried about the red line on the rankings list that threatened to dismiss her from her very own faction. No, the only thing that she worried about that night was how her covers kept slipping off the bed when she rolled and the way that her pillow still smelled like her parents’ detergent, instead of her hair. It had been so long since she had been home. And as soon as she was here, everything felt right again.
The silence of her slumber seemed to be stirred when she thought she heard her name and someone telling her to wake up. The groggy teenager mumbled slightly before managing to find her voice and generating an actual response. “Go away, I’m still sleeping- Five more minutes, mom.” Payton grumbled into her pillow. She used her arm to uselessly bat away whoever it was that was trying to make her get up.
It was then that she realized where she was...where she had fallen asleep last night. She wasn’t in the initiates compound like she thought...Her bed. She was at home. She couldn’t believe that she had fallen asleep here! She had just meant to check on them, not spend the entire night. Rolling over in her clothes from yesterday, Payton looked over to see Andy standing just inside of her room, grinning at her the way that he always did, “You know better than to wake up a sleeping lioness, don’t you little brother?” She said, yawning part way through her statement and then swinging her legs off of the bed.
Her knees still stung from her failed train jump yesterday. Her thigh throbbed and she realized that she probably had ripped out of a few of the stitches that had been holding the knife wound together. Damn Diggs. She cursed him to herself as she ran her fingertips over her ripped black pants. Looking over at the alarm clock next to her bed, Pay yawned again. She was anxious to get her mind off of the things that had been happening lately...all the uncertainty that accompanied it all. But she also wanted to talk about it, and Andy was perhaps the only one who would understand... “You’re up early! What gives? Did mom and dad make pancakes?” She joked - their mom was a horrible chef and when they were younger, they would all go down to the dining hall together and scrounge up whatever they could for breakfast.
notes; --
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I am now In a world where I have to hide my heart and what I believe in.
15
years old
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Heterosexual
Single
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Student
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Palisade
is Offline
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22 posts
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Dauntless
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Post by Andy J. McHale on May 26, 2014 15:58:40 GMT -5
The nightmare had really shaken him up, especially considering it was a reoccurring dream. It began to spawn right after Payton chose Dauntless actually, and he wasn't totally sure why. It was nervousness…it just had to be. There was nothing else that could explain it. He was meant to be here with his family and he would fit in, someday. He just hadn't found his place in Dauntless yet, in time he would fit in - just like his sister did, kind of like a glove. That's why he couldn't let the dream get to him, and he had to push it away every time it resurfaced.
He grinned again like an idiot when he heard his sister speak. She must've of really been tired if she thought he was mom. Mom was a little more vigorous when it came to waking them up. Once she took the sheets off the bed and threw back the curtains to flood Andy's room with sunlight. It wasn't exactly a happy awakening, he wasn't sure if Payton was awakened the same way though, and he never bothered to ask. People were usually grumpy in the morning - just not Andy. He was a morning person…well after he managed to get out bed. The morning was an unusually quiet time before the roar of the other Dauntless filled the air. It was peaceful, which was nice.
“You know better than to wake up a sleeping lioness, don’t you little brother?” Yeah he should've by now, but she was home, for the first time it what felt like forever. He couldn't help himself, it was amazing he wasn't offering an awkward hug by now, but that would come in due time. "I forgot," he teased, his eyes flickering with delight. Payton was home, that was all that mattered now. No dream could ruin this day for him - she was his role model after all. And if Payton was meant for Dauntless, so was he, he was sure of it.
"Just couldn't sleep any longer." he chuckled, another wide grin spreading across his face. "So how are you holding up?" he asked, his tone light. His sister was probably at the top of the list - she was always a go getter. "I bet your already in the lead huh? Got the transfers shaking in their boots?" he joked, knowing that Payton didn't like them. She was tough, far tougher than Andy, so it was natural for him to assume that she was doing well. Growing up she always seemed ready for anything, at least that's how Andy always saw her. He tried to follow along and keep up but his sister was a different caliber. He would catch up someday though, he didn't like to be left behind.
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You spend hours, days, weeks, months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together.
16
years old
|
Straight
Single
|
Dauntless-Born Initiate
|
Quinn
is Offline
|
48 posts
|
Dauntless
|
Post by Payton G. McHale on May 26, 2014 23:01:59 GMT -5
Payton yawned and stretched her limbs above her head, trying to loosen the muscles that seemed to have tensed during her slumber. There seemed to be happiness behind his ‘forgetfulness’ and Pay didn’t really blame him. He honestly seemed so excited to see her - such a different feeling since she had been training. People were different in the initiates compound...then again, they weren’t her family. But Andy? Andy had always been her family, he always would be, “Guess I crashed pretty hard. I was just checking up on you guys and ended up in here,” Laughing gently, she moved her hands to her right side and pushed her body in that direction as well as doing the other side, attempting to crack her back.
“So how you holding up?”
The skin on the back of Patyon’s neck prickled in surprise. How was she holding up? Her heartbeat sped up in anticipation. What was she going to tell him? What could she tell him? Apart from being ranked below the red line, she was okay? Then again, maybe wasn’t exactly the right word for it. Her fingertips found the wound on her thigh and she pressed against it, testing to see if it was still sore. Yep - definitely ripped out one of the stitches. God she wanted so badly to tell Andy what a good job she was doing. How proud he could be of his older sister. How she was kicking the butt of every transfer they sent her way. But she couldn’t lie to him...not to Andy, “Holding up fairly well I’d say.” Even the slight omission of her true feelings felt like a betrayal for Andy, but she forced herself to smile just the same.
“I bet your already in the lead huh? Got the transfers shaking in their boots?”
Pay reached forward and touched the edge of her nightstand, avoiding looking directly at Andy. She was an embarrassment. She could only imagine what he would think of her if she ever came clean about how she was actually doing in the grand scheme of things. Pay wasn’t even going to make it past the first round if she didn’t start shaping up and fast. And as for the transfers? Jeez...Payton didn’t even want to admit the pain that she had suffered at Diggs’ hands. A feeling of anger filled adrenaline shot through her veins as she tried to keep her face passive, “Andy-”
Her voice cracked ever so slightly as she looked up at him, trying her hardest to smile. Failure. That was the word that kept running through her head. She was nothing like he expected her to be, “Initiation sucks.” She finally breathed, reaching up to run a hand through her dark hair. He was her brother, the only one that she was able to talk about this stuff with. He was her confidant - he always had been, “It really sucks.” Her brown eyes looked up at him as she continued to force her smile.
NOTES; I love the way you’re playing Andy! <3 he’s so perfect.
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I am now In a world where I have to hide my heart and what I believe in.
15
years old
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Heterosexual
Single
|
Student
|
Palisade
is Offline
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22 posts
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Dauntless
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Post by Andy J. McHale on May 27, 2014 1:48:42 GMT -5
“Guess I crashed pretty hard. I was just checking up on you guys and ended up in here,” That must've meant she had been training hard - he had to admire her dedication. He wasn't sure if he would be that focused on fighting 24/7 but he'd have to toughen up at some point and 'take it like a man'. It sounded a little intimidating to him but what his family said around him only made him want to try harder. Though to be honest his father's comment of Payton taking him under her wing was just her way of 'making a man out of him'. That in itself made him want to run to his mother, but he managed not to do so just yet. He trusted his sister, even if she wanted to make him tougher - more Dauntless really. He wanted to be, but part of him also liked who he was now…it was internal struggle.
"Well I'm glad you came to see us and stick around anyhow." Andy affirmed, glancing back at his sister with a thoughtful expression. He was proud of his sister, but he didn't approve of her crashing like this - he didn't want her getting sick. He watched her closely, noticing she was putting a hand to her thigh. His eyebrows raised, curious to see why she was doing so. “Holding up fairly well I’d say." Was she really? He wasn't sure if he believed her, she just didn't seem right. He was about to open his mouth to say something when she suddenly said his name. Andy remained quiet and listened very carefully, if something was troubling his sister, he wanted to know about it. He couldn't stand to see her unhappy.
“Initiation sucks.” He blinked, well that wasn't exactly what he thought she was going to say. "It really sucks." His smile turned into a frown now as he stared back at her with a concerned expression. Without another word he took a step forward and hugged her briefly - lightly of course, before taking a step back. "Tell me what's going on." he murmured, staring back at her with a careful gaze. He hadn't expected the initiation to be so bad for her - she was Dauntless, he watched her grow up to be as tough as nails and being extremely proud of her faction. Why was it bad? What was wrong? It wasn't his sister's fault, but he still wanted to know why it wasn't going so well. Was she just insecure about it? What was going through mind right now? Andy wanted to know.
He was fully prepared to give her a pep-talk if it was just a self-esteem thing, Andy was her personal cheerleader and wouldn't rest a minute if it meant making her feel better. If it wasn't, he'd need to think of something else, she wasn't returning to training like this - that was for sure. His gaze remained gentle, he wasn't angry with her, just deeply concerned. She was always there for him so it only made sense that he was there for her. They were family and nothing could ever change that. Payton was his big sister, and he would always be proud of her, he didn't want her to ever worry about that. Whatever this was - they'd work it out together.
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You spend hours, days, weeks, months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together.
16
years old
|
Straight
Single
|
Dauntless-Born Initiate
|
Quinn
is Offline
|
48 posts
|
Dauntless
|
Post by Payton G. McHale on May 28, 2014 13:41:03 GMT -5
The hug was nice. As much as Payton pretended that she was tough and didn’t need affirmation in her life, Andy seemed to understand when she actually did need it. She put her arms around him, giving him a light squeeze before he retreated, probably afraid that she would yell at him for the physical affection. He wanted her to tell him what was going on and she wasn’t entirely sure where to start.
She was going to ruin the way her brother thought about her - she knew that she was. She could tell just from the concerned look on his face. For once, she realized this was how he must feel every time she looked at him like that. Like someone that needed help because they were so utterly lost and confused about everything. Payton ran a hand through her dark hair before taking a deep breath. She had so much to tell him and she wasn’t even sure where to start.
“I thought I was going to be so good at initiation training...” There, that was a good place for her to begin. She would just own up to everything...tell him that she was already below the red line and her clock was ticking. Tell him that soon she would be kicked out of Dauntless and would become one of those factionless that she so despised...honestly, they were worse than the transfers. They didn’t belong anywhere, and she was going to end up just like them, “The fighting, the defense. You know I’ve always been good at that kind of stuff. And now all of a sudden, I’m over-thinking everything. I can’t throw a punch without wondering if it’s got enough velocity to break my opponent’s jaw. I can’t shoot a gun without thinking about the probability that I’ll miss the target all together-” Payton took a second to suck in a deep breath and then continued, “And guess what? I end up getting socked in the jaw because I can’t focus. And my shots? They all happen to miss the target. Which by the way should be statistically impossible. I shouldn’t miss all of them.”
She knew she should probably tell him about the fight she had gotten into with Mute the other day, but it just seemed like another slap in the face. She couldn’t even hold her own against an Erudite transfer! What was Andy going to think of his older sister now that he knew that she wasn’t all high and mighty like she had always tried to make herself out to be, “It’s like every time I try and do something, I end up over-analyzing. I’m below the-” She gulped. This was going to be the hardest to admit, “I’m below the red line.”
“Andy, what if I picked the wrong faction?” She finally looked up from the ground, prepared to face the look of disappointment that she was sure she would see on his face.
NOTES; --
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I am now In a world where I have to hide my heart and what I believe in.
15
years old
|
Heterosexual
Single
|
Student
|
Palisade
is Offline
|
22 posts
|
Dauntless
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Post by Andy J. McHale on May 30, 2014 0:37:24 GMT -5
The lighthearted banter than had filled the room quickly receded as Andy listened carefully to what his sister had to say. So she was having a rough time…maybe it was just nerves? His eyes flickered however as she seemed to continue you on. It appeared to be much more than that…if her skills in fighting and shooting were failing, that meant her ranking would go down. He swallowed when she mentioned the red line and didn't move when she said it was below it. His throat felt dry, well, the only he could offer was comfort. That and perhaps some advice, he had never been through initiation, but from she was saying, it sounded like hell. "It's gonna be okay." his words were soft and fragile, before letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "You still have time to work your way back up Payton. You're a McHale and I know you can do it." Andy's words were stronger now as he watched his sister. "And if you need a practice dummy, I'm your guy." he smiled, hoping that was all. What she said next though, caused him to go pale.
“Andy, what if I picked the wrong faction?” That statement made him think about his dream, and how the Dauntless bowl wasn't there, did his sister have the same experience? He couldn't really blame it on nerves now if that were the face. "What do you mean? You got Dauntless on that aptitude test didn't you?" His voice was fragile again, but this time it felt like it would break. It had nothing to do with Payton however, and he felt rather selfish that he was thinking about himself. If his own sister wasn't sure about choosing Dauntless, what did that mean for him? He swallowed again, not liking the feeling of a lump in his throat as he stared back at his sister with concerned eyes. This was about Payton, he would worry about his own future when got there, Payton was more important. She couldn't fall below the red line…she would end up cold and alone with all the factionless…Andy couldn't allow that to happen. There had to be a way to raise her spirits and get her back in the game.
His eyebrows knitted together for a moment as he stared back at his sister, he didn't want to appear worried, but inside it felt like he had hit another wall. The conversation he had with Grey the other day had been weighing on his mind but this…this made his uncertainty about his chosen faction even more formidable. Andy swallowed and glanced back at his sister again, no, he still had time to worry about that. His sister was his best friend, and he couldn't let his own fears go before her needs. As long as she was okay…he would be happy.
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