Title: Learning To Hunt
Chapter: More Future Sections of Learning To Hunt
Fandom: The Tribe
Author: PinkTribeChick
Summary: Sometimes, love is just right under your nose . . .
Extended Summary: An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Pride, Jack, and an original female character.

Rating: Teen
Pairing: Jack-Original Female Fiction Character, Pride-Original Female Fiction Character, Jack-Ellie, and Bray-Amber, with a few mentions of other pairings.
Author's Notes: Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years! Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!

*Please note this section takes place sometime BEFORE what I posted in Chapter 21.

Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.

Learning To Hunt

More Future Sections

Liliana watched Pride from where she stood across the room, holding Samuel. He was dancing with Trudy, who was dressed as a cat for the party. His costume was simple, he was dressed as Hercules. His hair was shorter now, having been cut a few days ago by Amber, and it was pulled into a small ponytail. His face had become perfectly chiseled over the years, and Liliana knew his every feature by heart. It wasn't hard to see why she had fallen for him in the first place. It wasn't just that he was smart, or that he could make her laugh in spite of how bad things seemed at times, or that he could see inside her soul like no one else could. He was truly incredible looking, the most beautiful human being she had ever seen. It was that thought that always tugged at her heart. Sometimes, she couldn't help wondering if he was the reason she had been born, if he was her purpose in life.

Feeling that familiar ache rise in her heart, she sighed, walking over to the playpen where Trudy had placed Brady. She put Samuel in it, handing him a toy. Then she turned around, looking about the room. She wished that Jack was there right then, to make her feel more at ease. She hated crowds, even if it was just a bunch of people she knew. Jack was in his room, resting, sick with the stomach flu. And Liliana was all alone that evening. The music ended, and Liliana saw Pride thank Trudy for the dance. Trudy walked over to the punch bowl, leaving Pride standing by himself in the middle of the crowded room.

Pride looked around the room, seeing who was there and what everyone had dressed up as. Amber and Bray were dressed up like a little old couple, sitting across the room, since Amber wasn't allowed to walk or dance yet. Bray held Amber's hand, listening to her intently as she talked. There was something about them that was sweet, romantic. They had been through so much together, and yet were still so much in love. Pride couldn't help wishing he had someone that he cared about that much. But he had blown things with May, not that he'd ever really cared about her that much. And Liliana . . . well, that was unexplored territory. And she was with Jack, so it was out of the question. He scanned the room to see if she had come even though Jack was ill. He finally spotted her across the room, looking uncomfortable amidst the others around her. He smiled when he saw her.

Liliana was dressed as a fairy, wearing a dark pink leotard that had one sleeve, leaving her other shoulder bare, and white tights with a flowing flowered material attached at her wrists for wings. Her hair was pulled back into a loose mass of curls on top of her head, with little white and pink flowers interspersed. He walked over to her slowly, taking in every detail of the way she looked.

Liliana was turning to walk away when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to see Pride standing behind her, with a smile on his face. He had that weird twinkle in his eyes again, which she tried to overlook.

"Hi," he said softly. He looked her over as she smiled at him. "You look . . . lovely . . ." He was at a loss for words. Her rosy-pink cheeks made her eyes look more blue than gray right then, and her eyes sparkled as she smiled.

"Thanks. I like your costume, too," she responded.

"I'm surprised you decided to come. I figured you'd stay with Jack, since he's sick and all," he observed.

"Well . . . I hadn't planned on coming, but he insisted. He's in his room resting right now. He'll be okay by himself for a little while, I think," she replied. Things had become so awkward between them lately, it was hard for her to think of something to say.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. "I know how much you hate crowds. And Trudy can keep an eye on Samuel for a little while." She turned her head to the side a bit and looked at him. How was it that he always knew what she was thinking before she even said anything?

"I'd love to," she said. Pride held out his hand, and she hesitated a moment before she took it. As they walked out of the room, she silently willed herself to keep control of the situation.

The night air was cool, and there was a breeze. The moon was full, and its bright light cast a shadow throughout the woods. Liliana could barely see Pride's face.

"Look . . . I just wanted to apologize for picking that fight with you the other day about Jack," he said.

"Why apologize? We've been fighting about Jack for weeks. It's not like you walk into the room I'm in intending to argue about it. It just happens. And I know you don't mean it," she said casually, walking away from him a few feet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"I didn't say I didn't mean it. I just said that I'm sorry for saying it," Pride said firmly. She could feel his breath warm against her skin. "I meant every word of it. I don't think Jack's right for you." He held both of her hands in his now, and she was finding it hard to resist him.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"I think you know," he whispered.

"Oh . . . right, because you think he's still on the rebound from Ellie," she said sarcastically. She pulled away from him roughly. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Why? Because you know I'm right?" he called after her.

"No, because I don't want the night to be spoiled by some stupid debate that will never be resolved!" she said.

"Lili!" he exclaimed.

"I don't want to hear it!" she shouted back. "Please, just drop it before we both get angry and say things we don't mean!" Pride watched her desperately as she walked off. He tried to think of a way to make her stop. There was only one thing he could do. He resorted to something that he hadn't done since they were little. Digging his feet into the ground a bit, he took a deep breath. Then he started to run.

He ran as hard and fast at her as he could without hurting her. As he caught up with her, he jumped, tackling her. They landed on the ground with a resounding thud as she screamed.

"What are you doing, Pride?!" she yelled incredulously. He lay on top of her, trying to catch his breath again.

"I'm . . . trying to . . . get you to listen," he said.

"By tackling me like you're a five year old?" she exclaimed, looking at him. He still lay on her, holding himself up with his arms so he could look at her.

"It worked, didn't it?" he asked smugly.

"Yeah, but you're about ten times the size you were when we were six and you did that. Now will you please get off of me?" she answered.

"No," he said curtly. "You're going to listen to what I have to say. I didn't come out here to talk about Jack, Liliana."

"Then what did you want to talk about?" she said in an irritated tone.

"Beyond apologizing . . . I wanted to talk about us," he said.

"Us? What in heaven's name do you mean? There is no us, there never will be an us. There never has been an us!" she said in confusion.

"But there could be," he said. Liliana felt her heart doing flip-flops as her stomach filled with millions of tiny butterflies. Was he saying what she thought he was? That he wanted to be with her? It just couldn't be possible.

"Speak in plain English rather than riddles, please," she responded breathlessly.

"Plain English . . . right . . . ," he said. "I'm not even sure what that is anymore, we've been dancing around this for so long."

"Dancing around what?"

"This . . . us . . . how we feel . . . how every time I see you with Jack it makes me want to explode . . . how you've been acting ever since we got back from the city. You think I haven't noticed that something's different, but I have. I feel it," he explained.

"Nothing's different, Pride. I'm still the same old Liliana that I've always been. Your best friend, practically your sister," she said flatly. He grinned at her, touching her cheek gently. Liliana could feel her resolve melting.

"Do you actually expect me to believe that?" he asked. Liliana closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"Please don't do this. I'm confused enough as it is," she pleaded. "I don't know how I feel about you right now. I don't even know what it is I feel for Jack. I don't even know what I want out of life at this point." Pride looked at her caringly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I think you do know, Lili. You just don't want to admit it," he said, his voice deeper than usual.

"There's nothing to admit," she said quietly. It was then she noticed that the look on his face had changed from one of a goofy smile to a passionate gaze. "Pride . . ."

"Lili . . . ," he said back, a smile crossing his lips momentarily. "God . . . I don't think I realized how beautiful you really are until now. What took me so long?"

"Foolish blindness?" she answered jokingly. Then her expression turned serious. "Really, I can't do this. I'm with Jack now. And things are different because of that."

"Shhh . . ." He put a finger to her lips to quiet her. "Let's not think about that now." He stood up, then helped her up. Pulling her to him, gently he kissed her. She tried to push him away at first, but gradually relaxed into his arms. All that could be heard was the night bugs around them and the faint sound of music coming from inside the cabin. They stood there kissing for what seemed like hours, when finally he broke it off, staring into her eyes. "Now do you know what you want?" She nodded feebly. Then she thought for a moment and shook her head. "Yes and no?"

"Yeah . . . I think I might be more confused," she said with a smile.

"What is there to be confused about?" he asked.

"Well . . . a lot . . . I'm with Jack, and I don't want to hurt him. I really do care about him, Pride. But at the same time . . . I want to be with you more than anything in the world, no matter what price I might have to pay. And there's a lot of things I haven't told you, things that if you knew about them, you might not want to be with me after all," she said, her eyes filling with tears. What had she done? She'd cheated on Jack, and with Pride no less. After all her stubbornness and strong-will, she'd given in. And even though it was the one thing she wanted most in the world, she couldn't allow herself to take it.

"Then tell me, and let me make up my own mind. I'll try to be as open-minded as I can," he said soothingly. "I want this, Lili. And I'm willing to fight for it, if that's what it takes." He kissed her again.

"Pride . . . can you just give me some time to think about this? Please?" she asked. He put a finger under her chin.

"All the time you need," he said. He knew what she would choose in the end already, and he didn't mind waiting for her.

"And please don't tell anyone this happened? No one needs to know," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Alright, that's fine," he said. He laughed a little bit. "Don't cry, please? I can't stand it when you do, you know that." He pulled her to him again, holding her closely. She drunk the moment in while it lasted, fearing that he wouldn't want her once he knew the truth. Once he knew about Samuel, he'd hate her forever. The thought ate her up inside, and made her cry even harder as she buried her head in Pride's chest. Once he knew, that would be the end of it. No more Pride, no more Jack, no one left. She'd be all alone again in their large, empty world.

This is more of an alternate version of them getting together than entirely a future section, since it contradicts things I had in the other future sections I posted. But I thought I would share it anyway. The next chapter is three journal entries written in-character as Liliana. They were done at the suggestion of my beta-reader at the time, to get a better grasp for the character.