Author's Notes: First of all, I would like to thank those who have reviewed, faved, and followed. Each and every notification I get in connection to this story is very much appreciated, and I cannot stress that fact enough. Truth be told, I was not really thinking on continuing this story until I read the reviews.
Now, to answer your most wonderful reviews:
Hello, oniisan, I am happy to receive another encouraging review from you. Thank you for thinking that I am quite capable of writing from the third-person POV. I am also quite glad that you liked my past update and that you believe that, for my stories, the ride is the most enjoyable part of the journey. And thank you, once more, for your patience. I sincerely hope that you will like this update as well.
Five Pies To The Face, you are quite welcome, dear reader. It is my pleasure to update this story, and I can only hope that you will continue to like and follow this story. Please enjoy this update!
Also, thank you angelvan105 and Guest for leaving your thoughts behind.
This new chapter is dedicated to my oniisan, mariko78 (dear friends of mine), and Five Pies To The Face (thank you for your continued support).
Hmm, well, this update... is a lot longer than past updates, and I can honestly say that it will be delve a lot more deeply into the relationship between Li and Lo. I sincerely hope that you, dear readers, believe that I have added believable depth to the two. And yes, Ursa will be a great part of this update too.
I hope all of you will read, like, fave, follow, review...etc.
If you want to, of course...
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Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Ursa Major
The Unique Beginning
Lo and Li's Mansion
Li's bedroom
Late in the evening
Li watched in silence as her older sister's elegant brows rose in subtly shown disbelief, the dark gray orbs beneath them widening in intuitively calculated surprise. So controlled and so precise, Li found it almost amusing, at times, how Lo always tried so hard to keep her emotions in check no matter what the situation was— even those that involved only her twin sister. But, even more than just amusing Li, it also touched her.
Her older sister has always been so strong. So solid. She was the foundation of Li's structure, and Li could not…
She could not even just be without her. So as much as Li wanted Lo to be more open to her, to be the most open with her, she wanted her to be herself even more. Li wanted Lo to be who she was, because that was what made them complete—that was what made them whole. They were the two sides of a single entity, and for them, there was truly no other way to be: no other choice and no other alternative; which was exactly how they wanted it.
"Li," her older sister softly began as she slowly lowered her marginally raised brows. "... I am only glad that neither of you were hurt," she then softly continued, her gray eyes no longer wide from surprise but concern. Li easily saw this minuscule change and, still remaining silent, allowed her full lips to gradually curl upwards into a small smile of amusement, causing Lo to shake her head once in doting exasperation.
Li took note of the affection in her older sister's gaze and continued to smile softly as she took a tentative step forward, wanting to be closer to the slender form of her indulgent twin, yet giving her a chance to reject the offer of closeness. Lo easily recognized the sincerity of the offer and instinctively allowed the tense muscles of her shoulders to relax so that she could accept it with gracefully opened arms. She had grown used to this, since this was how it had always been ever since they were so young, and she could not deny the fact that she could not imagine life without this fluid interaction between her and her twin.
This soothing exchange that would occur any time in which Li could see that she was already too agitated, upset, stressed— or just plain too strict on her. The instances in which Li would comfort Lo whenever she saw that her older sister's severity or distress had already reached their limits. It was Li's instinctive response to her twin's rare stressful moments, and it worked every single time, even though Lo knew what it was that her sister was doing.
And Lo liked it, she honestly liked how her younger sister always helped her maintain her cool countenance, and she also liked how it helped her learn a new lesson. It helped her realize that the knowledge of something does not truly give you the power to stop it. And, truth be told, she did not want to stop it. Why? Because she loved it. She loved how her younger sister would smile so softly, so sweetly- so beautifully – to help her calm down, to keep her from always being so strict and rigid, to her and their golden child, Ursa.
She loved how Li actually made sure that there was still a side of her- a side of her like this- that only Li herself and Ursa were privy to, no one else. She loved it because, to her, they were the only two people who truly mattered. And she knew, without a single doubt in her mind, that she would never have been capable of becoming a mother- her? A mother?- to Ursa without Li. She would never have been capable of being considerate, of being compassionate, of loving to the point that she was able to do now.
Li was her…
Li was her comfort while she was Li's security. She made Li feel safe, but Li made her feel loved. Li made her feel capable of true and sincere love, the kind that she felt unconditionally and solely for Li and Ursa, and she could…
She could never—
"Lo, darling," Li, the main subject of her deep thoughts, suddenly murmured; her soft yet even voice easily cutting into her musings and recapturing her full attention. Lo blinked once, to dismiss the thoughts in her head, and then promptly directed her gaze to her sister's own gray eyes which were now delicately crinkled at the sides in amusement. Lo affectionately took note of the coy curl in her younger sister's lips and watched as she took another step forward and slowly raised her hands.
Their bodies were not yet in contact, but Lo knew that Li was planning on resolving that little problem soon. It was obvious from how she was purposely tilting her head downwards so that she could peer coquettishly at her older sister through her unnaturally long lashes. Lo saw the disappearance of mere amusement from her features, to be replaced by a more powerful yet still unidentifiable emotion, and chose to remain stationary, patiently waiting and allowing Li to set the pace as this was her field— her forte.
This was where she excelled, and she was so beautiful when she—
"Aren't you so proud of our child?" Li suddenly asked, disrupting Lo's thoughts once more, something that the older twin has already gotten used to when it came to her younger sister, and causing her own lips to deliberately curl upwards. She was proud, of course she was proud! Ursa, their lovely, lovely child, was a prodigy. A true prodigy!
Lo briefly nodded once to answer her younger sister's question. "Yes," she said, her even tone laced with a firm conviction that no one could deny. "I am very, very proud of Ursa," she then stated, smiling fondly at the thought of the three year old child who was now sleeping in her specially designed miniature bed that was currently situated in Lo's own large bedroom.
"But I can honestly say that I would have preferred it if your bed had not accidentally caught fire from her first show of her fire-bending prowess," she continued, the proud look on her face smoothly transitioning into an expression of seriousness. "I would not have known what to do with myself if I had come home to the news of the two of you being hurt instead of just your bed being completely annihilated." Lo's mouth set into a hard and grim line immediately after it had given voice to such an unpleasant thought.
Li nodded firmly, understanding the cause of Lo's concern. She, too, was glad that she was somehow able to keep the situation under control and minimize the damage. She glanced briefly at the dirty remains of her once wonderful bed and said. "I know, I know, Lo, I am glad that we are safe as well," she murmured, taking one more step forward to finally close the narrow distance between them and to purposely press her hip against her sister's. Then, carefully snaking her svelte arms around Lo's waist, Li gently placed the left side of her head against her twin's silk-covered collarbones.
Lo readily accepted the warmth her younger sister offered and deliberately copied her actions, moving her own slim arms to protectively hold Li closer to her. Then, Lo slowly tilted her head upwards and, Li, sensing the invitation that was given to her, burrowed her head into the small niche beneath her older sister's chin. A small shiver slid down Lo's spine as her younger sister's warm breath permeated through the silk she wore and caressed the sensitive skin beneath it.
"She has more potential than many others that we have trained before, Lo," Li murmured, soft lips brushing gently against even softer silk. "Today was the first day she has ever produced fire, and, instead of it being the typical red that all fire-benders before her have produced as their first fire, it was orange, a color that burns considerably hotter than red. A bright and vivid orange that burst from her tiny, closed fists," she paused momentarily to take in a deep breath, silently appreciating her older sister's sweet scent.
"And her first show of fire-bending prowess did not differ from others in just that way," she then continued. "Not only was her first fire orange instead of red, it was quickly followed by two other bursts of flames that were colored yellow then pink, two colors that are not to be expected from a fire-bender until he or she has been trained considerably."
"Yes," Lo said, easily agreeing to her younger sister's assessment. It was true; none of those colors had been the first fire of any other recorded fire-bender in the entire Fire Nation history. It was the first time anything of the sort has ever happened, and it made Lo wonder whether this was due to the Ursa's impressive bloodline or her natural potential. Both reasons were interesting possibilities, of course, but Lo could also not help but hope that their careful nurturing of the golden-eyed child had helped as well.
"And she is one of the youngest to have ever produced fire," Lo then said, tightening her hold around her younger twin just the slightest bit. "She is now three years old, and she is only a few months older than the youngest fire-bender to have ever produced fire: Lord Azulon, another true fire-bending prodigy in his own right, who was able to produce fire when he was only two and a half years old."
"An impressive feat, indeed," Li said as she reluctantly pulled back a bit so that she could look up into her sister's calm gray eyes. "Lo, it seems that we have miscalculated," she slowly started, gazing at the face that was exactly like her own. "Ursa now shows the potential of becoming even more powerful than we have ever anticipated."
Lo nodded once in agreement. They had miscalculated indeed. But it was due to the fact that according to the information given to them by Lord Azulon, both parents of the golden-eyed child had been non-benders, even her mother, Rina, who had the blood of Avatar Roku running through her veins. So the possibility of Ursa becoming a fire-bender was quite narrow, but they were glad to see that she was one. They were pleased that she was one because it would help her.
There was only so much that they could do to prepare Ursa for the life of being a Fire Lady, and this was an unexpected and natural advantage that could not be replaced by artificial means. This would help her significantly in staking firm claim on the position that was destined for her, and it would show everyone who would doubt her- and there would be many of them- that she was the one deserving of being the future Lady of the Fire Nation.
"Li, darling," Lo softly murmured after a few minutes of the two of them basking in the silence and comfort of their own thoughts. "I believe that after going through such a long day, it would be best for you to go to sleep now." She then said, punctuating the last word she spoke by lightly squeezing her younger sister's waist with her arms.
Li nodded her head briefly, glancing once more at the pile of burnt wood and ashes in the middle of her room. "Oh, Lo, how unfortunate it is that I have lost my bed then," she pretended to mourn, her dark gray eyes widening calculatedly as she jutted out her lower lip in a petulant pout. "Where will I sleep now?" she continued, leaning more heavily against the slender body of her older twin as she shifted most of her weight to her toes and purposely burrowed her head into the space between Lo's chin and chest once more. Her warm lips brushed faintly against the side of Lo's neck as the older twin promptly took a step back to be able to support the excess weight that her sister had surprised her with.
Lo shook her head at the playfully mendacious acts of her younger sister and gently squeezed her slim waist once more. "Hush, hush," she evenly admonished, undeniably conscious of the plump lips now lightly pressed against the pulse on her neck. "Does that piece of furniture truly matter to you, Li?" she then asked, instinctively tilting her head just the slightest bit backwards. "When every single night you somehow manage to fall asleep in my bed instead of yours?"
Lo felt the mouth against her skin curl upwards into a blatantly triumphant smirk as Li's hands slid upwards from her waist to the small of her back. "Well, well, well, Lo," she murmured softly as she possessively held her older sister's body closer to hers. "Does that also matter?" she asked, breathing in ever more deeply. "Since I have never heard you complain even once."
And Lo smiled just the slightest bit in amusement at her words, her hold around her younger sister instinctively tightening even more so as she allowed Li to softly kiss the base of her neck. "Yes, yes, yes," she then smoothly purred with each contact of her younger sister's lips with her now lightly flushed skin.
"I truly," she honestly replied, finally closing her dark gray eyes.
"Cannot say that I have…"
Author's Notes: This is the second time that I've used the third person POV. I just want to know if you, the reader, think that I gave it justice or not...
And, ah yes, I must know, what do you, the dear readers, think about what I have written for Lo and Li? Do you all think that it is a bit too much? Do you think that it is quite believable? Do you think that it makes them OOC? How about Ursa's first fire? What do you all think about her first show of fire-bending prowess? Your constructive criticism will help me quite a lot in continuing this story.
Anyway, like it? Love it? Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions? Questions? Let me know! Just type in the little box below and click the little button.
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