This is a mature romance between Hakoda, Bato and my beautiful mystery OC. It's rated M for adult

language, violence, scenes that get a little naked, and a little bit of sex every now and then. There's a

dash of adventure in there, too. I am late-comer to the series but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I don't own

any of the characters from Avatar, the Last Airbender; they are property of Mike, Bryan, and

Nickelodeon.

Chapter 1- Engage and Suggest

"Commander?" Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe was very uncomfortable in the Fire Nation's armor. He sorely missed wearing the soft fur of the Arctic white wolf. Thoughts of icebergs and penguin sledding clouded his thoughts.

"Commander, you want a drink?" said his companion.

Bato, his best friend and second in command, nudged him. Bato and Hakoda looked nothing alike but were handsome in their own way. Bato was about 6'2 with very dark chestnut hair and "wolf" eyes. He held a good amount of lean muscle on his lanky frame. Wide shouldered with a tapered waist, Hakoda stood at 5'11 with a chiseled jawline and lighter brown hair like his daughter, Katara. He also had a goatee. They had left their fellow soldiers at an undisclosed location and ambled upon a tavern that was chock full of Fire nation soldiers enjoying themselves for the night.

"It's gonna be a live one tonight," said the barkeep with a Cheshire grin. "You soldiers have been gone on the fleet for a while, now. Bet it feels good to be back on land."

"Yes, it does," said Bato with a friendly smile, doing his best not to break the charade. "What do you recommend for me and the Commander?"

"Only the nation's finest...Fire Water!" said the barkeep proudly as he produced a porcelain jug.

The Water Tribe natives hoped to eavesdrop on drunken conversations of a possible war strategy they could possibly infiltrate. Instead, they got a rowdy commotion filled with smoke, curses, hoots and hollers. What a night. Hakoda sighed heavily. Life in the South Pole was less complicated and more endearing.

"Here you go, gentlemen!" said the barkeep setting down two very large mugs. "You'll thank me later, for sure!"

Bato handed his chief a mug of "Fire Water" a beer made from licorice, cinnamon fire flakes and fermented rice. He and his comrade clinked mugs and took a swig. The beer was very intense. So intense Bato pounded on his chest and let out a breath. Spirits! Now he understood why the Fire troops were so rambunctious.

"They party the same way that they fight," Bato commented in a low voice. "Filthy swine."

The liquor burned in Hakoda's chest. He was never that much of a drinker and began to realize why.

"You gentleman wanna see something amazing?" asked the barkeep. Hakoda and Bato looked at each other.

"More amazing than this ...Fire Water?" asked Hakoda. He so hated lying.

"And that would be?" asked Hakoda. All of a sudden the tavern was filled with the scent of ocean lily and the sound of drums mixed with cymbals.

"Follow your nose," said the barkeep pointing to the center of the tavern. "And prepare to be mesmerized."

Hakoda and Bato exchanged looks. "Why not?" said Bato. "Might be interesting."

Bato and Hakoda weaved their way thru the crowd of boisterous, obnoxious Fire Nation soldiers.

"Excuse, me hotman..Pardon me.." they acted on habitual etiquette. They finally reached the mid-center of the crowd.

"By the Spirits.." said Hakoda as his jaw fell.

On top of a table was a belly dancer wearing a thin black veil over her face ; her blue-violet eyes rimmed with kohl eyeliner were exposed. She began dancing sensually, flexing her well-defined abdomen to the rhythm of the drums, flutes and cymbals. Her generous breasts were straining against a a black bustier with golden, ornate designs. A low-waisted, double-tiered skirt with a slit on either side shimmied against her inviting hips. The mysterious dancer's long, raven hair was artfully arranged with golden hair combs, large golden hoop earrings peeked out from behind it.. Her arms and wrists that performed snake-like motions gleamed with golden bracelets.

Bato took another swig of his Fire Water and wiped sweat from his brow. He hadn't seen a woman with such daring, so unashamed of showing so much skin. Twisting and rolling her hips in ways that turned a man into a suckling baby. The women of the Southern Water Tribe always wore heavy anoraks and mukluks due to the climate. There was no telling what lied beneath; only the husbands knew.

When the unnamed dancer did a bellyroll into a backbend , she was greeted with a blizzard of golden coins. She returned to standing position she executed a handspring into a split boasting a set of well toned, bronzed legs. She put her legs together and returned to her feet showing her gratitude with very suggestive forward shimmies. More gold followed.

"Oh Agni!" screamed a soldier in the front row when she blew him a kiss from her concealed lips. He jumped high in the air in efforts to "catch" it. The dancer sat on her knees and caressed her undulating stomach suggestively. One of the straps of her bustier began to slide down her sweaty, defined shoulder. A room full of Fire Soldiers was akin to a forge.

"Spirits," spat Hakoda shaking his head. His sapphire eyes grew even wider. This woman was nowhere near him, not touching him, but she seducing him with every gyration of her body. She stood on one toe, and pulled her other leg straight up, as if to engage...then suggest. He could feel sweat trickle down his back and the bulge in his pants getting harder.

The crowd was going crazy. These men hadn't seen a woman in months and it was evident. The dancer released her leg, and put herself in a straddle hold, doing a full split while balancing on her elbows. She also added a few buttcheek isolations. A Fire Nation soldier fainted. Bato's and Hakoda's jaws dropped. It was almost obscene but nonetheless titillating.

"Her..uhhh... skin is beautiful," said Bato. "And I'm curious about the rest of her." The dancer closed her legs and stood back up again. She was handed a dragon scimitar by the friend of the fainted Fire Nation soldier. She held the sword high, pirouetted, but then she swept and blocked with it as if she had an opponent.

As the crowd roared for more, Bato and Hakoda looked at one another. Her movements were too precise to be choreographed. As if she heard their thoughts, the dancer did a forward tuck off of the table much to the crowd's delight and threw the sword behind her. She began dancing with random watchers, catering to their desires for her individual attention and receiving the gold coins as they clung against her sweat soaked skin. Hakoda studied the muscles of her arms as she wrapped them around each soldier that stood in her path, her abdomen flexed as she belly rolled in their close proximity sharing her air of sweat and ocean blossom.

She teased them with innate power of seduction that made them prisoners. Mischief and power sparkled in her violet eyes . Her skin that with the heat of mystery, ego and sexual tension, was a beautiful shade of coppery brown...much like Hakoda's daughter Katara.

Katara...when would he ever see his daughter again? Hakoda took another swig of his drink, and felt the burn in his chest once again. He needed to focus. There was no segue or semblance between an exotic belly dancer and his beloved little Princess. The cinnamon taste remained on his lips. She was not that far from his sight. The dancer noticed Hakoda licking his lips, thinking it was a signal for her, so she gracefully weaved over to him and Bato, leaving a soldier to miss a grab at the waistline of her skirt.

"Well, what have we here?" said a grinning Bato as the dancer held him by the waist and entertained the onlookers with seductive figure eights of her hips and gluteus. She gave a side glance to Hakoda.

He had unknowingly locked eyes with the dancer. She positioned herself between him and Bato so her behind would be in his crotch. She felt his "interest". Bato grinned at him. Hakoda didn't know what to do except take another swig of Fire Water. Bato's eyes gave him a silent high -five. "Dance with me?" asked Bato's eyes.

The dancer obliged and pressed close into Bato's body which was concealed by the Fire Nation armor. He smelled of heat, cinnamon and salt. She slid her hand up and down his injured arm, caressing the muscles that she could not see and traced his wrist and back of his hand with a slender finger. It was the arm that had been burned in a raid with the Fire Nation.

Bato kissed her on the forehead in thanks. She slid her hands up to his handsome face and traced his bottom lip with her thumb. Bato licked the pad of her thumb and tasted gold and salt. On her tiptoes,in his ear she whispered: "Don't resist."

While she was still dancing, Bato felt a strange sensation through his injured arm. The dancer released herself from him slowly, wanting to leave an impression in his dreams and pulled Hakoda closer against her back and ground her well- toned bottom against crotch even further, her sweat-soaked hair clinging to his armor. More coins pelted at her body. One even hit her on the clavicle and slid down into her cleavage.

Hakoda had become strangely shy at her advancements. He slowly sipped the Fire Water hoping it would relax his nerves. Only his deceased wife had this effect on him.

"Damn,"said Bato who was becoming mildly turned on at the sight of his best friend being seduced in this way.

The dancer turned around to face the handsome Hakoda. Boldly, she touched his cheek. "Dance with me," she suggested in his ear. She inhaled the cinnamon on his breath. Through her veil she kissed him on his bottom lip. Hakoda wanted to return the favor but she leaned her face back.

"What are you hiding?" his eyes asked.

Hakoda willingly took her hands and led her into a Fire Nation waltz. The dancer instinctively knew that this man was some sort of Commander or high-ranking something by leading her into such a conservative dance. Respect. He had many opportunities to grope her or engage her for other things..but he didn't.

When Hakoda pulled her back in, he locked his cobalt blue eyes with her violet ones and gave her a sexy smirk. There was a magnetism between the two of them, so strong that she didn't notice the bead of sweat that had trickled down her neck. He wiped it away slowly, making sure she felt his cooling touch. She quickly but stylishly released herself and continued to seduce the crowd.

Hakoda looked at the sweat bead on his finger. It had become hard and cold like ice.

Ice?

"Wow", said Bato as he fanned himself with his free hand."That was..exhilarating, exotic and therapeutic at the same time."

Hakoda chuckled as he glanced at his friend adjusting himself.

The dancer had returned to her home on the table. When the drums and cymbals stopped, she bowed. The manner in which she bowed was not in the way an average woman would bow. The veil was covering just more than her face. The Fire Nation soldiers, applauded and begged for more. The dancer answered by blowing the crowd a kiss. The arm movements that seemed to "push" the kiss along sent a cooling breeze.

A breeze?

Hakoda's eyes stalked her as she collected her earnings into a leather pouch. She seemed very nonchalant as if the money didn't matter. In an instant, she raised her eyes and caught him staring at her. She could still taste the cinnamon from his lips.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he heard the barkeep say. Bato finished the last of his Fire Water and set his mug down.

"And the drink as well," said Bato, handing him four gold pieces. The barkeep bowed in thanks.

"Who is she?" Hakoda asked. The bartender shrugged.

"She's a mystery; goes by 'Fox', and that's all I know," he said. "She brings money to my tavern; doesn't say much, and that's the extent of it. Not like that Jun girl who comes in here and throws my patrons around."

Hakoda chuckled and returned the mug. "Ready to go, Bato?" he asked. Bato was still staring. The dancer was stared back and gave him a parting hip shimmy.

Hakoda shook his head, "Let's go home, my friend."

Before I explode.

The nighttime air was cool and much needed. The sky had turned midnight blue after an orange and pink sunset with diamond-studded stars.

Hakoda and Bato had stripped themselves of the heavy Fire Nation armor and dove into the cooling waters of the river nearby their camp.

"Should we tell the men of our little adventure?" asked Bato as he began scrubbing with soap made from whale blubber and pumice. He also rubbed his hands together and ran the lather through his hair.

Hakoda laughed. "That would be mean , don't you think?" Bato chuckled before he submerged.

Hakoda ran his fingers thru his wet hair, feeling the grime of the sweat and oil that had built up during the day. Using soap made from yaupon tea, he lathered his hair. Bato emerged from the river, soap suds streamed down his musculature.

"Didn't realize just how hot it gets underneath that armor," said Bato as he wrenched the water from his long, dark hair. "Maybe that's why they act so ornery."

"Is your buzz wearing off, Bato?" asked Hakoda with his hands full of lather. It was very rare that Water Tribe men had access to alcohol. Bato chuckled.

''I think that mysterious dancer enhanced it. I have never seen a build like that on an average woman."

Hakoda held his breath then submerged. When he returned to the surface, the soap had rinsed away clean. He pushed his hair out of his face.

"Did you notice the way she handled that sword?" he asked as he scratched his elbow. '"Like she was a warrior or something."

Bato shrugged and splashed water on his face. "Maybe she's had some sort of training?" He took a glance at his "trophy" arm.

"I was too into the moment..she was just so...I didn't know what to think after my arm got burned. I felt like no woman would ever look at me again," said Bato. "Yes, I'm a warrior, but I'm a man first."

"How did it feel, Bato? To have her dance with you so closely. To have her eyes on you for that moment?"

Bato rubbed his neck. "I felt like a king."

Hakoda sighed. "I never thought I'd look at another woman again after I lost Kya," he confessed. "I try to put my energy into this invasion plan. You know we've been trained that we're warriors first, but it's like you said, we are men first."

"And so many women were taken from our tribe, Hakoda. The Fire Nation has stalled our future generations."

"And that's why we must win this war," said Hakoda.