The Fire Ferrets' next slot for team training was the very next morning. With only two teams left in the running, and the final coming up at the end of the week, nobody else was training, leaving most of the gym timeslots pretty much empty. The Fire Ferrets trained from eight to noon, honing their abilities and trying out their plays, and by the time they had to give up the gym, they were exhausted and sweaty, and looking forward to doing other things.

The probending arena had a changing room for men, and a changing room for women. Sometimes, Korra had to share the women's room with other female probenders, but for the most part, she had it to herself – especially now, since she was the only female probender left in the finals. It was peaceful to have the large space to herself.

Having a hot shower was exactly the answer for her tight muscles, and the water seemed to unwind each part of her as it crossed her skin. She'd first been hesitant to shower at the arena, but after her training had intensified, she honestly couldn't have left the building smelling the way she did. Now, she was glad she was happy to shower here – the showers were much better here than at Air Temple Island. Hotter, with better pressure.

Finally, she turned off the water and stepped carefully on the tile floor, over the lip of the shower cell and into the main changing area. She wiped her wet hands at her eyes, then pushed back her sopping hair and shook her head quickly, shaking off water droplets all over the room. She grabbed her towel from the bench in the middle of the room and went over to her locker.

There was a full-length mirror bolted on the other side of the changing room, and Korra managed to catch her own reflection in it. She was a pleasing shape, she decided with a smile – curves where they counted, killer guns, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't proud of having bigger breasts than Mako's new girlfriend. She held up and arm and flexed her biceps in the mirror, then grinned.

She took hold of her soft white towel and bent over, drying her hair roughly and quickly, shaking her head into the towel, before flicking upright again and setting about drying off her body, wiping moisture off her thighs and arms first, then putting her feet up on the bench to dry her calves and toes. When she was satisfied, she hung the towel around her neck, ends dangling down over her chest as she pulled on her underwear and trousers.

She was tucking her wet hair behind her ears and untangling her complicated new bra from her pelt laces inside her locker when she was rudely interrupted.

"My, my," a familiarly greasy voice echoed in the changing room, "Breaking news, this just in; the uh-vatar has a great rack. Who'd have guessed?" it teased in a long, drawling voice.

Korra spun around, eyes wide and her cheeks hot, to see Tahno, of the Wolf Bats, striding confidently into the women's changing room. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, and saw the vague shapes of her breasts clearly visible beneath the towel hanging from her neck. Thankfully, her nipples were at least covered – she had some dignity left. She scowled hard at Tahno.

"So you really are a girl," she put her hands on her exposed hips and smirked at him, "I did call it."

Tahno chuckled his smarmy chuckle and ambled toward her. "You are too funny," he cooed, and Korra wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic, but then he gave this strange huffing noise in his throat, and Korra thought he was about to keel over. He smacked his lips, "What are you even doing with the Fire Ferrets, hm? They're losers, but you … no, you and me, we're winners," he narrowed his eyes at her, his lips pursed.

Korra arched her brow at him and then scoffed, "You're so full of yourself. I'm here to play the game, just like everyone else – and you know what?" she frowned at him, "The Fire Ferrets deserve to win this thing." Tahno's expression didn't change. She pressed her lips into a thin line, "They've probably worked harder than you'll ever work in your life."

Tahno tutted, tongue tapping his teeth irritatingly. "You're so noble. I love it," he hissed between his lips, coming closer, "But that'll never happen, you know. You and your little rat friends winning, that is. It doesn't take skill to win. It takes money," he leaned against one of the lockers and seemed to shiver with delight.

Korra stared at him for a moment, then felt her mouth dropping open. "You," she furrowed her brow, "You've been paying off the ref. That's how you keep winning," she realized aloud.

Tahno tilted his head at her. "Mm, it's so naughty, isn't it?" he twittered, eyes fluttering as he tossed his hair, "Don't you want to spank me?" he taunted.

Korra growled and lunged at him. "You snake!" she accused, as he stepped back and away, "I should kick your teeth in! I should report you to the league!"

Tahno laughed out loud. "Oh, you don't want to do that," he chided.

"Oh, I really do," Korra answered, furious.

"No," Tahno raised a lone finger and waved it at her, "You want your friends to get what they deserve. You want them to win. You want them to not wallow in their own tepid poverty," he looked distasteful, then examined his nails. He met her eyes squarely. "You know, I could make that happen."

Korra stood straight, letting her attack stance fall away. She squinted at him, then slowly replied, "What are you talking about?"

Tahno strutted toward her again, confident in her curiosity. "I'm rich. I don't really need to win this year," he got between Korra and her locker, eyes falling from her face to her bare shoulder, to exposed side of her breast, to the curve of her waist, and then the spot where her hip disappeared beneath her trousers. "I don't even want to win this year."

Korra pulled a face, "So why did you even play?" she stood still, not looking where he stood behind her.

Tahno's voice was suddenly right by her ear, cooing distastefully. "I'm here to play the game, just like everyone else," he teased.

Korra grunted, annoyed. "I'm serious," she warned.

His breath tickled her damp cheek as he chuckled, and she turned her head away from it. "I played to get here. Under your skin," he replied, his voice like the hiss of a snake.

"You played a whole season just to creep on me in the shower room?" Korra crossed her arms over her bare chest, evidently unimpressed, even as her cheeks continued to burn, "You know that's pathetic, right?"

Tahno shrugged, his casual clothes rustling as he did so. "I had a little bit more in mind," he gave a single breath that sounded like a half-laugh. "But, if you want to see your friends go back to working two jobs each, that's okay. Championship pot is a big prize – maybe I'll buy a new satomobile," his voice was distant again, and Korra looked around to see him wandering away from her.

"Wait," she said quickly, and he stopped to glance back. She pulled her brows together and idly scratched her own elbow as she watched him. "What do you want?" she asked firmly, lowering her voice.

Tahno's mouth twisted into a grinning curve, and he sauntered back into her personal space – this time, right up in her face. There were only inches between them, and he didn't seem to look like he was going to rectify that. "Go out with me," the words slid from his tongue like they were greased up already.

Korra's eyes widened, and she looked up to meet his eyes without lifting her face at all. "Are you serious? That's it?" she asked, kind of surprised.

Tahno gave a low, dirty kind of grunt in his throat, and Korra crossed her arms tighter over herself. "With a few conditions," he hummed.

Cool, moist palms suddenly landed on her exposed hips, and she jumped back, right into her locker, but she forced herself not to let her disgust show on her face. "Wh-what kind of conditions?" she countered, clearing her throat after hearing herself stuttering.

Tahno's brows jumped suggestively, and he spoke again, in his eternally depraved drawl. "Why don't we talk about that later, hmm?" he purred, raising his hand again, slowly, between them, only inches from her bare chest, and at any moment, Korra thought he mind try to fondle her, "I'll have to buy you a pretty dress, Uh-vatar," he went on, and finally, his fingertip touched the underneath of her chin, and she swallowed nervously as he tipped it upward. His face suddenly angled downward, and without ever stopping looking lustful, he suddenly looked dangerous, "You can wear it tonight, when I take you to Quong's."

Korra blinked at him, then frowned harshly, before blurting out, "We can't do that. We can't be seen together, you know that," she raised a hand and removed his fingertip from her chin. "People will talk. Our teams are about to fight in the final – I would never date another competitor, everyone knows that's the first rule of probending."

Tahno's expression went smug again. He stepped back and then turned toward the exit of the shower room.

Korra felt her heart jump in panic. "Hey, wait!" she called.

Tahno chuckled dryly. "I'll have a dress sent to Air Temple Island for you," he looked over his shoulder, his face slathered in smarmy victory, eyes still roving over her semi-exposed body, "be at Quong's at eight o' clock, uh-vatar, or your little friends can kiss the Championship pot goodbye."


A/N: Okay, so now the plot's a little bit underway. Trigger warning - this story is filled with DUB-CON. If this upsets you, I urge you not to read any more. The last thing I want is to trigger someone.

Just a note, Tahno wants much more than just a date, if you catch my meaning. I'm trying really hard to keep Korra in character without compromising this admittedly self-gratifying plot.

So, drop a review and tell me what you think. Mako is in the next chapter, and I don't want to hold it hostage, but I'd really like to see some reviews on this chapter before I post it. Thanks so much to Saveg1 and Agent Washimgtub, who reviewed the first chapter.