Yakpa's wife Ohoyo was a tiny terror, a sweetly nurturing, pushy tiny terror.

Sookie had been with the Choctaw for a week, and during that time Ohoyo had kept her wounds salved, stomach full, and hands busy.

Not that Sookie minded the actual tasks; she'd never been one to stay idle long. What chafed was Ohoyo's matriarchal bossiness; it stirred something in Sookie vaguely akin to adolescent resentment.

"No! No! You do it wrong! Like this." Ohoyo was showing her how to weave mats from reeds they'd collected earlier in the day.

Biting back an acrid response and readjusting the strips to match Ohoyo's, Sookie asked, "Is this better?"

Ohoyo's sharp eyes scanned Sookie's work even as her fingers continued rapidly weaving her own mat. "Is okay."

Gee thanks.

Knowing she was close to losing it, she rose to her feet.

"Where you going?"

"I'll be back," she said over her shoulder as she quickly walked away from the protesting older woman.

They'd been sitting in front of Yakpa's and Ohoyo's hut, weaving in the bright afternoon sunlight. Other people, mostly women and the elderly were engaged in similar tasks. Children ran throughout the village, shrieking and laughing. Yakpa and Kannakli and many other men were out hunting in the forest.

She received a few looks crossing the village, but no one tried to detain her. Two nights ago she'd discovered that most of the villagers thought Yakpa meant to take her as a second wife. Torn between amusement and horror, she'd questioned Yakpa about it. With a wily grin he assured her that was not his intentions, and he'd mentally broadcast an image so strongly Sookie couldn't help but pick it up. He was imagining Ohoyo cutting off his manly bits and boiling them in a stew. Laughing in relief, she accepted people would always make assumptions. And for now it kept them from questioning her presence.

Sookie headed back to the river where they'd gathered reeds earlier in the day. She'd spotted some Muscadine vines heavy with berries in a clearing by the water's edge. Sighing wistfully at the thought of cool Muscadine wine served out of a chilled mason jar, she'd just have to settle for the grapes themselves.

Arriving at the river, she was relieved to discover the area deserted.

And the water looked divine. It was hot and muggy for October, and Sookie felt sticky and gritty. She smelled like animal fat and sweat, as best she could tell, and a solid layer of gray grime was stuck under her fingernails.

It hadn't been her initial game plan, but she decided on a quick swim. She reached out with her telepathy to scan her surroundings, wanting to make sure she was really alone.

Assured that her only company was the blackbirds up in the trees, squawking and kickin' up a fuss at each other, she stripped the smock-like dress Ohoyo had provided along with her panties.

The poor things had seen better days. Leaving the dress on the bank, she carried her undies with her a few feet into the water, dunked them, and scrubbed them between her two hands to clean them as best she could. Satisfied, she tossed them back on the grassy bank by the dress to dry in the sun.

She walked farther out into the water and felt the sandy bottom drop out from under her. Swimming now, the current was gentle. She dunked fully under the water and scrubbed the greasy feeling from her hair. The villagers bathed here, but she hadn't yet worked up the gumption to join them. It just wasn't in her right now, to strip in front of folks. But that modesty might bleed away, she allowed, if she was stuck here for a long time. Many women walked around bare breasted, others in smocks like she wore. How long would it take for her to be nonchalant about nudity?

Dating Bill hadn't done the trick, nor her short time with Eric. And both vamps, maybe vampires in general, were beyond such matters. Hell, she still colored up seeing shifters return to their human forms.

Dismissing her thoughts, she reveled in the cool water beneath her. A breeze kicked up, and the rush of air caused her nipples to bead. Reaching with one hand, she cupped her own breast and lightly ran two fingers across the tip. It hardened further and heat pooled low in her belly. For a moment she surrendered to the burning, and pinched the delicate pink nub between her thumb and index finger, squeezing and rolling gently.

With a cry of frustration, she rolled over in the water and paddled back to shore.

Great Sook, just great. So what that you've time traveled 180 years into the past. Your biggest problem is you're a horndog.

Reaching the bank, she wriggled into her still damp panties, grimacing at their clammy feel on her skin.

She was just bending over to pick up her dress when something reflective and silver whizzed by her head.

With a startled cry she looked behind her and saw a hatchet imbedded in the soft bank, the blade between a water moccasins head and its five foot body. Blank reptilian eyes stared at her as its tongue shot out one final time before lying still.

Shooting her head around, Blue Eyes stood less than an arm's length away.

Concern was written on his features, but also something else.

"Where the fuck did you come from?" Knowing she should be grateful, but was beyond it because at that moment she feared him more than the serpent.

He was still a blank to her, not a blip on the radar. At least vamps felt like something, a void, but she at least knew they were there. What the fuck was he?

"I came out here for the same reason you did. To get away from everyone. To wash up. As to what I am, that's a much longer explanation."

Unsurprised that he could read her thoughts, she stood up straighter in a battle stance, and lifted her now glowing palms higher, prepared to fight.

She'd only met him the one time, her first morning in the village. He'd left the same day to translate between the Whites and another village. She'd dismissed him from her thoughts.

She should have been more wary.

Seeing her hands, he smiled. It caused anger to crackle through her, and her palms flared red before returning to their soft white light.

His eyes dropped from her face and scanned her bare breasts, and then slowly moved to her stomach and legs. He even studied her feet for a moment before returning his gaze to hers.

He lost the smile somewhere during his perusal, and though Sookie held his eyes which betrayed nothing, she could see from her peripheral vision he was affected, er, really affected. Those breeches were flat-out indecent, really.

And the guy had just saved her life.

Going from furious to mortified in half a second, she acted. "Okay, you know what, I think we're off to a bad start. If you don't mean to blow me up or kill me or whatever, let's try this again." She said it as she reached down for her dress, and quickly dropped it over her head and covered her body. She tried to disregard her own flaming face.

"My name is Sookie Stackhouse. I'm part Fey, though I guess you already know that, and I'm lost. Really, really lost."

This time his grin lacked a mocking edge, and he replied, "To the Whites my name is Ethan McDowell, to the Choctaw my name is Talako. I'm part Fey as well, through my father's side. He taught me well before he died, about blocking thoughts and reading other Fey. Have you never had a teacher?"

Feeling strangely abashed, she replied, "Well, no, not really. I only just discovered I was part fairy recently. Growing up, there was no one to really talk about it with. I just tried to keep folks from knowing I was different."

Giving a nod, he said, "I can help you, if you want. Teach you what my father shared."

Sookie was overwhelmed at the generous offer so easily given. Where was he a decade ago?

"I'd like that very much."

"We can start training tomorrow." Then he gestured to the snake. "More will start to come out now, to lie out in the sun before it gets dark. Even more come out at night, to hunt."

He didn't need to tell her twice.

"Okay, I was gonna get back anyway. But I better not come back empty handed, I was going to bring Ohoyo some berries.

They walked to the Muscadine vines, and Sookie used the bottom part of her dress as a satchel to collect the fruit. Talako helped her…he just didn't seem like an Ethan to her.

"Just watch where you step walking back. I'm going to stay here and bathe." He smiled at her, and his white teeth were even and straight, a nice contrast to his dark skin.

"You know, I try not to stay out of people's minds as much as I can. Figure it's rude, kinda like trespassing in somebody's home."

"I'll try not to read your thoughts, Sookie. But you're very loud."

Aghast to realize that she was a broadcaster, after years of being annoyed by them, she could only wonder that the world was a funny place.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that. And I appreciate you offerin' to teach me."

Loaded down with berries, she turned away from him and headed towards the trail back to the village.

When she was many yards away, he called out to her, "You're a very graceful swimmer!"

Sookie Stackhouse closed her eyes, embarrassment and something else shooting through her, but continued on her way.

A/N~ Per merriamwebster online, the first known use of "okay" wasn't until 1839. Please forgive this and all other historical butcherings ;o)