of old wine and new friends [tavo&josefa]

j o s e f a    b a s d e o

As she always does, Josefa rides horseback into town. Quicker than usual, though, she leans into her horse as they dash towards town through the calm pastures of District 10. Normally she would take her horse, Aploma, by the reigns and enjoy the stroll, feel the delicate breeze on her skin on a perpetual warm day, but time seemed to be stretched thin this entire day. She had been up since the crack of dawn running chores around her small home, gone to the world until she found the old letter from her polola sitting in her windowsill. 

Shit! How did she forget their date? 

Josefa hated to be unprepared, and she found herself incredibly so with only a day now to get all her boxes checked. Mia and herself were still getting to know each other, a bit so that it made Jo nervous on how to impress her. All she knew was that she had to, one way or another, so she threw on a jacket and some boots and made her way into town while everything was still open. Her satchel thumps against her hip for the entire ten minute ride, filled with so much that it hardly zipped closed to begin with.

She leaves her horse at the front of the butcher's shop, tying its reigns to a nearby post. Her silent prayers of don't be closed, don't be closed, don't be closed, answered by the piercing sound of the doorbell ringing with the open door. Phew. "Epala Josefa! Long time no see," calls out Octavio, and the familiar face alone brings a smile to her own. She fidgets with her bag as her favorite shop attendant jests, "I would never leave you guys - seriously, there's no better prices anywhere else."

Tavo was great, they only really knew each other from the butcher shop but he always got a few smiles out of her. She looks him in the eyes as she speaks, "I've got this date tomorrow night," she says with a sly grin, "but, honestly, I don't have a clue what to do for it. I think I'm going to get her a gift, but I have to cook something-" she takes a second to think over the options floating around her mind. "So, I guess give me the fattest chicken you've got!"

j o s e f a    b a s d e o

"Oooh, I see, that's why you look so nervous. La nine tiene javo... O jeva."

"¡No juegues conmigo!" She plays defensive, but the smile on her face says otherwise. "I'm not that nervous," Josefa herself barely believes what she's saying, but truth be told, she's never really been good at dating. It's always when she has to be charming that she can never manage, so nervous she was indeed. The whole ordeal gave her goosebumps, but Mia seemed to check all her boxes so she allowed herself to want this. "But yes, jeva," she crosses her arms as she says it. Josefa's always sought out women, even when she was 13 sharing secret kisses with the other girls in the novitiate. 

Being so open about it was new to her; she still found herself hesitant to let herself talk about it. A secret she thought she'd never get the chance to live out, things are much different with the Church of Todd behind her now. 

"Fat chicken coming up!"

"Yesss!" Perfect, Tavo saving the day once again. 

"Ya want it whole or chopped up?" 

"Hmm, chopped up. I think I'm going to do a sticky chicken, it can't be that hard," right? She's only been cooking for a year now so there's a vague uncertainty that comes with most attempts. Josefa is busy digging the cash out of her wallet as she overhears Tavo talk about being the king of romance, and she tries not to laugh too loud. "Huh, I don't think I ever heard that!" Slipping out just as her money does, Josefa slaps the twenty on the counter. 

"You know, you would actually be a huge help," she says genuinely, "I usually make something but-" oh, don't tell him you forgot now. That's just something you keep to yourself, "uhh, I wanted to buy something instead. Though, I've got no idea what."