Chapter Text
Catra wiped her hands with a satisfied grin and a pleased flick of her tail. She stood back to admire her set-up, hands tucked into the pockets of her overall shorts; a crisp, white tent covered two pens of young buff Orpington chicks, one of baby turkeys, and a single, sweet silkie rooster Catra was hoping to find a good home as someone’s pet. Next to the assortment of fowl was a table of her own artwork and a cooler full of eggs for sale. A dozen jars of raw honey from her own hives completed the scene, spread out on the table and glistening like liquid amber in the rising sunlight.
It was the first monthly chicken swap and farmer’s market of the season and a beautiful spring day at that. She pulled her hair back in a pony tail and brushed the straggling strands behind her large, expressive ears. Catra was excited to try and walk away a success after her first full year of owning her own small farm, Halfmoon Acres. At 32 years old, she was happy to say she was officially a cottagecore lesbian now.
When she had first been taken in by the last of a string of foster homes, the country life had been a bit of a shock. She had moved in with Razz when she was 15. Catra couldn’t remember her birth family and had been quickly dumped into the foster system. She spent years moving from house to house, removed because of her “behaviors” and dropped off at yet another place; 10 homes in just 12 months was not unusual after she started middle school. Magicats were active children and most foster parents were used to human kids and were overwhelmed by her and her anger at what life had thrown her. If she was lucky, the home was indifferent, but sometimes she lived through horrors. Finally after one family locked her in her room after punching a hole in the wall, her social worker came and took her away for the final time. She had been lucky, Razz had been taking in foster kids for a number of years before Catra came to stay with her, and the wonderful older woman knew just how to help traumatised kids who needed her. Catra’s social worker promised her that she was going to love it there.
Catra had come with a black garbage sack of clothes, a pile of anger, and not much else. She had never been outside of the city and the quiet unnerved her. Razz swept her up, stuffed her full of pie, and made the magicat feel special for the first time in her life. She followed the older woman and her full time farm helper Huntara, until she knew how to do everything on the farm herself. She took to country life like a duck to water. The simple act of hard labor that resulted in rewarding results helped tame her anger and calm her spirit. That combined with therapy helped the magicat become the person she was today. Catra had gone away to university so she would have the skills to make a living, but she was home and running her own minifarm after a few years in the city earning the higher salary she had needed to get started. Razz teased her for not bringing home someone with her, but Catra just never found anyone beyond a short affair here and there. Maybe she would find love and maybe she wouldn’t, but either way, her little farm was a success and she was excited to see how today would go.
An hour in and she had sold half of the fowl, all of the eggs, and she was down to just 3 pints of honey. She even sold a painting. She was quite pleased really. To keep from pacing, excited by her success, Catra absently let the silkie rooster in her lap. Didn’t hurt to also show off what a good pet bird he was. Her tail still flicked rapidly as the crowds ebbed and flowed around her tent. She was never a huge fan of being surrounded by strangers, but she kept the smile on her face and her ears pricked forward. She allowed children to pet her soft, happy chicken and encouraged people to ask questions and take cards if they wanted eggs next week. The crowd faded back a minute and she took a deep breath, only to hear loud giggling and an excited squeal from a new small group approaching her spot.
There was a squeal of delight as a short, pink haired blur of a woman dashed from place to place. Catra couldn’t help but admire her delightful curves. She was dragging a tall muscular, dark skinned man around with her to examine the baby chickens and from their matching pink and purple blouses, Catra got the hint to appreciate from a distance. Clearly a couple.
The man cooed at the chicks and they both crouched down to baby talk at the birds. Catra shook her head. City slickers for sure. “Try not to scare the babies there Sparkles.” She quipped to the strangers. They ignored her completely, too caught up in the cuteness to pay her any mind.
The last person in the trio walked over to the art and began to flip through the stack of watercolors. Catra turned away from the murmuring chick admirers to the most beautiful person she had ever laid her eyes on. She was tall, with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail with a stupid poof in the front holding back her bangs, and stormy light grey eyes that twinkled as she gazed at the art. Catra forgot to breathe for a moment and completely missed the question that was thrown at her.
“I’m sorry?” She said with a head shake.
The blonde smiled softly. “I asked if this was your work. It’s very beautiful.”
“Oh, yes, uh thanks. Yeah, they’re mine.” Catra stumbled through the reply, pink cropping up between the dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose. The other woman nodded appreciably and continued to review the prints. Even though she hadn’t asked, Catra still found herself explaining. “I raised the birds and the honey is from my hives as well. My card. If you want.” She awkwardly gestured towards the small stack of business cards showing the address and phone number of the modest farm she called home. Catra never imagined doing tours, but she could be persuaded if the right people showed interest… “It’s not far from here.”
“What isn’t?” The woman replied absently, eyes flicking across the pastel colors, examining them thoughtfully.
“My farm.” Catra could kick herself. Of course this person didn’t care that much; she was browsing. Catra should be going in for the sale, not trying to fumble her way through unwanted small talk.
“Oh, yes! Of course.” Steel blue eyes pulled away from the art, kind and now focused on the creator. They lit up when the woman registered the soft, white rooster clucking in Catra’s lap. Without hesitation, she took a step forward and crouched down to the bird’s level for a better look. “May I pet your chicken?”
Catra coughed, forcing her lungs to resume spreading oxygen through her system. But the blonde… on her knees… Right in front of her… This woman could pet her chicken any day.
Catra shook off the intrusive, lewd thoughts and got a hold of her gay self. “Of course. His name is Kyle. He’s too sweet for my flock and the other chickens harass him. I’m hoping he finds a home as a pet. He’d do well with only a friend or two.” Catra held out her hand to guide the blonde on the best way to pet the soft fluffy white feathers. Satisfied at how quickly the woman picked up the motion, Catra reluctantly removed her hand. She’d never been jealous of a chicken before, but there was a first time for everything…
“Oh,” whispered the grey eyed woman, full of wonder. “He’s so soft.” She continued to pet the bird, giggling softly as the downy feathers trickled in between her fingers. “It’s nice to meet you Kyle, my name is Adora.”
Kyle clucked and closed his eyes in avian contentment. Catra smiled at the sight of Adora, fully engaged with the fluffy rooster. Her bird was happy, her potential customer was happy, and Catra was happy at the opportunity to really look at this beautiful woman. Adora clearly worked out or played sports, given how tight her short sleeved button down fit across her biceps, not to mention how her thighs bulged as she knelt on the ground to coo at Kyle some more. Catra didn’t usually go for sports, but she would not mind watching whatever this woman clearly played.
With a burst of laughter and flurry of movement that caused Kyle to squawk, Adora’s two companions sashayed their way over and grabbed Adora by the arm. “Come on!” They demanded. “We have to go meet Aunt Casta for brunch and we’re gonna be late.” Adora finally looked up into Catra’s face and her eyes widened in surprise. She blinked slowly, her cheeks growing pink, as she broke into a wide smile and started to get up without reaching down to touch the ground. Catra could only imagine what her abs must look like if she had the core strength to do that so fluidly.
“Thank you for letting me pet your Kyle, ummm…?” She faded off and cocked her head to the side, waiting for an answer to her implied question.
“Catra. My name is Catra.” She threw her best beaming grin, complete with a flash of fang.
“Catra.” The name fell off the woman’s lips, sweeter than all the honey in Catra’s hives. Had Kyle not clucked impatiently, demanding comfort after the small uproar, Catra might have melted off her chair at those two remarkable syllables coming from Adora’s mouth. “Thank you again.”
And with that, Adora and her loud companions flew off and left Catra sitting back with a long deep sigh. Just her luck, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in this one horse town, and she didn’t even give her her number. Cottagecore lesbian? How about useless lesbian… She was going to be single forever.
Catra put Kyle back into his pen and stood to stretch. She paced for a moment, before moving to tidy up her booth. She could beat herself up later when there wasn’t a chance of scaring off customers. Maybe she needed to put up a sign advertising herself too. A nice big poster right next to her eggs prices; ‘Single woman. Looking for a cottegecore wife, has land and baby goats. Will mow the grass and catch all house spiders.’ Catra laughed at herself and her own dumb thoughts, ignoring the trace of disappointment left in their wake. Well… Adora could always come back next month, right?
The magicat sighed and sat back down.
An hour or so passed without much excitement. Then one of Catra’s old frenemies from high school approached with a large handsome fellow at her side. She perked up and waved a greeting. “Lonnie.”
“Back in town for good, eh, Cat?” The short woman ignored her wave, though her smile wasn’t unkind. “Perfuma mentioned it. She also said I could come see you about a rooster.”
Catra lifted her eyebrows in surprise. Why in the world would Lonnie want a chicken… And wow, ‘Fuma, way to spread Catra’s business. She shook off her mild irritation, sure her willowy neighbor meant no real harm. “What kind of rooster?”
“Rogelio and I have a little spot out near the state park and we have a trio of silkie hens. I stopped by her booth, hoping to find leads on a rooster, and Perfuma said you were the one to see.” Lonnie put her hands on her hips. “They’re our pets and the best of ‘em, so I don’t want some nasty thing you’re just trying to dump. I trust ‘Fuma, but don’t stick with me with some bird that will claw up my legs, okay?”
Even in spite of the unnecessary sass, Catra lit up. This was the perfect set up for Kyle and was exactly what she had been hoping for. “Calm down, already. I don’t “dump” my birds on anyone. But yeah, you’re in luck.”
She introduced the couple to the tiny rooster and watched them melt as they took turns holding him and petting his fluffy feathers. For his own part, Kyle cooed like a dove and snuggled down into their arms. Minutes later, they two left with their new pet and Catra was satisfied that it was a good match for everybody. Those three deserved each other.
The swap was just about over and it was about time to wrap things up for the day when Perfuma herself strolled over with a basket under one arm. She was loaded down with the homemade breads and baked goods that she sold at her table. “Good Afternoon, Catra. How were sales today?” She glanced at the nearly empty pens and small number of honey jars left on the table. “Looks like you have done really well! I’m so happy for you. Anything interesting happen this morning?” A willowy arm reached over and snatched up the last of the honey jars. She placed her basket down and motioned to Catra to dig in.
Catra eagerly plucked out some bread and pastries as part of the deal they had agreed to over the phone last week. Catra loved to cook, but she wasn’t much of a baker. She stuffed half a danish into her mouth and hummed in happiness at the taste. “Yeah.” She swallowed her bite down and replied. “Met some nice local folks and a few ‘petting zoo’ visitors who were clearly from out of town. No way they had ever seen a live chicken before in their life.” Catra chuckled at the excitable city slickers, pit of her stomach glowing at the memory of a certain one.
“Oh?” Perfuma batted her eyes down at Catra. “Anyone in particular stick out?”
Catra looked back, instantly suspicious. “Why?”
“Oh, no reason, really.” Perfuma said breezily as picked up an extra danish and took a bite herself. She chewed thoughtfully, Catra’s jaw clenching tighter with every passing second. Perfuma was enjoying this, Catra just knew it.
The magicat kept a hold of herself and Perfuma finally put her out of her misery. “It’s just that I invited some of my old college friends to come visit today and I know they were walking around. I wondered if perhaps amongst the crowds…someone stuck out to you.” Her lips twitched into a smile. Yeah. Definitely enjoying herself too much here. “They came back to say goodbye before heading off into town to meet someone and my one friend might have mentioned something.”
Catra coughed, the danish now stuck in her suddenly dry throat. Her tone was guarded as the friends continued to dance around one another. Catra pretended to think for a moment. “ Well...there were these two idiots in matching purple clownsuits that were dying over the baby chicks.”
Perfuma giggled. “That sounds like Gimmer and Bow. And was anyone else with them?”
Catra sighed at the fluttering eyelashes and coy smile. “Just say it, hippie girl. Yes, there was a blonde goddess with them. She introduced herself to my chicken.” Catra’s face burned with heat and her tail lashed behind her in agitation. Finally she mumbled, “Adora.”
Perfuma gave a satisfied smirk and reached over to place a hand over Catra’s own. “That’s the one. She was very excited to meet you. I think she was nervous about asking if I knew you.”
“So is she umm… I mean, you know….” Was Adora single? Gay? Catra’s thoughts raced with questions she didn’t want to speak out loud. She looked down and to the side quickly, ears pinning back with nerves.
“Scorpia and I are hosting a cookout tonight.” Perfuma said, ignoring the fumbling question. “Just a few friends will be over, very casual. Why don't you join us? Around 6?” Perfuma didn’t wait for an answer. She gathered her things and walked away with a friendly wave. “See you there.”
Catra stood perfectly still and watched her go, her mind already whirling with questions about what she was going to wear tonight. Maybe she wouldn’t need that sign on her booth after all.