HEY JENN (⌒▽⌒)☆ so cora is lovely and here are my thoughts:
maybe josephine recruited cora? perhaps discovered her/took cora under her wing and trained her herself? I imagine josephine saw cora’s fire, recognised her bravery and smarts and thought she would train her herself. being able to play people and have connections are super helpful also.
depending on how recently cora became a hunter, it even could have been the recent vampire she faced? if not, then perhaps she ended up involved in a hunt that josephine was on, since she tends only to involve people who are already a bit involved oops
either way, josephine could have been the one to come through for her on the vampire hunt, since she was betrayed by another hunter (”we’re not all bad”) if that works for you?? i’m cool with whatever, just brainstorming ideas x)
likes her forward thinking nature, respects her Realness™
one thing tho, josephine may be concerned that cora’s ego will hinder her/her aggressiveness may get her into more trouble than it’s worth. josephine basically wants all her hunter children to be safe basically, and cora seems so much younger due to her impulsivity, where josephine is the opposite