Private Finished New Friendship & A Cherry on Top

Ah, so Levina had the same mindset as Cosette. It was sad, but it was the truth. And although Cosette didn't seem like the most decisive person she still had some pride, and she didn't want to alter her appearance just so shallow people would leave her alone.
"That is an unfortunate reality for some."
Cosette said quietly, and didn't comment further. Because even if she could make Levina act more lenient with the people involving Cosette the swan maiden wasn't going to try to change how Levina dealt with herself. Not yet.

The change of topic was a welcome one, and Cosette's smile widened when Levina asked her question.
"Well, I first started when I was 16 or 17, I baked a birthday cake for a friend. It was absolutely awful, but all my friends ate it up anyway, and it made me happy."
Cosette's smile was an obvious proof of that.
"I continued baking casually, borrowing my friends' kitchen since, well, I lived as a swan most of my time and lived in a nest."
Cosette didn't have a problem explaining her past, she just left Ulric firmly out of it.
"When I arrived on the island I lost baking as a hobby for few years, but when I picked it up again I realized it's what I truly want to do. It made me happy. And so, here I am."

"Ah, yes! I'm a swan maiden, most of us are born from eggs and receive the ability to transform into humans later on. With me it was the other way around, but I still lived most of my life as a swan who sometimes transformed into a human."
Cosette explained with a small fond smile. She appreciated both her human and swan maiden heritage, she wasn't torn between them like she had been as a teenager. This island helped, it allowed her to live as both a swan maiden and human.

"It truly is good, I'm blessed to be able to live while doing something I love."
Cosette said, and meant every word. After living in slavery and misery for years she had found a completely new appreciation for normal life and things that many took as a given. Personal freedom and options were one of those things.

"I do love games."
Cosette said with a giggle, bringing her hands together as she considered what she would say. Well, she suspected that Levina had been through a lot in her life. That much Cosette could tell, perhaps as another person who'd been through abuse. But Cosette didn't want to steer this conversation to another slippery slope, so she tried to come up with more positive guesses. No matter how much Levina tried to assure Cosette that she couldn't offend her.
"You...are you from a large city?"
Was Cosette's first guess. Levina seemed like an urban person to her, not someone from the countryside like Cosette.

Either Levina wanted to remain mysterious, or she...didn't know? How would she not know about the city she-?
Cosette stopped herself right there, because she couldn't say that without being a hypocrite. She had lived on Manta Carlos for two years, and hadn't known anything about the city outside the Strip. Not whether it was small, medium or big. And when she realized that a horrifying thought went through Cosette's head. The thought of Levina perhaps having been in a similar situation to her own, not allowed to go see the place where you lived. Cosette tried to firmly keep all damning emotions out of her expression, but she had never been really good at it, and thus some sadness leaked into her eyes.

But Cosette, in the end, couldn't know that. Could just be that Levina was teasing her. So, Cosette quickly erased the sorrow from her eyes. The smile was back at full force, and Cosette tapped her chin with a finger thoughtfully. She'd just have to make a guess up.
"Did you have a single parent?"

Several legal guardians. Cosette quietly wondered what that meant, and whether Levina's home life had been good or bad. Something in Cosette's gut said bad, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. Not unless Levina herself told Cosette about her life.
"I see, that is interesting."
Cosette said with a quiet, thoughtful voice, and this time she made sure to keep her negative emotions out of it.

"My parents? Well, I was raised by my mother, who is a swan maiden as well. My father was a human, but he wasn't in the picture. I was raised as a swan maiden."
Cosette explained, firmly not mentioning that her mother had been kidnapped by her father. Cosette was slightly afraid that Levina would ask, but she was also determined not to bring it up. Cosette didn't want to burden her new friend with her past.