Spiders and Smoothies

Cosette got lost.
These parts were so foreign to her, the parts that weren't within a mile from the Strip. Well, Cosette also knew the way to the library, but that wasn't so far from the Strip either.
Cosette arrived a bit late to her destination, holding her phone and the map app in it almost religiously. It had been the only thing keeping her from wandering to the opposite edge of the island. Cosette might've been a swan and as a bord she knew true North but as a human she was hopeless.

Cosette saw the person she was meeting, Aranea, already sitting right by the window in the coffee shop. Though the woman didn't have the lower body of a spider this time Cosette recognized her instantly. She was hard to miss.
Cosette was excited for this, Aranea was one of the the first friends she had made after getting free from Ulric. Or was it too early to call Aranea a friend? Acquaintance was probably more accurate. Cosette didn't want to get too excited and then crash later if they didn't get along and wouldn't be friends.

Cosette waved back at Aranea and hurried inside, her cheeks a bit red from the cold and speedwalking around, trying to find this place.
"It's nice to see you again as well. I'm so sorry for being late, I, um, got a bit lost."
Cosette said a bit bashfully, and let out a small laugh. She sat down, and looked aroud the cafe. It was the first time she had ever been to a cafe like this.
"It seems wonderful. I have never had a smoothie before. Um, are they vegan? I can't really stomach animal based products..."

The waiter was very kind to point out the vegan options for Cosette, and she chuckled as the man chatted with them a bit about his boss. In the end Cosette ended up ordering a blueberry-mango smoothie, as it was recommended by the nice waiter. Cosette loved blueberry, but she had never tasted mango, so she was excited to taste it, but a bit scared that she might not like it. It would be very rude for Aranea if she refused to drink it. Well, Cosette could always force herself to finish the smoothie.

Once Aranea began talking about herself Cosette gave the woman her full attention, and leaned forward a bit. Cosette was a good listener, and she looked like she was concentrating on every word Aranea said, not breaking eye contact and having a small smile through the whole story.
"That sounds wonderful, to be able to do what you have admired for so long. I'm envious."
Cosette said with a gentle tone and smiled. Cosette was genuinely a bit envious, Aranea was able to see so many places and be free and do what she loved. Cosette had never had the chance, she had never found what she wanted to do. And now she simply wanted to save enough money to go home and tell her family she was alive.
Cosette was slightly curious, what kind of situation Aranea had been saved from as a small child, but she didn't ask. If it had been difficult it could've left a painful scar.
"This is a wonderful place to live, I'm sure. Although my word might not be that heavy, I've only been here for a short while."

Cosette did think she should probably share something from herself. She was free to do so now. But...she better leave out the part of her having been held captive for two years.
"I'm from France, I lived in the Nesting ground with my mother and flock since I was a small cygnet. Ah, Nesting ground is the home of the swan maidens. And I was, um, always drawn to the human world, perhaps because I am half human. I spent a lot of time there, but I didn't have a grounded existence in there, so I couldn't go to school, or stay for long periods. But one day, quite recently, I heard of this place, and the opportunities it offered. I wanted something more, so...here I am."
Cosette ended her story with a chuckle and a shrug. The last part was vague on purpose, Cosette didn't want to start telling extravagant lies. Just telling that small lie made Cosette feel guilty.

Aranea's words were comforting, and touched Cosette's heart. She directed a small shy, but grateful, smile at Aranea and pulled her own smoothie closer. Cosette hesitated to taste her own drink, still scared she wouldn't like it and would hurt Aranea's feelings.
"I must admit this place can be...overwhelming. But I can see it's a happy place, and I think I can find what I want to do here."
Cosette said, slightly unsurely, but she wanted to believe in those words. After saying those words Cosette finally went ahead and tasted the smoothie, and her face lit up in a surprised and happy smile. It was delicious, and Cosette smiled at Aranea excitedly.
"This is very good. Amazing. Oh, I could never get tired of this taste."

"Oh, do not worry, Swan maidens are not that well-known. In fact I haven't met any members of my kind here."
That fact was slightly depressing, even concerning for Cosette. She couldn't have been the only Swan maiden to ever leave the Nesting ground, right? Her mother had left, although unwillingly. And Cosette herself had been forced too...
Cosette was starting to see a pattern, and it worried her.
"But you must forgive me as well, I, uh, don't know much about my kind either. All I know is that we live in the Nesting ground, always have. And we, supposedly, are a type of fae. I heard this from a cu-, a friend."
Oh no, Cosette had almost said "customer". Thankfully she had stopped in time, and her expression was the same small smile as ever. Cosette wanted to avoid telling Aranea about her previous circumstances for as long as she could.
"Um, if you do not mind, I would also love to hear more about you, and your kind."

Cosette noticed Aranea's smile, and toned down her excitement with a small embarrassed blush. She was an adult, she probably shouldn't get so riled up over a new, although delicious, drink. Cosette kept sipping the smoothie, and although she didn't make that much of a big deal over how good it was she still kept smiling.

Cosette listened to Aranea's words with a curious look on her face. She felt a small pang of guilt, when Aranea said she never knew her birth parents. Cosette didn't want to remind the woman of anything that was painful for her. But Aranea didn't seem too burdened, and kept talking. So arachnes came from eggs? Cosette was and wasn't surprised. After all, she couldn't know how many similarities arachnes shared with spiders.

Cosette looked genuinely amazed when Aranea told her she made clothes out of her own silk. She tilted her head to look at the clothes Aranea was referring to, but after staring for a short while Cosette realized she was staring straight at Aranea's breasts and aimed her eyes back at the woman's face with a slight blush on her face.
"That's amazing, to have such a hobby. To be able to create clothes, and such nice looking ones as well. If I had such a skill I do not know if I ever would go buy clothes again."
Cosette chuckled, she was serious in a way. Clothes shopping wasn't one of her favourite things to do. Cosette was indecisive, and hesitant to spend money, and although she liked nice clothes getting them was the hard part.
It warmed Cosette's heart, that Aranea donated some of the clothes she made. A gentle smile rose to Cosette's face, Aranea was such a nice person.

It was another surprising but not that surprising thing that Aranea liked parkour. Cosette chuckled a little again and smiled at Aranea over her smoothie.
"You must be good at parkour. We did meet when you were scaling the roofs, you looked accustomed to it."
Cosette said, and realized a second later she had just kind of admitted she had watched Aranea even before she had slipped and fallen that time. It was a bit embarrassing, and Cosette quickly continued talking.
"I have never instructed or taught, but I can see you teaching such a class. If I had much agility I would go there."
Cosette knew she was flexible, and a decent dancer. But she didn't think she would be that good at gymnastics. And Cosette was as aware as she could be of her abilities, so she didn't need a powers class.

Cosette finished her smoothie first, having been taken in by how good it was and perhaps eating it too quickly. Cosette was feeling a bit full because of it. But she was very happy that she had found a new flavour and food that she liked.
"Could you not consider me to be on the level of a teenager? After all, I have never been to a school."
Cosette joked a little, and chuckled. In truth she was a bit sad about it, not having been to school. Cosette couldn't even multiply or divide, she didn't know history or geography and she couldn't for the life of her tell anyone anything about chemistry. Cosette knew she wasn't stupid, but she was simple and academically very much lacking.
Aranea had mentioned earlier that she had two mothers, and Cosette couldn't help but feel a bit happy about that. She had grown up surrounded by motherfigures, never having a father. It felt like the two of them were connected through this similarity, and it made Cosette happy.
"I think your mothers would also be proud of you. Oh, but I wouldn't know about your family, I'm sorry for assuming. I just think...that is how parents are, or should be."
Cosette said a bit shyly, and she did regret blurting that out. She thought about her own mother. Cosette wasn't sure how she would react, when her daughter would return home after disappearing for many years.