"This is nice, huh?"
Trinity found herself smiling. It wasn't often that she would, but it always seemed to be Bastette who made her feel happy. Even Krashna looked somewhat entertained, his usual scowl replaced with the slightest of smirks.
"Really nice," Trinity smiled brightly at Bastette, who stood nearly a head taller than her, her violet hair pulled back into a roguish ponytail. Trinity's own blonde hair was styled much the same, something she usually did where Bastette was concerned. She was her idol. Her example. She'd walk the ends of the Earth with her and for her.
It was the summer of 2014, and the 13-year-old Trinity grinned at the pool of water before them. This was a huge risk they were taking, doing this at all, but Bastette had guaranteed they wouldn't be caught. The Messiah never let them outside of the underground facilities, and for once, the feeling of the warm sun on her skin... it was exhilarating!
However, there was something that made her apprehensive. The pool wasn't empty outside of water, it had other people swimming and playing in it. Mostly kids, some older people, though most adults were lounging near the pool on benches or strange bed things she'd never seen before. Some with umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun, others letting the sun bake them.
"There's... a lot of people." she pointed out, and felt Bastette grab her hand.
"It can get crowded, but it's still fun. Come on, I'll ease you into it."
Trinity glanced over at Krashna, about to ask if he needed to be eased in as well- though the 10-year-old clearly had no qualms with people, taking off at a sprint and diving into the water, going unnoticed by a lifeguard who seemed distracted by a couple girls talking to him.
Allowing Bastette to lead her to the water, Trinity dipped her toes in to find it was comfortably warm. A bit chilly, but that passed quickly. She looked up at Bastette with a smile, who gave her a nod. "Come on, this is the shallow part. Let's wade in."
Trinity didn't argue as she allowed her best friend to slowly lead her into the water, which covered her feet in a couple steps, then slowly started to climb up her shins the deeper they went in.
They paused when it reached her knees, and she looked up at Bastette, who was still smiling patiently down at her. "How are you holding up?"
"It feels weird, but also nice," Trinity commented, her wide grin clearly showing off the gap between her two front teeth, something she'd been told she'd need braces to fix. They started to slowly wade deeper in, avoiding some of the other kids.
"Good," Bastette replied, "and how about your dad?"
At this, Trinity fell silent. She... didn't really feel like talking about him. If he knew she was here now, he'd probably flay her alive. "Still mad," she replied simply, and felt her friend squeeze her hand in a gentle, caring fashion.
"That's okay, but don't let that get between you," she advised. "He's still your dad, and he loves you, even if he makes you mad."
Trinity didn't respond to this, instead focusing on the water as it passed her waist, lapping almost playfully at her stomach. Seeing she wasn't interested in the topic, Bastette let it go for now, instead swiping her hand through the water, splashing Trinity in the face.
The younger girl was rooted, shocked as water dripped down her face, but when she turned her head to see Bastette laughing, it caught like a disease and she giggled before splashing back at her.
So began the 5 minute splash war as the two dived and weaved around other people, trying to hit each other with splashes, before Bastette eventually called a cease fire and led Trinity to the pool's edge, where they both sat, swinging their legs through the water as they watched Krashna use his magic to make it look like people were peeing, forcing people in the area flee in terror and sometimes resulting in somebody getting kicked from the pool. Alongside that, he'd yank down trousers, and even pushed a lifeguard in the pool with his magic when he'd been yelled at for running.
