Requiem

3. Sirena - Worlds Away

After half an hour of endless whining, I relented.

Delta had dragged us to a cramped bar in the Old Square. They were playing the game on their multiple TVs but none of the commentary could be heard over the loud thrum of the music. Delta did not seem to notice or care about that.

She looked utterly ridiculous. Her light blonde hair was, as usual, cascading around her shoulders and past her waist. But it was her 'dress' that made me snort when she stepped out of the pod. She donned an abnormally large sunball jersey that went all the way down to their knees. It had multiple renditions of shells and corals sketched around, all in varying degrees of neon pinks and oranges. The occasional pearl had been glued to their outlines.

"We can't see anything from here," I was forced to yell at her over the music.

"We would have gotten a better table if you hadn't stopped to climb that tree." She responded, rolling her eyes at me.

I returned the gesture. "Noted. Next time I'll let someone step on the poor spider so you can get a better table at the bar where you're pretending to watch a sunball game."

"I appreciate your understanding. But for the inconvenience, the first round is on you."

The first three rounds were on me. Delta looked quite satisfied with herself, thinking she somehow conned me into spending my money. I couldn't bring myself to remind her I didn't do anything I didn't want to do, no matter how anyone begged. Even Delta.

Boundaries were important and too many people lacked them. I had taken it upon myself to instill hard unmovable boundaries with everyone in my life, and if they didn't want to make life easier for themselves by having them they could abide by mine or leave me be. I was aware I sounded intransigent, outright tyrannical sometimes, but boundaries kept a hard wall of protection against myself and others. Delta pushed them, hard, at times and every once in a while, I would allow it. I would let her pry a little too much out of me but nine times out of ten, she knew when to stop before I told her to.

"You work too much, that's the problem." Delta chimed in. And no, I had not asked for her opinion on that matter. Not particularly because I didn't care but because I had heard it many times before.

"I have a normal life-work balance, actually." I reminded her, "My schedule might be a little tight right now, but I still have time to hang out with you. Just not every day." I continued before she could do more than grunt at me in indignation, "which is completely normal."

Delta did not see it as normal and that wasn't her fault. I had to remind myself of that last part quite often, these days. She wasn't demanding time because she felt entitled to it necessarily but because of who she was.

Delta was, despite my mockery of the title, a lady. Unlike Tristan, she was her parent's pride and joy. A princess by any possible definition of the word minus the crown. Though they would buy her one without missing a beat; that is, if she didn't already have one stashed somewhere. Delta had never been denied a thing in her very long, very lavish life. Yet she was so unlike the other members of the court and their pinched faces. So good, Delta was good down to her core.

"I worry about you," she said. I was going to protest but she powered through. "And I know you don't want me or need me to worry but I can't help it okay? You do horrible, horrible things for a living and never talk about it. That can't be good for your soul."

"Are you trying to rope me into a therapy session again?"

"No! I told you I wouldn't take you again until you decided to go, but our agreement didn't specify that I couldn't talk to you about this so tonight I begin step 3a of my plan!"