A Free Girl's Will [Invite]

Honestly, as much as she enjoyed her freedom, it also made her life a little bit more difficult. Derry had warned her to stay out of trouble, especially with her record was in an extremely volatile state. Any random crime would get her thrown behind the bars again without question, especially if she was doing it in broad daylight. It was a pain since before most of Kon's past time involved dining and dashing or taking someone's jet squirrel for a joy ride. As much as she wanted to scratch that itch, maybe it wasn't worth it if it meant she had to spend another indefinite time behind bars. Psh, whatever. She could definitely find something to do with her time and money.

Maybe third breakfast (after her previous two helpings in two different fast food places) would help solve her mind before. After all, even before her freedom came it was what she spent most of her money on to begin with. Besides, Kon had heard rumors of a great all-you-can-eat buffet that she had been dying to visit and now that she didn't have to hide her identity she could actually enjoy herself there! What a deal!

Casually swinging around the bag full of cards and humming a rather pleasant tune, she wasn't particularly paying much attention to her surroundings when she bumped into something. It was an odd sensation, a cold flash before she felt something much more solid. Judging from the black hair she saw that was roughly around her waist, she quickly deduced that it was some sort of kid. Ugh, why wouldn't those damn parents look after their kids? "Hey kid," she said instinctively putting on a harsh face, ready to tell them to scram when she spotted something familiar. 

Wait a minute.

"Tarch?!" What the hell? It really was her kid brother! What the hell was he doing here without any chaperone. In fact, what was that cloud thing that was next to him. Looking down at her body she would notice wisps of it hanging off her clothes before fading away. Did she just walk through that thing? What the hell was even happening now?

Kon really wanted to laugh at his brother's struggle to keep up his identity, bringing back old memories of when the two would get into many different sorts of shenanigan's. It definitely didn't seem like he knew about the fact that she was pardoned, something that both shocked and somewhat relieved her. She did warn him that it wasn't a good idea to spend time with her, especially knowing how innocent he was, and her arrest was the proving point. Now that she was free though... how the hell was she going to explain that she was still guilty but pardoned anyways? Managing to twist her snickering expression into one of frustrated confusion, Kon stared back at Tarch before sighing. "You can call me Kon again, Tarch. The police aren't after me anymore. I'm free again."

Considering the last time she had seen him was at the tournament where she had murdered quite a few people, Kon was still slightly worried of how he would approach her. Fortunately it all seemed to flow naturally enough as she caught up with what he had been up to in the time since. "That's good. That... thing is looking out at you well." Honestly, she was still having a hard time figuring out what that thing even was in the first place. "As long as you don't get caught, it's not against the law." She said, letting out a single snort before taking a look at the cloud thing again. How the hell he got his hands on that thing was still beyond him, but hey at least he could travel far now.

"What are you doing here though? Did you sneak away from home? Why come here to Central City as well?" Although her tone did hold an accusatory edge to it, Kon honestly didn't care. She was glad to see him here, and considering he didn't look hurt or in danger he was probably fine. 

Kon nodded, affirming the fact that she was free once again. Why couldn't kids just accept what they were told and move on. Oh well, he was still her brother and she could at the very least overlook that just for him. As she prepared for the annoying barrage of questions that she expected would follow, she was rather shocked to hear nothing from him except a simple proclamation as to how happy he was. "No more running away or hiding, we can talk together without being scared." She said, this time more talking to herself rather than her brother. Honestly, the fact that she was free after being locked up for so long was still difficult to believe sometimes. It just placed her in an excellent mood thinking about it, perfect when she was reuniting with long lost family.

That being said, Kon did feel a bit irritated by the fact that his new family didn't seem to be looking after him quite well. Although she was still fairly out of the loop when it came to the Aris family arrangements, at the very least she did know that letting a 10 year old boy sneak out and go to a city with that cloud thing was not the best idea. Honestly, Kon didn't even know how to react when Tarch was crying about his "brother" whom she had never met. Seeing as comforting people was never her strong suit, she simply chose to ignore that aspect and move onto something else. "I still can't go home with the others," she admitted. Well, there was no getting around that. "If want to be free, I have to work for someone. Think of it like community service." Well, it wasn't completely wrong, although Kon wasn't particularly keen about spilling the beans in that she was working in a criminal organization.

Awkwardly patting his back, she would attempt to rectify what she had said though, focusing on what she thought was a bit more positive. "I'll always be in Central City though if you want to visit me. In fact, I could show you to where I'm staying so you can visit me if you want." Although Kon wouldn't have shown him where she was staying before, these past few months really had put into perspective how much she needed people in her life. Admittedly, this chance encounter with her brother really made her want to try and repair their relationship against her better judgement. Besides, there were rumors that Derry had a kid now. Who knows, maybe the Snakes became much more child friendly than it had before. "It's fine. Just try not to do it around me as much." She said after he finished sobbing. Honestly, she was glad that he remembered that, especially seeing how she forgot how emotional people could be. "I talked to some people and they helped me work something out. Even though I did it, they knew I couldn't control myself so I'm getting help." Well, that was a lie but it was still far easier to explain politics that she hardly even understood.

Oh yeah, she honestly forgot about that. Maybe her previous self was pretty stupid after all. "Yeah, I don't think I'm the best person for you to hang out with." She would admit after a few moments of thinking. "But, I miss my baby brother. If you wanna spend some time with me I'm not going to push you away anymore." There was a certain warning tone in Kon's voice as she spoke the last sentence, but honestly she was happy to see him again. Being around people she actually cared for made her feel a bit fuzzy which admittedly was not a feeling she particularly hated. 

His second request though, was a bit harder to explain, especially when it came with the fact that she had to hide that she was in a criminal organization now. "Maybe? I need to ask my boss though, since I mostly live at work. It would be better if we hang out like this." She said with a bit of a nervous cough, tapping her foot on the concrete as she tried to think how the snakes would react with this. Well, there was talk that Derry recently had a kid with Hazel, so maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she initially thought it was. Still, she came to the conclusion that it would have been better for him to not get involved.

His next assumption surprised her. Out of habit, the words came pouring out of her mouth without even thinking. "Of course they think that. I'm probably just some crazy bitch that should be kept behind bars. Fuck them." Wait shit, she honestly had forgotten that she was talking to her brother. She had been so used to exploding to the people at her work, those that she had considered her family as well, that she had forgotten what it was like to speak with her actual family. "Er, I meant yeah maybe not the best idea. I have a place now, but it's with my work and well, it is kinda dangerous." Instinctively her hand went to pull at the sleeve, trying to hide the burn scar she had received from the stunt she tried to pull at the HQ a few months ago. She had brought that onto herself, but there were quite a few other jobs that came to mind where she ended up rather badly wounded. Getting herself hurt was one thing, but her kid brother? Kon wasn't a fan of that. "I could talk to my boss, but I dunno if he'll say yes." That was the only response she would give for now, hoping that the answer would satisfy him for now.

Ugh, why did he have to be so perceptive? Kon really didn't want to involve her brother into all of the things she was currently going through. While it was not entirely unpleasant, it definitely wasn't something that a child/pre-teen should be exposed to. Hell, anyone that wasn't adult shouldn't be involved in this, although her own situation made everything finicky. Still, she had to do what she could to calm her nerves, even if Tarch could see through her lies sometimes. "No, he's not that bad." She admitted. Well, at least not terrible now that she was no longer acting out seeing as she was free.  "My boss actually was the person that helped get me out of jail, although I'm on a bit of a watch list now." She gave another forced chuckle, hoping that this explanation would work now. Really, she didn't want to make him any more nervous than he actually was.

Although her own situation was finicky, Kon honestly couldn't imagine Tarch's. While she was relieved at the fact that she didn't have to go through this, and that her actions have managed to land her into a position where she had other people to care for her, her brother lacked that. Sure, she could just say sorry and move on with her life, but now that she was free Kon wanted to have a relationship with her brother. Ignoring his issues was not something that would help mend the rift that she had to create. She actually had to put in effort if they wanted to get close to each other again. "I'm sure that it'll be fine. I might be a bit busy on some days though, so maybe you should call me before you come visit. I'm pretty sure my boss doesn't care though." Was his home situation so bad that he didn't have a phone though? Honestly, she didn't know and still it was at least some way to contact her rather than disappearing underneath his nose once again.

Actually, now that she was thinking about it, didn't Hazel say that she wanted to meet her family? After practically acting as a big sister figure to here, Kon honestly owed her something. Maybe a bit of a visit from her kid brother would be enough. "My boss actually has a kid now from what I heard. I'm pretty sure that means he wouldn't mind another one." At the very least, he had enough sense not to drag him into any criminal business. While Kon still had some hang ups with Derry, at least he didn't go low enough to involve the innocent into his business.

How the hell did he get his hands on a smartphone like that? Even Kon didn't have one like that, but that was primarily out of choice over anything. Having a phone meant having surveillance on her and she was not about that life. Besides, it wasn't as if she really needed the thing other than making a few calls that she only made once a week. However, it wasn't the phone itself that caused her to feel jealous but rather the attention. If they were willing to buy him something that expensive, they definitely had to at least somewhat like him. To keep herself from saying some sort of snarky comment and making Tarch upset, she simply bit down on her lip trying her best to think of a number she could actually use. 

"She's a newborn," she said with a cough, trying her best to rid herself of any verbal cues which may clue him in on how she was feeling. After all, they were talking about a much lighter topic other than their shitty home life anyways. "When I met my boss he didn't have any kids." Or any partners but that was a long story that she didn't particularly care getting into with a ten-year-old. Still, maybe he would enjoy meeting her or something, not that she had quite yet. Kon had the invitation, but she simply didn't want to involve herself with any children aside from her brother, much less a baby. If Derry and Hazel were gentle enough to be loving parents to a baby, then surely they could at least tolerate her brother and help keep a convincing cover story or something. Whatever, that was a problem she had to discuss with them later. For now, she had to deal with the current problems.

"You ready for my number?" Kon began, finally digging out the number for the Dirty Snake's public landline for the elite from her brain. After a few moments, she began saying it out loud without a pause. It was typically used for more mundane aspects that didn't need a burner phone, aka most of Kon's purchases seeing as she didn't have a personal cellphone of her own. Eh, the other elites were probably decent enough people not to hang up on a child if he were to ask for her anyways. What's the harm? "Try not to call at night though. My roommates get a bit grumpy if you do." That and she probably wouldn't be back at HQ, likely busy with some sort of job.