This could have been an email | Viper + Taran | Lost Letters Car

Taran

Taran’s tension level had dropped a lot from the situation in the preceding train car, which led him to remember the rest of his loot from the gacha machine, and one little device in particular. Time to get nosy!

He approaches Viper with a bit of unconscious sneakiness, only announcing himself when he’s a little closer than is polite.

“Sup! Wanna look at something with me?” He holds up the flash drive marked “Ito” and its attendant collection of cute little keychains.

Viper

“Gah-! Jeez- Don’t sneak up on people like tha-!” Viper started, perhaps a little too angrily, because she quickly pulled back when she saw it was Taran who had snuck up on her. Okay, he didn’t seem particularly threatening. Maybe… she just overreacted for some totally normal reason.

Oh, he is coming to invite her to be nosey? Into other people’s business? Sure thing!

“Oh hell yeah, do I?! What is with that machine and giving out tech, though?!” She reaches for her laptop, flipping it open and switching it on- her laptop was staying switched off between uses to conserve battery power. It wasn’t like she had seen a charge port yet… if it died on her, she’d be distraught.

Viper crossed her legs, sitting down with the laptop on the ground in front of her so they could both look at the screen. Little bonding exercise.

“There’s some pretty cute keychains on there, too. Ito, huh? I’m interested.” That grumpy person… no, not Melvin, the other one. “Doesn’t seem like Matsu’s vibe.” She hadn’t even talked to them personally, but… it was kinda a no-brainer.

Taran

Viper “Oh hell yeah, do I?! What is with that machine and giving out tech, though?!”

Taran bounces a bit as she voices her enthusiasm. Partner in crime: located! Oh but uh, misdemeanors only. Surely. He joins her sitting on the floor.

As Viper powers her laptop on, Taran’s mind and hand drift momentarily to his phone. Assuming no phone signal in here- yeah, nah- he better shut it down until he needs it for something. Maybe they’ll find a power source somewhere. Any chance this car handles online shopping deliveries? He’ll need to go scavenging a bit either way…

Viper “Doesn’t seem like Matsu’s vibe.”

“Right. My guess is Asuka, come to think of it.” She was cranky, but the keychains at least could fall within the realm of her general look.

Viper

Viper could already tell she and Taran were going to be fast friends. How terrible it would be if anything ever happened to either of them! Nevermind, let’s not think about that right now! Instead, we’ll draw back to Viper as she reaches for the USB, and plugs it into her pc.

As she awaits the contents, she takes a think about who she thinks those keychains would suit best. “Hmmm. Yeah, I think so… but Ito! Unless there’s some weird fake-name BS going on here!” Viper looks over for a second.

“And no, Ito ain’t my surname, this ain’t mine.”

Taran

Viper “Hmmm. Yeah, I think so… but Ito! Unless there’s some weird fake-name BS going on here!”

“Oh whoops, I forgot that was them. Learning a lot of names all of a sudden, y’know.”

And sure enough, it’s Matsu. Tons of oboe concerts… It’s not Taran’s chosen cup of tea, but having another musician in the gang is cool! Based on the apparent nature of the gumball machine and the sheer amount of video, they’re probably pretty attached to this little archive. Maybe it would help get past their abrasive exterior.

“Man, how far back does this go? Oh, and I’ve got headphones, want to listen to one?” Taran digs his expensive IEMs out of a little protective case in his pocket.

Narrator

When you put it into a computer and open it, you find an array of folders. Inside of these are a series of videos, named simply with a string of numbers. They’re dates, you realize, and the newest one is dated as about 3 years ago.

As you play them, you quickly recognize Matsukaze, playing the oboe in a concert hall. The biggest difference from how they usually look, besides being several years younger, is that they seem happy.

All of the videos are different pieces, and each folder seems to be a different concert.

Viper

“Ya, no biggie.” Viper gives Taran an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

There was… a lot swimming in her mind upon witnessing the oboe concert recordings… it was, certainly not what she expected! And, she barely recognised them purely based on their attitude… but hey, they were young and clearly happy. Now, they didn’t seem to be. Yeah. She could get that.

“I mean, we’re already snooping around, why not!” Not that she minded the ethical implications of their snooping. “It seems to go back pretty far, considering three years ago is the most recent…” Viper tilts her head slightly, “Guess they’re some kinda former oboe prodigy. Wonder if they still play….”