Yo-Ho-Ho And A Bottle Of Rum

[Colin K. Breen]

The gun-metal grey Ford roared down the freeway, not going necessarily fast, pulling a two birth horse-box with precious cargo. The diesel engine had a propensity of being loud, and the extra load simply made it worse. The sole occupent of the truck was a light traveller, with one suitcase, and a few boxes, the rest of the space being occupied by saddles and bridles, tack boxes and blankets. On the back seat was a bear of a dog, Reuben dozing happily as he usually did in the car. The sat nav was on silent, guiding him towards his final destination of BRRA. After years of study, his first proper job in a while was doing what he loved. Grey eyes scanned the surroundings, the Kentucky blue grass was finally sprouting, and sleek Thoroughbreds grazed.

The four had been on the road since four that morning, both of his horses seasoned travellers along with himself. It was now nearing eleven, and the navigation system indicated another hour's drive. An impatient thud from the horsebox, made him realise that everyone was impatient to get home. The most likely culprit was Pan, who was by no means a patient horse.

Finally, he pulled onto the road, and an overwhelming sense of peace came upon him. They had managed to make it safely. He parked outside the office, and left the window's open for Reuben. He put on his leather jacket over a button up white shirt. He checked on the horses, fussing for a moment over Pan and Tommy, before heading inside the office. Colin was finally at his new home.

Lyrics: One Republic Word Count:... Credit: Onzy for BRRA. Please do not copy or steal.

[Fiachra Fitzsimmons]

Fitz rubbed his temples, he could only imagine how stressful this time of the year had to be for the barns, with hoe many phone calls he had to redirect to the barns from horse transporters. Along with them, he was also dealing with the parents of students who had graduated and the ones who were going home or away for the next three months.

Now that school had officially ended, things had quietened down a little and he was beginning to find time to breathe again; he was sure that things would slow down a little with the school being out, but he knew that he didn't get three months off like the students as even during the down time, there was still work that needed to be done, emails to be sent out, a phone to be answered. And in all honesty? Fitz wouldn't give it away for anything.

He looked up as the familiar sound of the door closing filled the quiet office and a man entered. "Welcome to Blue Ridge Riding Academy." He greeted with a welcoming smile. "How can I help you today?" He didn't want to make any assumptions on who the man was, so he would wait to find out what was needed of him.

[Colin K. Breen]

Colin pulled out his phone, sending a quick text to his sister, giving a small smile at the fact that the time zone difference probably meant that she was sleeping already. Which was confirmed when he received a string of curses back, and then another more sisterly like text a few seconds later. He would have to plan a trip home at some point in time, maybe when he had paid off the student loans that his parents hadn't been able to help with. He turned around when he heard footsteps, looking mildly surprised when he saw a man behind the desk. Colin wasn't the type to prescribe himself to stereotypes, but it wasn't often that one saw a male secretary. Oh well, if they could do the job, then who was he to say anything.

Hey, I'm Colin Breen. The new barn manager, he introduced himself, his Irish accent still coming through, although being very watered down after four years in the States. Time would be the one thing that would not remove that. He may have learned some bad habits over the years, but he was still proud to be an Irishman.

Also, I have two impatient equines out front, and need to get them stabled as quick as I can. Which wasn't exactly a lie, seeing that while Tommy was the patient schoolmaster, he still had his moments of wanting to escape. Pan on the other was simply just one of those animals that would take his chance, and it was Pan that Colin wanted to get settled as quickly as possible.

Lyrics: One Republic Word Count:... Credit: Onzy for BRRA. Please do not copy or steal.

[Fiachra Fitzsimmons]

The surprise on the other man's face didn't slip past Fitz, nor did he react to it. He'd received all the ribbing in the world when his last co-workers had learned that this was what he was coming to do. "Welcome to Blue Ridge, Colin." He said as he quickly typed the man's name into the computer and pulled up the man's file.

"You will be residing in suite one-fifty-five of the Brown Ribbon Apartments, which is here." He pulled out a map of the campus and pointed to the area where the staff housing building was located. "Your horses will both have stalls prepared for them in your own barn, Red Willow, which is over here." He pointed to the rectangle on the piece of paper that showed the second of the boarding barns.

He reached down to the drawer under the desk and quickly located the keys to the man's suite. "Ms Katherine Carr is the manager of the barn next to yours. She would be the person to talk to if you want to know anything about your barn's residents."

From another tray, he took a sheet of paper that was filled with phone numbers and placed this paper and the keys on the desk beside the map, before he located a third sheet of paper. "Here is a list of places on campus you can take your canine, the barns isn't one of them."