An east wind coming

[Mycroft Hollins]

Mycroft sauntered into the lounge with his briefcase in tow, leaning heavily on his umbrella for support. The weather and the amount of riding he'd been doing lately had not done his leg any favors. It ached terribly, enough so that he was willing to take a rest before attempting to drag himself up several flights of stairs to his room.

Setting his things down, he busied himself making a pot of tea. His brother had texted him the night before, confessing he was lonely and actually missed his big brother. The thought made Mycroft chuckle to himself, of course William would miss him only after 3 whole years had gone by, and of course William would never dare come to the United States to visit either. Mycroft had openly invited him to come, before giving the young man something else to do to occupy his mind. William had always loved a good puzzle.

The kettle whistled and Mycroft turned off the heat, pouring the hot water in a large mug over a tea bag. He then poured in a little milk before slowly making his way over to the nearest armchair. He settled himself gingerly, groaning slightly as a sharp pang shot up his leg. Winter truly was the worst, in his not-so-humble opinion.

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

The blonde walked briskly into the building that would be her home for the duration of her stay here. And on first impressions, not bad. Not bad at all. She could certainly get used to this, and it rather looked as though she was going to have to, because what with how amazing this place was looking already, she couldn't see herself leaving any time soon. In fact, Kate had a growing and very satisfying sense that this was her little niche in the world. Of course, she was yet to actually attempt any teaching, but really, how hard could it be? She'd endured enough lessons in her life to have some idea of how things went, and she had been told that she got on well with people. A winning formula, or at least she hoped so.

Kate deposited her case in her room, taking a moment to look around and appreciate the space, as well as exploring the room and starting to unpack, before she grew bored. It didn't take much to bore Kate; she had led an active life, largely outdoors and mostly with horses. Deprive her of the fresh air and a purpose to fulfil, and boredom was inevitable. So she gave up on the unpacking, and decided to meet a few of her new neighbours. Venturing out into the hallway, she made her way down to the lounge and walked in with far more confidence than she felt. "Hi." she called to the room's only other occupant.

[Mycroft Hollins]

Mycroft looked up as he heard another voice call out to him. "Hello," he replied politely. He gestured towards the kettle, "The water is still hot if you wish to make yourself some tea or a hot cocoa. There are mugs in one of the cabinet," he offered. He could tell with one glance that this woman was new, from more than just the simple fact he'd never seen her around campus before. All the evidence suggested she was not nearly as confident as she was attempting to be was more than enough for him to go on.

"You're new," he said simply, not wishing to come across as overly intimidating. "What brought you to Blue Ridge?" he asked casually.

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate smiled brightly as she walked further into the room, and, acting on information received, made her way towards the kettle. Whether the tea would be worth drinking was another question- she'd never yet had a decent cup of Yorkshire Tea in America- but she supposed that she could tolerate it for politeness' sake. And anything was better than coffee- she couldn't stand the stuff.

Having made herself a cup at record speed with the dexterity of practice, she seated herself opposite the room's other occupant, and leaned back. "I am indeed new." she agreed, shooting him another smile. She would have thought that that was obvious. And there were very little point in pointing it out anyway- she knew that she was new, and he had obviously figured it out. "I'm here to teach. More specifically, because I like to sleep in beds and eat food. Money is always nice."

[Mycroft Hollins]

"Indeed," Mycroft replied smoothly, quirking an eyebrow, "Yet you've certainly come a long way from home to do so. Money is just as easily made teaching on British soil as it is here. Any particular reason you chose to come to America?" he asked, taking a sip of his tea. Her accent was so heavy she might as well have beat him over the head with the union jack. Not that he particularly minded, reminders of home were surprisingly few around here. Especially the tea quality, quite poor. He missed having tea in the palace during diplomatic meetings, there was nothing better.

"What do you teach? If you don't mind my asking?" he asked politely, once he'd listened attentively to her answer to the previous question. He knew better than to attempt deducing what someone taught based on appearances, but he had a feeling he knew and simply wished to know if he was right.

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate cocked her head and held up her hands in mock surrender. The man's point was a fair one, and one that she herself had given much thought to before she accepted the position here. After all, if one place would offer her a job, then why not another? One closer to home? But Kate had always loved adventure, and travelling simply epitomised that. The blonde realised that she was yet to vocalize all this, and paused for a second before deciding to go with "I just love travelling." It was, after all, the truth- even if it wasn't the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"Well, teach may be a somewhat optimistic term." The blonde smiled sheepishly. "But on the contract, it says driving and horse judging." Exactly how she'd acquired those positions was still a mystery to her- she knew full well that there were many people who could teach those subjects better than she, and most of them already in the US. The only thing that she might have felt entirely qualified to teach was showjumping, and the Academy already had an instructor for that. But Kate realised that she was being rude, and she redirected the conversation back towards her companion. "How about you? What do you teach?"

[Mycroft Hollins]

Mycroft sipped on his tea as he listened to the woman's vague answer. If his younger brother were here, he'd be positively explosive about such an answer. Of course, no person ever took up a job in a foreign country simply because they liked to travel. There was always more to it, but Mycroft knew better than to prod at this moment. Politics are good at teaching those sorts of things, but he still smiled to himself quietly thinking about his brother's complete lack of diplomacy.

Driving and horse judging caught his interest ever so slightly, they'd been in need of a driving instructor for a long time. "I'm sure you'll do just fine," he told her simply. She seemed competent enough, teaching could be difficult but he'd found the students at Blue Ridge to be easy to deal with, most of the time. "My subjects are hardly as interesting I'm afraid, mainly Government and European History. I also teach Eventing though, which is a pleasant change of pace."

Well, it usually was. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and fell silent as a sharp pain shot up his leg. "Apologies," he said genuinely once the pain subsided, "Old injury tends to act up in the winter. So, I see you've brought a dog with you, border collie of a decent size if the black and white hairs on your leg are anything to go by. Of course based on what you've come to teach, I imagine you brought a horse with you as well. Would she by any chance happen to be a grey Lipizzaner mare roughly five years of age?"

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

To cover her slight shyness, Kate took a sip of her tea before remembering that it was likely to be hot. Ouch. She fought valiantly to maintain a neutral facial expression as she hastily swallowed the tea before it burned her mouth too badly. Otherwise she'd be wincing at hot food for at least the next few days, and she couldn't face a week of salad during the winter. Or indeed, during the summer. Kate and salad did not get on. They'd had a difference of opinion in a Cambridge restaurant some years ago, and hadn't yet made it up.

"Thank you." she responded briefly to his reassurances with a slight smile. Truth be told, she was rather more nervous than seemed strictly necessary about taking up this position, but she supposed that having been taught so many lessons, a little of the correct strategies and techniques must have seeped in. She desperately hoped so, anyway. Otherwise, this was going to be a very challenging job. "I could never get the hang of eventing, too many different things to think about. Showjumping is my discipline- well, used to be." Of course, since her accident, she hadn't been capable of competing in anything. For a long time, she hadn't even been capable of riding. But things were improving, and she still had hopes that one day, she might be able to ride at the standard that she had done before. By then, of course, it was highly likely that she might be too old to compete seriously anyway. But people could go on for a long time in the equine sports. It was in the lap of the gods.

Her mouth dropped slightly open as the man reeled off the details of both her pets with scarcely a pause for breath, and she clapped briefly as he finished. "My God!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "In a moment, I'll be expecting you to come out with their registration numbers. Yes, you're correct. In every detail."

[Mycroft Hollins]

"Yes, Eventing entails quite a bit to think about for both the horse and the rider. I was a hopeful for the British eventing team, once upon a time. The dressage phase was always my favorite but my mare loved jumping, she flew through cross country courses and was quite a cautious show jumper, anytime she touched a rail it was due to an error on my part," Mycroft replied, a tinge of sadness in his eyes which he quickly blinked away. Though memories of the big grey thoroughbred were mostly pleasant, they often tore his heart apart more than he wished to confess.

"I must say I'm not overly fond of driving. I always felt much more secure on top of the horse rather than behind it. Driving has a tendency to make me feel rather vulnerable and powerless, especially if something were to happen," he confessed, "However I see the appeal in it as well, and your mare seems quite well suited for it. Though I suppose one would have to see her working to know for sure."

He smiled and chuckled as she clapped for him, secretly very pleased with himself for impressing her. "If you were speaking with my younger brother, he would positively bathe in your applause. However I think it's only fair I tell you that it's not quite so impressive an observation. I just came from the stable, my little Arabian who I use for class is only a few stalls down from yours. It is not so difficult to deduce that the new horse must belong to you."

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate nodded at the man's description of eventing. He certainly knew what he was talking about, but then, since he taught the subject, it was really only to be expected. She kept forgetting that she was surrounded by teachers now, and she was going to make a stupid mistake one of these days. She just hoped that they didn't expect her to know anything about their subject. English Language and Literature she could cope with, but if any of the maths teachers got started on their own particular specialties (and the maths teachers that Kate had known had never failed to do so) then she would be totally and completely lost.

"Driving isn't for everyone." the blonde agreed with a grin. "It's very different to riding, but also the same in a lot of ways. Really, there's no way to know unless you try it." She herself would almost certainly never have even thought about it if circumstances had not conspired against her. Which was a shame when you thought about it, because actually, she loved it and Misty had a natural ability for it. Had it not been for an unfortunate fall, both of them could well have lived out their days without discovering their natural leaning for the sport. And, of course, she very likely would not have been sitting here now.

"Still, many people wouldn't even have noticed that the horse was there, never mind worked out who it belonged to." Kate pointed out, thinking that the man was selling himself short.

[Mycroft Hollins]

Mycroft took another long sip of his tea as he listened to the woman speak about her subject. She seemed to like it, which was nice to see. "I've driven before, my stallion has a nice temperament and might be suited to it. If you ever wish for a challenge there is a rather ferocious thoroughbred filly in Red Willow barn that might prove an entertaining prospect if you every find yourself looking for a project. Although, she might also destroy your cart and kill you. It's why I frankly haven't touched the beast too much since her shoes were removed at the end of the fall." He offered mostly in jest, because the thought of Rainbow Parade careening across campus with a mangled cart behind her were a little too real in his mind. However if anyone wanted to try their hand..... well, he wouldn't say no.

He smiled humbly at her words, "I should hope someone might be observant enough to notice something as large as a horse, and certainly one as lovely as yours," he replied, "Figuring out who she belonged to might take a little more work, however the biggest leap for most people to make would have been knowing the breed and size of your dog."

Frowning at his now empty mug, he moved to get up and fill it but gave up the moment he leaned forward and felt his leg protest. Right then, he would just be resting for a bit longer than he'd originally anticipated, and without tea. "How do you like it around here so far? Also, forgive me, I don't believe I've asked your name. Mycroft Hollins, and you are?"

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate examined her nails as she waited for her tea to cool and noted without very much surprise that they were, as usual, a complete wreck. That was what working with horses would do for you. Still, it was a small price to pay for an enjoyable life. "I might just take you up on that!" she responded with a grin. "I do love a bit of a challenge." Which was entirely true. Kate loved breaking horses in particular, and training horses for driving was simply an extension of that process. "I haven't got all that much regard for my own life." She made it clear through her tone that she was joking- well, mostly joking, at any rate. While she might be a little reckless at times, or even a lot reckless, she did still have some small measure of common sense- even if she seldom used it. But still, there was no reason why she shouldn't at least give the filly a try.

"It would be nice to think so." Kate agreed with a grin. "Sadly, people these days likely wouldn't notice an obvious clue even if it came up to them, shook hands and introduced itself. They all go around with their phones in their faces- although not so much here, I have to admit." She bobbed her head and smiled in thanks as the man complimented her horse. She was probably more sensitive to compliments regarding her horse than she was to those regarding herself. Her dog, as well, was a source of pride to her- rather more so than her own abilities.

She watched the man as he attempted to rise, and she winced in sympathy at his evident pain. Having had her own injury, she could sympathise entirely, although this man appeared to have been injured somewhat more severely than she had been herself. "Kate Richardson-Hall." she introduced herself with a smile. "And Blue Ridge is beautiful!"