AN: I needed to clear the air after two chapters of angst...
Holmes did not really blame the girl for being nervous. School was an entirely new experience, and to be separated from her guardians (actually, being pried off Mycroft's leg by Watson) was no doubt upsetting. Besides, most children just entering school did not yet read with any fluency; the girl was to be reduced to pictograms again until her peers began their study of letters.
Not far away, a nanny seemed to be having similar difficulties with the Japanese boy, no doubt the son of an ambassador, whose hands gripped her skirts tightly. She was switching between Japanese and English. Surely a boy who knew two languages had been taught their writing as well.
"Here, Eve." He plucked her off his brother, the element of surprise allowed him to pull her away when Watson had failed, and set her before the boy. "Here's a new friend for you. Ma'am, this is Eve."
"Hayato," the nanny smiled, urging the boy forwards. "His name means 'falcon' in our language. I'm sorry, he's very quiet…"
The girl must have sensed a conversation starter, for she reached into her knapsack, pulling out the thick illustrated book of aviary predators from it.
Hayato smiled, and the two wandered off to inspect it.
Mycroft sighed, wishing all international meetings could be resolved with an introduction and birds.
