Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
He'd made a mistake in mouthing off at the jocks and they made him apologize in front of a few dozen witnesses after borderline dislocating his shoulder. They laughed and jeered, shoving him around as phones were pressed into his personal space and all sorts of questions were asked and names were called.
But he'd made it worse by kicking a jock between the legs for the humiliation and that had been the straw that saw him dragged to the pool. They hauled him in kicking and screaming, and once it dawned on them that he was afraid of the water the torment really began. They grabbed his bag and went through it, tossing in text books and papers, his lunch box, ear phones, even his art book and pencils. He screamed at them in distress, cursing them.
They had ruined his art book! They were laughing.
"If you want them back so bad, go get them!"
He was hefted up screaming murder and thrown into the pool, the cold water shocking to his system and water rushed his lungs. He couldn't orientate himself, panic setting in before he broke the surface for a moment coughing and spluttering as he flailed. He couldn't swim! He could hear laughter as he panicked, searching for a way out. He slipped under the water again, tiring and cold, taking in water again as he cried out in fear.
It felt like forever when he was able to resurface, coughing and gagging on water. He couldn't see where to try treading too, but the laughter was gone and that made him even more afraid. They had left him! He was going to die and there was no one around to save him. He cried out for help, shrieking for his parents and his brothers. The fear was sickening and thick and he wasn't sure if there was anyone around that would be able to save him. He didn't want to die, not like this.
crev waved his hand to his friends as he turned from them and slung his bag over his shoulder. he'd just finished practice and now faced the long walk home. he could have called one of his brothers but he didn't want to bug them, after all walking wasn't the worst and it didn't look like it was going to rain so he sucked it up and started heading home. he hoped that tonight he'd walk in and his dad would be a bit better, that link and mav wouldn't rile jace to much and they might actually be able to sit down to something of a normal night. while he was aware that it probably wouldn't happen, there was no harm in wishing or hoping for a sense of normal to be waiting for him when he got home.
he sighed a little, pulling the bag strap further onto his shoulder as he rounded the corner that took him past the university pool. he knew that he shouldn't really cut through the grounds but it just made the walk so much quicker from the oval to his house. if he didn't cut through he'd need to go around their stables and that would add like a forty five minute walk to his trip so he'd cut through, not because he was lazy but because he wanted to get home, change out of his uniform and chill before whatever mess happened for dinner.
while walking he heard someone yell and his eyes widened a little as he thought he knew the voice. jace? he couldn't tell but he couldn't ignore the niggling feeling in his gut. he dumped his bag near the doors and he hurried inside, hoping that none of the doors would stop him because he wasn't a student. luckily, none of them stopped him from running through to the pool and his eyes widened more when he saw his brother flailing in the pool. he didn't think before he jumped into the water as close to his brother as he could get. once he surfaced he swam to him. "jace!" he said through the splashing water and he reached to grab his shirt tightly as he started kicking his legs, doing his best to pull his brother to the side of the pool.
Jace was little help in his panic, almost swinging at his own sibling in his fright. His eyes were stinging from the water, but some sense told him to keep trying to tread water, follow the pull. For now he wasn't the trouble maker, he wasn't even trying to seek attention. He just wanted to get out of the damned water and go hide out somewhere where no one could find him. It's all he really wanted.
It felt like forever before he felt the edge of the pool, latching onto it like he'd never been on dry land before. Desperately he dragged himself out of the pool, not caring about the harsh sting in his hands as he clawed his way up and out, not even considering his brother in the process as he coughed and spluttered.
He flopped onto his side and curled up, shivering as he tried to process what was going on.
had it been some weird stroke of fate that he'd been walking past the pool at that exact moment? like something had nagged at him enough till he'd not been able to ignore the fact the voice had sounded like his brother or that he shouldn't have been able to hear it from as far away as he had been. it was like something had told him to go there, told him to be there and as he got his brother to edge of the pool he sent a silent thanks up to their mother because he couldn't help but feel like it would be something she'd do from the afterlife. he kept his hands on his brother as jace dragged himself out of the pool, coughing as he slipped back under the water as he pushed his brother up. he gripped for the side of the pool as he pulled himself back up, the weight of his clothes heavy but worry for his brother giving him the strength to scramble out of the pool.
he scrambled over to where his brother had flopped onto his side and he grabbed jace's shoulder lightly, bringing his other hand to rub his back forcefully to help him cough up any water he might have swallowed. "just breathe jace." he said as he tried to catch his own breath, his heart feeling like it was going to pound out of his chest as he glanced around the pool for someone who might have seen what had happened. but there was no one, the room empty apart from them and silent apart from their breathing and tiny splashes as the ripples they'd made slowly hit the sides of the pools. he looked back down at jace and with one swift motion he half jumped over him so he was kneeling on the ground in front of him, his hand still resting on his shoulder as he looked at his brother's face. "are you okay?"
That was some much easier said than done. There was no on or off switch to the panic and dread and fear that was making subsequent laps of his system. He wanted to scream, cry and hurl insults at everyone, at everything. The manic laughter in his ears didn't help; that constant chuckle and giggle of people enjoying what was going on. It was like the room was full of people watching the spectacle that was Jace Breckah - the freak...
"Are you okay?"
Just those words, that calm and care in the voice pinned alongside concern was enough to shatter everything. And for a moment through the tears, the world was clear. He would make out the colours and shapes of things familiar, It took him a moment to noticed the burning of his lungs, he'd stopped breathing for a moment, caught up in shattering silence. He looked at Creven, some rare recognition passing through his abstract eyes. Was he ok? Was there any kind gauge for him to know? Some part of himself knew things weren't ok, but when did that ever matter?
"I'm fine."
He spat the words out harsher than he intended, perhaps purely because of the rawness of his throat from screaming combined with the strong chlorine. That acrid stench. It turned his stomach as he pried himself upright, eyes searching the space again, looking for a threat and finding none for the moment.
he sat on his knees beside his brother as he tried to catch his own breath. he could feel his heart trying to pound out of his chest as they sat there besides the pool. he looked around the pool for whatever had been the cause of his brother ending up in the water. he doubted that his brother would have jumped in willingly, paired with the scream he'd heard he just knew something had happened. he looked back to his brother and decided to focus on him, he'd find out what happened after. he didn't blame jace for snapping at him when he answered him. he was stressed and scared and he'd swallowed a crap ton of water so he didn't expect jace to be friendly.
"okay." he said as he watched jace carefully. he watched him as he started to stand up and crev stood with him, reaching to wrap his arm around his brother's back carefully to help him. "it's just me jace." he said to his brother, just in case the sudden touch scared him. "let's find some towels and stuff okay? we need to get dry before we go home." because he was pretty sure they'd freeze to death before they made it too far. even though it wasn't really cold outside, the wind would be a killer through their wet clothes. "i have some spare stuff you can borrow in my kit."
