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!.
Dress shopping, really? He was dragged dress shopping. Oliver hoped that Molly didn’t pick anything super revealing. Not like they would anyway, but still – he couldn’t have any dude looking at little bits of them. Now granted, Oliver didn’t have any kind of say, but he would be honest. If one cried, the dessert would be bought on his end.
His parents dropped him and Janie off at the store since they needed to go and poke at some international store to pick up some ingredients for the week. “What’s the theme this year?” Oliver asked, holding the door for Janie. His friend smirked, meaning it was something awfully cheesy.
“Fall Pumpkin Cinderella or whatever,” she replied, rolling her eyes. Oliver had to hold back a snort. Willow Brook was something else.
The two found a few seats near the front of the store. Oliver couldn’t help but widen his eyes at the formality of it all. It felt weird wearing jeans in such a place. But he knew if the two girls were left on their own devices – they’d come out with more than they needed. And nothing in here looked…cheap.
As always, Molly Mac'Intosh found herself running on wizard's time instead of reality's time for getting ready for meeting her friends. If Janie and Oliver gave her any sort of flack, she would just have to remind them in the great wisdom of Gandalf the Grey: A wizard is never late. Nor early. He arrives precisely when he means to. Dark eyes glanced over herself once more in the full length mirror she had stashed away in the corner before quickly heading out to hail herself an Uber. The teenager almost felt giddy about this excursion, since it was for dress shopping for her school's fall dance and with a theme like Cinderella and pumpkins, it meant that she could try on floor length dresses, something that she thought would have to wait until the rite of passage for prom.
Thankfully, the ride wasn't too far from Willow Brook to the dress tore in question. Although, even from a distance, she could make out the two distinct people sitting on the bench: her friends. Hopefully, they had not been waiting there that long. She glanced at her watch once more, and thankfully, it would appear that she was only 5 minutes late. As the Uber pulled to a stop, she thanked the driver before launching herself out, "Hello friends!" she greeted gleefully before grabbing them both into a hug before pulling back. Meeting up for dress shopping also helped with the delivery of one other thing. Quickly rummaging into her purse, Molly soon produced an envelope containing tickets for the dance. Pulling out two, she then handed them to Janie and Oliver, "Your passage for entrance into Willow Brook." Thankfully, Willow Brook was so small, they tended to open up tickets to dances for the friends of students, of course, a price was involved, but Molly was always happy to pay the 15£ per ticket if she meant that she could have Janie and Oliver with her at a school function.
Behind her friends, Molly's gaze moved to the dresses in the store window. So colorful. So sparkly. So princess-y. It took everything to not squeal at the sight of them. Returning her gaze now to her friends, she could not help but to grin, "Are you guys ready to bibbidi bobbidi boo this day?" Well, maybe that was something that should be aimed more at Janie, given that Oliver did not need a dress and guys were lucky that they could just show up in a nice shirt with some slacks and call it a day, "Also, how are my favorite people? I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."
It didn’t take long for Molly to announce her presence. Janie didn’t know if it was her perfume or the heels that announced her friend first. Molly always had this bubbly, classy look about her. So when she showed up in all sleek black, Janie and Oliver looked at each other. They were most definitely underdressed. If this wasn’t a Miranda Priestly situation.
“I’m bummed you didn’t take out a stick and scream you shall pass,” Oliver grinned. It was a dumb thing to say, but it was a very his statement. The three were nerds through and through. He looked at the ticket and snorted. “I forgot how expensive your school is. They have foil on their tickets!” Oliver wondered what it was like, a private school. It was like Molly was at the upper east side joint. Not like the school in the city wasn’t full of rich kids either, but it wasn’t Willow Brook.
“Yeah, for sure!” Janie grinned, tucking her and Oliver’s ticket away safely into her wallet. Knowing him, he would lose it in two-point seconds. He didn’t even falter. Just shrugged. “I’m doing fine! It’s just nice to get out for the day.”
“Same. Mom and Dad are shopping for ingredients. Which means...y’all are probably having dinner with us after this.” Oliver didn’t mind. He liked when his family invited the girls over. They never really said no, so it wasn’t an issue of asking. Janie still lived behind him – so it was always to see her. Molly was harder, but it wasn’t like they could use public transport to see her.
“We waited for millennia,” he joked. “So where do you even want to start in this maze...of Bel Amour?” Oliver was probably going to be easy. His mom had given him strict instructions to at least get a new shirt and tie. The pants he had at home were fine. Oliver thought he had plenty of formal things, but his mother insisted he finds something on a theme.
Molly hadn't missed that look that passed between Janie and Oliver upon her arrival. She couldn't help but to quirk an eyebrow, "What?" She glanced down at her outfit. Was she really that overdressed? She made a mental note to herself that maybe next time, she just show up in jeans and a hoodie and call it a day. Granted, with dress shopping, it was kinda hard to not want to dress up for the occasion. Oliver's words brought her back down to earth now was she glanced back towards the young male as he delivered his cheesy line, "I’m bummed you didn’t take out a stick and scream you shall pass." Laughter escaped her, but she did roll her eyes, "Because! Gandalf never let's anyone pass. Not to mention, I am hardly a legend like Gandalf the Grey. I just follow his life mantras." And by far, he was the greatest wizard ever, and people could fight her on that.
The snort upon the tickets caused Molly's eyes to glance at them now in her hands before Janie took them to keep them safe, "Ah well, gotta keep these things flashy I guess." Leave it to Willow Brook to make every tiny detail count for their extravaganzas. It almost felt like some sort of easter egg. The dig at her school was short lived though, as Janie spoke followed by the dinner invite from Oliver. Molly beamed, "Well, I'm glad it will be a whole afternoon with you guys. I feel like it's been a bit since its been the three of us. Not to mention, I do love me some Dinner with the Deaks." And yes, she tried to make it sound like a Kardashian spin off. They were all getting pulled in different directions, especially once all of the jobs and sports and responsibilities started kicking in between the three of them. Although Molly felt like her responsibilities were just getting amazing grades and studying, verses Janie with the barn and her new horse or Oliver with swim and music.
Molly rolled her eyes, "Man, Oliver, you're really quick on the punches today. It was not a millennia! Just...some wizard time. Back me up here, Janie!" Wizard time was also probably not her best defense, but she would recover. Plus, there were more important things than defending her honor at this very moment, such as dress shopping. Clapping her hands together, Molly was about to do what she did best, lay out the fashion plans, "Okay. So since it's a fall dance. Janie and I do not need gowns. Usually, shorter dresses are in style with sleeves or no sleeves, and cleavage or no cleavage. Given our Pumpkin Theme, we could go with a variety of shade options in the hues of red, orange, brown, brunt, and of course, black is always a winner. OR we can try and unleash our inner Cinderella, and go with periwinkle blues or creams even. Regardless," she said now, catching her breath as she waved one hand dramatically front of her, "I am thinking sparkles. And Oliver matching our colors." And then, on that note, she grabbed each of her friend by the arm and dragged them inside, unable to contain her excitement.
“It’s like someone’s quinceañera!” Janie smiled. That was one of the few parties she knew that had a lot of flashy things. Imagine having a coming-of-age party where a big dress was involved. Janie had her sweet 16th and that was fun, but nothing like a quinceañera.
“Yeah, I don’t know what mom’s making yet...but it will feed us and your families for days.” Okay, maybe not days, but small-batch cooking was not in the bloodline. They had a second freezer for goodness’ sake. Granted, they had a lot of people in their house to feed, but sometimes Oliver wondered if it was necessary. His pop did feed his coworkers, and some of it went home with Molly and Janie.
Janie smirked and gently punched Oliver who faked pure death. “C’mon, Olly – Molly is on the Great Wizard Time. We are blessed by her presence.”
“My apologies, oh great one!” Oliver bowed before Molly laid out her plan. “I vote minimal cleavage. I don’t want to spend my time punching eyes out,” he stated. Janie smiled knowing she really didn’t have a lot to offer in that area. She tended to be a bit more modest in her clothing as her performance clothes were the opposite.
“How about we see what they have in colors first?” Janie offered. It was more of a selfish reason. Molly always looked good in pastels and bright colors. They always looked good against her skin. “Or we can have Oliver pick somethings out to see what old lady stuff he wants us in.”
Molly nodded in agreement with Janie's observation, "It is exactly like a quinceañera. Except...maybe a little less poufy." Maybe prom dresses were more along the lines of the coming of age party, but she liked to believe that Homecoming or a Fall Dance was awfully close to it. Laughter did escape her when Oliver brought up his mom's cooking, "Yeah, I don’t know what mom’s making yet...but it will feed us and your families for days.” The teenager knew this to not be an over exaggeration, Mrs. Deak did love to feed people and the batches of food tended to be awfully big. Even when she was too full to eat anymore, she still found food popping up on her plate, "I expect nothing less from your mom. Plus, my mini fridge has been feeling rather empty." If she mentioned that to Oliver's mom, she was certain she'd be leaving tonight with plenty of bounty.
Speaking of Oliver, leave it to him to fake a death in front of her. In typical teenager girl fashion, Molly simply rolled her eyes as Janie went in for the blow, "C’mon, Olly – Molly is on the Great Wizard Time. We are blessed by her presence.” Precisely that. A grin couldn't help but to splash across her face now, "Thank you for defending my honor, Janie! I do appreciate it from this scruffy nerf herder." At the request of minimal cleavage though, a deep sigh couldn't help but to escape her, "But dances are like the one time to show off cleavage!" She might have gone on about her friend denying her such a chance, but the other girl was quick to stifle the argument with a suggestion of color, "How about we see what they have in colors first?" It was quick to quiet her about any more conversation about revealing dresses.
"Or we can have Oliver pick somethings out to see what old lady stuff he wants us in.” Now that earned an eye roll from Molly, "Janie! We are independent rebellious ladies who don't need no man to tell us what to wear. Besides, it is Oliver's gentlemanly duty to match our colors." But she knew not to push it, for some reason, Janie seemed to be a bit self conscious right now despite the fact that she was beautiful in her own right, "But to look at colors it is then! And we go from there. Anything in particular you want to keep an eye out for?"
Oliver rolled his eyes at the cleavage and independence. It was true, the girls were obviously going to do what they want. Maybe it was because Oliver viewed them as sisters at this point, wanting to make sure their respected future people would treat them well. Not like Oliver had a lot of practice himself, though he had kissed a few people.
Janie flashed him a playful smile before attempting to wrap an arm over Oliver’s shoulders. They were close in height, but Oliver managed to have a bit of a longer torso. But nevertheless, she grabbed him tight. “Let’s look at the more outrageous colors and styles first!” Janie dragged Oliver to the section of what Janie thought looked like Candy Land and Willy Wonka. If her goal was to look like a possible cupcake, then she could.
The skirts of the dresses looked a bit shorter than she liked, mainly due to Janie being all leg and her waist sitting a bit higher than others. She found an orange fringe dress and a cupcake mint dress. Neither did Janie see herself buying, but she was here to have fun, right? And to make Oliver a bit miserable. Hands took the hangers and held them up in front of her. “Which one should I try first?”
Molly couldn't help but to giggle when Oliver rolled his eyes. It was quite dramatic and truth be told, getting him to roll his eyes was one of her favorite past times. Boys were so easy to get riled up. Especially protective friends. But poking fun came to an end as Janie decided to stir them towards a rather horrifying colorful section of oranges and mints. The teenager could not help but to gawk at the display. She took a quick glance around before whispering, "I can't believe Ama Cadwallader actually has these in her shop." And truth be told, Molly did not mean that as a compliment.
When Janie pulled two rather questionable dresses off of the rack, it took everything in Molly's power to not gawk at them, and even then, she could feel the pain on her face trying to keep it from contorting. At this rate, she wasn't sure who her best friend was trying to set off: her or Oliver. And then came the playful ultimatum, “Which one should I try first?” Once again, Molly felt herself trying to not allow her face to contort. It was silly, since this was obviously a joke, but her high and mighty fashion sense was kicking in and sometimes it was a little hard to control - especially when it came to fancy dresses'. Still, she recovered, "Mint! Orange would clash with both of your skin colors. Plus, the short hem will show off your legs and quite frankly, I think that halter top might actually make your boobs pop," she said now, cocking one of her fingers like a gun and making a click sound with her lips before glancing at her other best friend, "Right, Oliver? That's what all the boys are into."
Or maybe Janie wanted girls to notice her. She didn't really know, here Molly was assuming which was probably hypocritical of her given that she recently had developed herself a school girl crush on her riding instructor - who most certainly had not been a man. It was a weird feeling to Molly, given that she was crushing on - well her opinion - resident blue arces heartthrob Casey Lloyd, and yet, she could not bring herself to admit of either of these two crushes to her very best friends. She had no idea why though. Thoughts to table for later.
“I don’t think she has them all the time,” Oliver said. “Mum said it’s only to help cater to the school events and such. She was here for a work event a while ago and they weren’t out yet. Money doesn’t mean taste either….I remember seeing pictures of my sister’s dance when she was our age. Some of those girls came from the ritzy area of the Oldaker and yikes!”
“Both look like something you would wear on stage…” He gave a look at Molly and laughed. “I’m more of a butt person myself so…but I’m sure someone would find Janie’s chest attractive.”
Janie could feel her face burn with a bit of embarrassment, but she laughed it off. “I’ll try to find something more demure, then,” she said, putting the dresses back. As Janie began running her hands over the line of dresses, the sound of pristine heels was heard.
“Have you three been helped yet?” Janie and Oliver looked to see the owner herself. She was dressed smartly, all in black like the other staff. But with a bit richer aura. Janie couldn’t help but look at the shoes that lead up to well-toned legs. It made her feel a bit naughty, but they were great legs.
“We’re looking for outfits for a dance. Molly here would have more info!” Oliver responded.
Molly could not help but to arch an eyebrow at Oliver's comment about best features to admire, "You like butts? I didn't know this...although, I guess you are a swimmer." She teased now, glancing over at her other best friend now who looked utterly embarrassed. Was it just her or was there an adorable pink flush across Janie's face. As soon as the thought entered Molly's brain, she thought it was weird. But shrugged it off, "Oh Janie! We didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to put that dress away. Who says that Cinderellas have to be demure?" It probably should have occurred to her that with all of the other young woman's trick riding, circus camps, and dance classes, she'd probably have a bit more of an eclectic taste. In fact, she felt a little bad for ragging on certain dresses now.
Before she could carry on in more apologies, there was a sound of heels. Looking over, Molly was shocked to see that none other than Amaryllis Cadwallader herself was standing before them. As always, she looked like she just stepped out of a vogue shoot, styled to kill. The teenager did her best to not let her jaw drop, but it was kinda hard to not do so when a fashion icon was standing before them. Hopefully she hadn't overheard Molly earlier insulting some of the dresses in here because that would be embarrassing. The fact that she spoken to them hardly registered in Molly's brain before Oliver spoke up, cutting into her thoughts: "We’re looking for outfits for a dance. Molly here would have more info!”
Right. She needed to speak, "My school is having a fall dance. Its fall and cinderella-esque themed. I don't think long dresses, but maybe something knee length? I'm thinking cocktail hour, perhaps fall hues, and definingly sparkles...well, sparkles for Janie and I. And the three of us don't have to match, but I am thinking complementary of each other." This all came out very fast, and very jumbled. She must have sounded like speedy gonzalas on crack, "Um, yes, we need help."
Ama smiled at the teens. “Of course. Willow Brook Academy’s dance?” She only knew that because there were a lot of people coming for dresses and outfits, staff and students alike. Ama tapped on her chin, as she eyeballed over Janie and Molly. Not in a weird way, but taking mental measurements and skin tone, and guessing their style based on what they were currently wearing.
“You three head to the dressing rooms and I’ll be back shortly.” Ama didn’t leave them too much room to refuse, so Oliver ushered Janie and Molly to where they were instructed.
“It felt like she was x-raying us with her eyes. That was weird,” he commented finding one of the fanciest chairs he had ever seen in his life. It was comfortable and sturdy. Oliver didn’t have too much time to relax since Ama appeared out of nowhere. It had only been a few minutes.
In her hands were six dresses, something Janie hadn’t expected. She gave a glance to Molly before Ama spoke again. “Alrighty, here are some options. I know you asked for glitter, but since you both are still growing – I picked options that can be used a few times. Other than just this one dance.” Ama handed Janie and Molly a dress each. Janie’s dress was a midnight blue with thick straps and pleats, and Molly’s dress was a silver brocade with a bustier style top. “I’ll be out here if you need help getting them on," she commented, before opening two rooms next to each other.
Oliver couldn’t help but peek at the four other dresses, wondering how the hell Ama pulled those selections so fast. “I’ll be here too,” he said, watching his friends enter their rooms.
Molly could not help but to simply stare at the older woman in awe as she smiled at the three teenagers as if she were an all knowing fairy godmother. The way Ama Cadwallader merely tapped her chin, studying them, made it even more apparent to Molly that they were about to be bibbi boppity boo'd and the teenager just could not wait. It was shocking she didn't combust into flames as Ama walked away from excitement. As Oliver flopped into a chair, proclaiming whatever magic that had just happened as 'weird' - Molly merely rolled her eyes, "That wasn't weird. That was utterly magical. That steely gaze of her's was all knowing! We are going to walk out of here like Disney Princesses...and a Prince."
She supposed she wasn't surprised at her male friend's melacony over the idea of shopping here, but it was odd to hear not a peep escape Janie. Her friend looked utterly lost in thought, up in the clouds or, well, space. Before Molly could remotely say anything, or shoot Oliver a questioning glance, Ama showed back up with some dresses before handing them over their 'cinderella dresses'. A squeal could not help but to escape Molly when she saw the silver dress, she knew a boob enhancing cut when she saw one, "Oh, they're beautiful!" the teenager exclaimed excitedly as she gently took the dresses now, "Come on Space Cadet, let's go get dressed."
Poor Oliver would have to wait out it out for them, but she supposed that he had expected as much when informed that they were going shopping for the dance. He would just have to deal, "We will be quick, Oliver!" She called over her shoulder as pulled Janie into the changing room behind closed curtains now.
Oliver just nodded and sat still, hoping Ama wasn’t about to size him up either. But her gaze did make him watch his posture. Janie followed Molly, excited. She ran her hands over the dress Ama offered her. The fabric felt luxurious between her fingertips. The price kind of scared her, but Janie decided to try it on. If needed, she could put a dress on hold until she had more money to come in from work.
“Alright…let’s see how it goes!” Janie wasn’t afraid to undress, but sharing the same room with Molly was hitting differently. There had been plenty of times that they’d changed together. But they were different now. More assets. Did her undergarments look cute? Did Janie look cute?
Janie slipped off her clothes, facing away – a slight pink on her cheeks. She stepped into the dress and ensured her hair was out of the way – before zipping herself up. The dress was a bit loose, but not much. Maybe lifting the straps?
Considering the countless times that Molly had gotten undressed and re-dressed in front of her best friend, she went into this situation with all sorts of confidence and no thoughts at all. However, now that she was pulling off her stuff to get into the dress, it felt a little odd. Maybe it was because she was sixteen, or maybe, just maybe, because out of the corner of her brown eyes, she clocked Janie and her best friend seemed a little different to her. Why? Molly wasn't sure. The other girl all of the sudden seemed awkward and unsure of herself, "You okay?" She asked now, making sure to keep her eyes dead locked on friend's face rather than the athletics built of her body.
As soon as the question left her mouth though, it seemed silly. And Molly regretted such a question, after all, however Janie felt was her business, and she trusted her best friend to share with her if she felt uncomfortable on her own terms. The teenager finished up shimming herself into silver dress now. With the top of the dress over her now, Molly undid her bra and slipped it right off, lettings it fall to the ground as she got most of the dress's zipper up on her own. She was going to have to ask for help to complete it though: “What do you think?” Molly glanced over now to see her best friend, and she could not help but to gasp. Her hands clamped around her face now, grinning, "Oh Janie! You look beautiful! I think Ms. Caldwaller already picked a winner for you." The dress was still a bit on the modest side, but the color and design, not to mention the fit, looked great on her friend - the midnight blue a nice stark contrast to her pale skin and blonde hair, "I bet you could tighten it up a little bit more if you want more oopf to the goods. Let's ask Oliver."
Without thinking, she grabbed hold of Janie's hand and lead her right now, ripping the curtains open with dramatic pizazz, "Well! Oliver, what do you think? Doesn't Janie look absolutely stunning?" She then did a pose, "And myself? Although I need help from one of you two with the zipper. I think my lack of flexibility only allowed it up so much...unless its my boobs."
