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!.
Jerking slightly, Shaun opened his eyes to the sight of the kitchen tiles. Frowning slightly, he grunted as he pulled his arms up and began to move himself up off the floor, feeling more than a little bit sore and sorry. He couldn't work out why he felt the way he did as he moved onto all fours, pausing as the world swam. He knew what that meant, he'd felt it dozens of times before now, he knew a head knock when he felt it.
He took his time, using a counter top to pull himself onto his legs and braced against it for support as he let the world settle down before shuffling over to the sink and leaning on it. He began cursory inspections of his head, an old habit of his from years fighting and he found exactly what he'd wanted to not find - a bump on the side of his head with an open cut. Pulling his hand back, he took note that the blood was not fresh so he knew he'd been out for a while to let the blood get that dry.
Shaking his head slowly, he thought back, trying to recall what had caused it. He remembered seeing Jace heading for the back door as he was prepping for dinner, told him not to go out. He hadn't yelled first, he hadn't threatened, but Jace didn't listen. He sighed - they fought, Jace threw the first punch, his reflexes were too slow. He didn't like to admit that he wasn't as fast as he used to be. He ran a hand over his jaw, finding the swelled spot from the hit was still tender; felt like a bruise. He turned slightly, his legs suddenly jelly under him, just holding onto the bench to try prevent another fall from rushing him. He saw the spot on the floor where he'd bled, decent size pool. Fuck me, as if there wasn't enough to clean...
Well, at least nobody had completely wiped the floor with me, Stephen thought to himself as he left the specialty gym and headed towards his car. Given that there seemed to be a theme of his brothers punching a lot of things lately, Stephen Breckah started hitting the matt again to get himself reacquainted with fighting. Oxford had left him rusty, but thankfully, krav maga had proven to be like riding a bike and the whole 'best offense is good defense' kicked right in. He was 50/50 in his spars this evening, and no doubt in a few more weeks, it would be like he had never quit. Naturally, he had to roll off some comments about how a son of the great Shaun Breckah didn't do true MMA, naturally those had been the meatheads who he had wiped the floor with. And they say hand to hand is dead.
As he turned on the car, green eyes looked to the dashboard clock and noted the time, "Shit," he muttered. Hadn't his dad said something about family dinner earlier today? Or maybe it was in text. Or maybe he was making it up just because the time suggested it should be family dinner time. The thought of a normal family dinner actually made Stephen roll his eyes as he put the keys in the ignition, turned the car and headed home. It had certainly been a show of two weeks with all of his brothers and his dad, the young male uncertain of what the biggest surprise being. Maybe Keith in scrubs, since Stephen reckoned all of the emotional blow up's was from being grilled that men don't show emotion. Funny how it took going to college to realize that the lifestyle that translated in the Breckah Household didn't work so well out in the real world. Maybe that's why Keith had his scrubs. He couldn't help but to worry about his brothers, all of them, even Jace. Although he knew he couldn't admit that, expressing such feelings might cause them to flee in the other direction.
Pulling up to the driveway, he noticed the lights were on. Someone must be home then, likely his Shaun Breckah. The young male honestly didn't think his dad left the house very often and it sounded like his friends made house calls. Getting out, he shut the car door behind him and head towards the house to find the door unlocked. Green eyes stared at the door for a moment before stepping inside, "Hello?" Nothing. The only sound in the house appeared to be his stomach growling, angry that he denied it a protien shake and a burger. Well, at least he could fix one of those things, deciding to toss the eerie silence aside for now. He could think while he ate. Heading to the kitchen, Stephen pushed the swinging door open and stopped dead in his tracks. There was his dad, leaning heavily against the counter and he looked rough, sporting a rather good dent in his head with dried blood, "Dad?" His gaze soon followed his dad's to the fucking large pool of blood on the ground. It was dark, so it had started to dry up and congeal. Once again, Stephen's gaze moved back to his dad, "Do you need to go to the hospital? Also, what the heck happened?"
"Dad?" Stephen's gaze moved back to his dad, "Do you need to go to the hospital? Also, what the heck happened?"
Shaun's gaze drifted slowly over to the origin of the voice, everything registering a few seconds later. Stephen. That was Stephan talking. His throat was dry as he summoned his voice to work for him.
"I um... I fell." He made a face, hearing his own voice tremble a little. "Jace and I fought... Told him not to go out... I don't remember much else."
He closed his eyes for a moment, wobbling a little as wave of nausea hit him, threatening to drop him to the floor but the only thing that kept him upright was his hands gripping the bench and the scraps of will power he had to remain strong in front of his son.
"Probably should go get it checked." He murmured and carefully rubbed his jaw again, pressing more to make sure he hadn't lost teeth.
He knew the cost of losing teeth, seeing as he'd lost a few over the years and had to have replacements fitted in. It was expensive as much as it was dangerous in all aspects.
The more the silence hung in the air and the longer it took for his dad to answer him, the more the worry started to set in. Stephen didn't even bother to hide it from his face, his dad could give him a lecture about being a man and showing no emotion later. Their eyes locked, and thankfully Shaun Breckah seemed to have recongition on his face that he was indeed talking to his son. A small little sigh of relief internally went off in the young male's head. And then, his dad spoke, "I um... I fell. Jace and I fought... Told him not to go out... I don't remember much else."
Stephen hoped the lack of memory was from being knocked out verses a full on concussion, but he wasn't about to say that out loud. He couldn't help but to frown an the answer though, "Jace wiped the floor with you?" Okay, perhaps that wasn't the best thing to ask his dad, who usually could be a prideful person, but it was hard not to. It was all sorts of concerning, the fact that Jace would act out like that and the fact that age was catching up to their father now that he could be taken out like that. Stephen remembered only a mere few years ago when it had been nearly impossible to get a shot on their dad. That was besides the point right now though as his dad muttered, "Probably should go get it checked."
Breckah men, exasperating as always, "No Dad. There's no 'probably', we need to get you checked out. We need to make sure Jace didn't give you a concussion. On top of that, that is a heck of a lot of blood on the ground that I assume it's yours." Hopefully, the silence of the house meant that all of his younger brothers were off hanging out with their friends and probably wouldn't need to eat. Cause dinner wasn't happening tonight, unless he left the 40 bucks in his wallet for them. There was also the elephant in the room that needed to be asked, "What do you want me to do about Jace? Do I need to call the cops or anything?" Truthfully, he hoped no. The young male wasn't sure what was going on with his brother, something had happened in those two years he had been off living in Oxford, since he wasn't himself. Yeah, Stephen remembered Jace being aggravating, and unlike the rest of his brothers, he put up with a lot from the seventeen year old.
But he also knew that two years ago, Jace was decking their father out cold and leaving him in a pool of blood. Jace had just been a hyper annoying kid, "Come on. Let's get you to the ER. I have a feeling we might be there for a while." Too bad there was nobody to take bets with on whether or not he'd actually get his dad out the door once he mentioned the word 'ER'.
At that, Shaun frowned. Wiped the floor? Jace? Fuck he was getting slow. "Guess he did..."
Breckah men, exasperating as always, "No Dad. There's no 'probably', we need to get you checked out. We need to make sure Jace didn't give you a concussion. On top of that, that is a heck of a lot of blood on the ground that I assume it's yours."
His eyes drifted to the drying pool on the floor and reached up again to the split in the back of his head, "Most likely. Feels like a three or four inch gash."
"What do you want me to do about Jace? Do I need to call the cops or anything?"
Shaun grunted, his tone turning slightly bitter, "No. Let the mangy bastard get hit by a car at this point."
He didn't mean it, not fully, but right now the headache he was feeling, he would've let it go. He couldn't keep going with Jace's mood swings.
"Come on. Let's get you to the ER. I have a feeling we might be there for a while."
He was unsteady as he waved a hand, "Grab my wallet, put fifty on the bench, leave a note. I'll go purely to save arguments. Plus, I don't think you'd want to try super-gluing it back together."
Cautiously he began shuffling himself towards the back door, hugging the wall for support.
Was it just him or did his dad seem a little slow on he uptake that Jace had knocked him out cold and they should probably go to the Emergency Room. Stephen waited as his father slowly but surely acknowledged that just maybe, one of the middle Breckah kids, managed to wipe the floor with their old man followed up by the guess that the gash on his noggin was something three or four inches. The young man nearly grimace, "While I can confirm that, the gash isn't exactly what I am worried about." No, Stephen was more worried about a concussion. The sort of thing that old man athletes like his dad didn't believe in but were a legit cause for concern. Plus, if his dad still wanted to mope around, this would just make that desire grow by tenfold.
And then came the other comment, "No. Let the mangy bastard get hit by a car at this point." A frown sat on Stephen's lips, trying to think of something to defend his brother with. But truth was, it was hard to find a justifiable defense for something like this, and this wasn't the time to go about questioning how his dad decided to handle the situation with Jace either, "I'm sure you don't really mean that." Was all he offered now as response, good ole Stephen back to being the family referee for the older crowd. Granted, Nash had been getting awfully feisty lately as well, so no doubt he'd be dealing with snippy comments from the younger crowd as well. He would make a mental note to text Derek later about this, while he hated to annoy his older brother with these family dynamics, Stephen still valued his opinion.
Green eyes watched his father's unsteady movements and he actually took a few steps towards him to help before naturally, Shaun was waving him off like it was nothing and barking orders, "Grab my wallet, put fifty on the bench, leave a note. I'll go purely to save arguments. Plus, I don't think you'd want to try super-gluing it back together." He made a face, "Well, glad we can save time on the arguments." He muttered bitterly to himself as he did what he was told. The young man soon shuffled after his father, keeping his wallet with him and feeling grateful that he never bothered to put the car keys back in the dish, "Dad, you you need help? You can lean on me. I swear I can support your weight without an issue."
"While I can confirm that, the gash isn't exactly what I am worried about."
Shaun raised a brow briefly but let it go. A head knock was nothing he wasn't unused to - he had been struck over a dozen times during his career - but this felt worse. Perhaps because it was coming from one of his kids and not a man in his class.
"I'm sure you don't really mean that."
He sighed as he held onto the wall, "I don't... not entirely. But he evokes those thoughts from time to time."
"Well, glad we can save time on the arguments."
He let that go too, fairly certain it wasn't even worth the come back.
"Dad, you need help? You can lean on me. I swear I can support your weight without an issue."
Swallow your pride damn it. Reluctantly, he nodded.
"Yeah.. I'd appreciate that," he said, his tone more reserved and quiet, "The world has a slight dizziness to it."
That arched brow did not go unnoticed by Stephen as his father looked at him. For a moment, it almost looked like Shaun Breckah was contemplating giving him some of the ole Breckah sass, or at least, what qualified as sass if you were the patriarch of the clan. The thought had been fleeting though, and the ongoing silence signaled to the young man that he had escaped some sort of verbal smack. He wasn't surprised, the shock of everything that happened earlier in this kitchen probably was still weighing in on his father, as his choice words of Jace suggested.
That sigh said everything, "I don't... not entirely. But he evokes those thoughts from time to time." Green eyes shot him a sympathetic look, "I get it...he's family though." Granted, Stephen had been lucky so far since returning. He hadn't been caught in Jace's meltdowns yet, but it was only a matter of time for him to truly experience what has been erupting in this house since their mother died. The next few moments seemed to drag on for Stephen though with his father's silence to everything he said. Of course, this shouldn't surprise him given that he could be a man of silence. At the suggestion of his father using him for help, Stephen braced himself for a solid hard 'no', but instead, he got the opposite.
"Yeah.. I'd appreciate that," he said, his tone more reserved and quiet, "The world has a slight dizziness to it."
Well, that was ungood, "Shit," he said now, "This is bad." Stephen actually wasn't sure what was worse, his dad actually taking the support or the fact that he was dizzy. Either way, he had to get him to the hospital's ER pronto. He walked over now, gingerly allowing Shaun to drape as he best saw fit, before leading the way to the car, "Thank god I got home when I did. Should I text Derek? Keith? Well, scratch that on Keith, I doubt he'll offer anything kind, the stoic jerk." He opened the door now, "Is this the first time Jace's hit you?" Because even that was mind blowing to Stephen.
Shaun let his arm rest over Stephen's shoulder, feeling guilt for having to use his own son as a crutch to move.
"I know," he said quietly, "He's still ours, he's still my boy."
He knew his affection had been limited, that he hadn't said many kind words too often, but he still cared even if he was grouchy and had trouble communicating.
"Shit," he said now, "This is bad."
Shaun rolled his eyes at that. It wasn't too bad in his eyes. He'd been through worse, but even so, he let the comment go.
"Thank god I got home when I did. Should I text Derek? Keith? Well, scratch that on Keith, I doubt he'll offer anything kind, the stoic jerk." He opened the door now, "Is this the first time Jace's hit you?"
Reaching out to the door frame, he paused and looked at Stephen, "You shouldn't have rushed home. I know its chaotic... I'm sure your brother's have said its worse than that... Don't message anyone, alright? I just have to get on with it and keep moving forward. Keith, Derek... they've got their own lives to lead, and the younger lads need not know about this, ok? They don't need to know."
He grunted as he moved forward down the single step to the garage, mulling over the question before answering - "No. At least, not like this... He's hit and thrown things at me hundreds of times over the years... but this is the first time he put me on the floor."
As soon as he felt his father's weight rest on him, Stephen began to the move and shuffle them out the door. He didn't really care how often his dad had gotten hit in the past, and how he's 'had worse' from the arena. In all honesty, Stephen knew it was the truth. Shaun Breckah had been hit harder than a sucker punch, but a concussion is a concussion and that's what worried him. At least, by the small sound of his father's voice which sounded foreign in the moment, he knew that his dad still loved Jace despite the shit that he said. They were blood after all, no matter how difficult.
Green eyes lasered in on the car now that he had gotten them nearly out of the house and onto the front porch. Nothing was going to stop him now from getting his dad into the car. It was almost insight, and then, a pause. Not from Stephen but from Shaun. The young man himself was out of the door frame, but Shaun lingered, resting against it. And what came next startled him, "Feels like you're asking me to keep a secret from Derek." Like, he got Keith, and the younger brood of brothers. But Derek? That felt a little off, but Stephen supposed his dad was right. Derek did have his own life, and from what he could tell when he ambushed him at the tattoo shop, he was doing rather good for himself by himself, "I'll do what you're asking though. I promise I won't mention a word." Hopefully he won't get wringed by the neck for it either if it ever came out.
They started moving now, towards the garage and back towards the car. So close and yet so far. Gingerly, he took a step each time ahead of his dad, and then braced for the weight to come with it. Thank god he started going back to the gym or else this would have been a lot harder, "No. At least, not like this... He's hit and thrown things at me hundreds of times over the years... but this is the first time he put me on the floor." Now it was Stephen's turn to mull over those words. Guess a lot had changed when he left for college. He didn't really remember Jace being like that when their mom was alive, but what he did know? He had always been wrapped up in his own little world and books and wanting to be the next Holden Caufield, "Shit Dad. That's not healthy for either of you two. And I'm pretty certain you can't take any more chances on possible concussions. This isn't the 80's and 90's anymore....I'll find Jace after we get you taken care of."
"Feels like you're asking me to keep a secret from Derek. I'll do what you're asking though. I promise I won't mention a word."
Shaun nodded slightly, the action uncomfortable, "I am asking just that... Your older brother would probably just cuss me out anyway, and if he does find out, it'll be from me if it comes up."
Getting to the car took some effort, something that Shaun was loathe to admit - but he would've liked to just go and sleep. And it was just another pin in a slow leaking tire. He was getting old, age was catching up a lot faster than he'd ever wished.
"Shit Dad. That's not healthy for either of you two. And I'm pretty certain you can't take any more chances on possible concussions. This isn't the 80's and 90's anymore....I'll find Jace after we get you taken care of."
Opening a car door, slowly, almost gingerly, Shaun slipped into the passenger seat and sighed, "I know. I'm sure one of you boys have said that one of us will end up dead as a result if it keeps going. I just.. Every time he asks for help, I try to get him to the doctor and the next I'm ducking out of the way of some random item."
Another thing he was loathe to do - to admit - he was failing dismally at being a father. One of the great let downs of being a boxer - if not travelling for fights or admitted into hospital wards for injury, he was running a gym and doing everything else in between from promotions to ads for the sport. He'd followed so strongly in the name of his heritage that being a father had fallen out of his spectrum - he failed at being someone his boys needed. So focused on his short career span.
"The less your brothers know, the better," he muttered, fumbling with the seatbelt, "And don't go putting yourself in harms way with Jace. Once I'm out of the hospital, I'll go looking for him."
Man, what was this family coming to now if his own dad was asking him to keep secrets from his brothers? Stephen supposed that didn't matter, given that he had his own secrets as well now that he held onto tight for safe keeping. If anyone in this family found out how he was earning money now after throwing away his education to support his family, well, that would be a sit down and an earful that the young man wouldn't even wish upon the worst of his enemies. So he let it go, and just nodded to Shaun's words about Derek Breckah.
They were finally at the car, something that had taken longer that his father had cared to admit. Stephen wasn't going to say anything though, his helping him out said enough as it is. He opened the car door now, helping Shaun into the passenger's seat. It looked like he had folded into it nicely despite his height. He held the door open still though as Shaun sighed, and Stephen lingered, knowing that something was on his mind. The young man probably hadn't done his father any favors by pointing out that times no longer believed that concussions didn't exist, "If anybody said that, it wasn't me." Stephen reassured him, before closing the door and getting into the driver's side, "And nobody's doubting that you're not trying to get Jace to the doctors," well that, he wasn't sure, but his father didn't need it from him, "Maybe I can help out next time you want to take him."
It was easier said than done, but Stephen knew that prior to leaving for college, he had been about the only Breckah brother to remotely come close to tolerating Jace. Something was up, he was certain even Jace knew something was up, but it was like another side seemed to take old of him maybe? Stephen didn't know, maybe he'd figure it out after the ER. Since, wherever Jace was, they couldn't just leave him out there. Speaking of harm's way, Stephen popped the seatbelt on and turned on the car, "Dad, you're in no condition to find Jace. If he knocked you out earlier over something, well, I don't think he wants to see you. And maybe...he just needs somebody different to talk to." While the delivery was soft, the words still came out a little harder than he wanted to. Yeah, he had been frustrated with how his dad had been since...well, forever, their mom's death made it even worse, but he also knew that berating someone over it didn't do them any good either.
And quite frankly, he feared that his father was another emotional gut punch away from going over the edge again. Stephen drove them in silence to Hickstead Hospital now, and parked outside of the ER. Even from the glass doors, he could see that it didn't look so bad, "Huh, we may be in luck and they can see you right away. Looks like its a quiet nice so far." With that, he cut the engine, and got out, shutting the door before heading over to the other side to open the passenger's side door for his dad. Stephen waited, uncertain how his dad wanted him to help him out.
"And nobody's doubting that you're not trying to get Jace to the doctors."
Shaun let his eyes close as Stephen spoke, deciding to let it be. He had no energy to actually argue the point like he would've normally. The world was just too much of a swaying bastard to actually focus.
"Maybe I can help out next time you want to take him."
"Dad, you're in no condition to find Jace. If he knocked you out earlier over something, well, I don't think he wants to see you. And maybe...he just needs somebody different to talk to."
Shaun grunted, words dying as quickly as they formed. Doesn't want to see you... needs somebody different...
"Perhaps he does," he huffed, "Anyone that isn't a fucking Breckah..."
His voice didn't have the usual venom in it that usually did when he was mad. Instead it was almost like he was disappointed in the name. Carefully he held his head in his hand, fighting the nausea creeping up on him.
"Huh, we may be in luck and they can see you right away. Looks like its a quiet nice so far."
When the car stopped, it took him a moment to register the fact before he was fumbling to undo his seat belt and open the door. Getting out was another matter altogether - it was like watching a blind drunk trying to use their legs, and it was taking Shaun a considerable amount of effort to co-ordinate himself enough to stand up. But he got there after several long moments, wincing as the car door shut.
Stephen, distracted by his currently reality of driving his father to the hospital, hadn't fully realized how harsh his words had sounded until his father spoke besides him: "Perhaps he does," he huffed, "Anyone that isn't a fucking Breckah..." Well shit. The young man thought back on his words, and then realized what he thought was helpful really had been the opposite. A frown rested on his lips, his father's words a reminder how out of touch he was with his family, that maybe Derek had been right, he should have stayed in Oxford and let it all go to shit.
So he remained quiet, parking the car. Besides him, his father was already fumbling with the seat, "Dad, let me-" but it was a lost cause, Shaun Breckah was already lurching out the door. Stephen got out now, green eyes watching his father move like he was drunk even though he wasn't. Hopefully the staff would believe him. He wanted to just let his dad lean on him to the door of the hospital now, but something told him he might have a more stubborn man now than he did back in the house when defeat still hung in the air, "Dad...I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything back there about Jace and our family."
