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!.
Jonathan couldn't believe that he had been dating Alana for almost a year now. He wanted to go get her something special and had heard about a jewelry store in town. Jonathan knew that he wanted to get something special for her to mark the occasion.
He made an appointment with the artisans to make something custom for her. It was hard to decide what he wanted to get her, so he thought it best to talk to an expert about it.
After closing the store for the afternoon, he locked up the front door and switched off the open sign, signalling to the others that he was finished for the day. Jon put on his light wool coat and walked to to the jewellery store, which wasn't far.
Once he arrived, he opened the front door to the store, immediately feeling overwhelmed by the amount of jewellery that was in the cases. He walked up to one of the employees who was behind the counter and smiled. "Hello there, I have an appointment with Gideon?"
It was if there was some weird rush of the holidays approaching, that made people want to hit the store like a hurricane was coming. Thankfully, the gifts people wanted, allowed them to pick straight from the case. Custom work was about to take a lot longer, as it could be a few months or weeks – depending.
Gideon had an appointment today, with a gentleman. He didn’t quite know what this Jonathan fellow was hoping for, but Gideon would do his best to offer his guidance.
As Gideon was organizing some of the stock behind the counter, he heard the front door go off and someone walked in. The man introduced himself and Gideon gave a polite, professional smile. “Hello, I’m Gideon. Jonathan?” he responded, offering a hand for a firm handshake. “What can I help you with today?”
"That would be me, I'm Jonathan." He hadn't had the chance to check out the jeweler store as he wasn't one to wear any - but it was always his goal to shop local when he could. Since he was a small business owner himself, he knew the struggles.
Jonathan reached his hand out and returned the handshake. "I'm looking for a gift. I've been dating my girlfriend for a year now. She is an artist and teaches art, so I was thinking something along those lines." He knew Alana was someone who wore jewelry quite often - so he wanted to add to her collection.
"I was thinking of a necklace and earing set? Or even a bracelet?" Jonathan didn't think that a ring would be appropriate this early on in their relationship. As he was a bit more old fashioned but the only ring he wanted to give any woman was an engagement ring. "I'm also open to any suggestions you may have." He would take all the help he could get, as this wasn't his area of expertise. It was why he made an appointment with Gideon to begin with, hoping that he could get some sort of help.
Gideon nodded. “Ah, lovely! Does she wear anything quirky, or anything you’ve noticed her wearing?” He could be stereotypical and find some weird setup, but Gideon didn’t want to do that. She could be a young woman who had a bit more simple taste compared to a Miss Frizzle type. Of course, there was nothing wrong with that – as there were plenty of pieces that sold, that fit that personality.
“We do have some more colorful pieces. Things that look more casual, versus formal.” Gideon grabbed a key from the set he had in his pocket, opened a drawer behind him, and grabbed a few options. He placed them in front of Jonathan. It was a bracelet, necklace, and earrings that his mother and mother made and designed together. His mother’s ideas weren’t for everyone, but she fit that Avant Garde type.
“Do these look like anything she has worn before?”
“I tend to see her wearing more quirky things. They seem to be a mix between modern and vintage, if I knew the name of the style that might be more helpful for you.” Jon chuckled, feeling silly for not knowing. Sometimes he felt like he had known Alana forever, but times like these made him second guess that. “Even if it’s a nicer event we have gone to, it’s something in that style but a bit more subtle.” He could remember from the Valentine’s Gala, she was dressed in something meant to stand out from the crowd, making it easier for him to find her in the group of people.
He glanced around to see if he could find something close to where he was standing but Gideon beat him to it. Jonathan’s dark eyes were caught as soon as he saw the earrings and bracelet, taking more than a moment to glance at them before looking at the necklace. “Definitely the bracelet and the earrings are something similar I’ve seen on her before. The necklace is nice though too.” It seemed as if the jeweler was understanding what style he was going for. “Are they meant to go as a set together even though the necklace isn’t blue like the others?” He really only had his mother to compare his knowledge jewelry with, though she enjoyed the more classic style.
Gideon watched as Jon began examining everything in front of him. He wasn’t one to brag, but Gideon did manage to know how to read someone – or investigate something quite well. It was like a personal tailor that was able to size someone up without measuring them.
“No, they don’t go together, unless she is someone that mixes metals together. We have a lot of blue options, same with turquoise. Did you want to remain a bit safer, or did you want to go past that?” Maybe the option of playing a bit of risk wasn’t the best, but Gideon knew that sometimes a risk yielded something. More of a specialty piece. “Did you want to get something that she would feel comfortable wearing all the time, like an engagement ring – or more special?”
Choosing jewelry wasn’t something he was used to choosing. Sure, he had a few watches but those felt easy to pick out. This had more pressure attached to it, but not as much as choosing an engagement ring or anything. His mind continued churning as he debated the possibilities. As if someone snapped him out of it, he quickly came to a decision - hearing Gideon speak shortly after.
“Let’s go with the safe option. This is the right style though. I’d like to stick with the turquoise stones though. She would probably wear the not-safe option, but I don’t want to mess this up.” Jon felt like last year he got a freebie in terms of gift-giving. He had learned that the two of them were equally as easygoing - Jon even telling her around the Holidays not to get him anything, though it felt weird not getting the other person anything. The jewelry was to commemorate their being together a year so to him there was a bit more pressure. “I’m okay with it being something she doesn’t wear all the time. A special occasion piece is fine too.” Something like an engagement ring wasn’t quite where they were yet in their relationship - though Jonathan didn’t know how she felt about it.
Gideon gave a nod, appreciating the honesty of a man not wanting to go with the wind. Jewelry wasn’t always for everyone, but Jon seemed to know his partner well enough. It helped that she was a quirky individual, at least to him. Art folks always liked something fun, from the ones that Gideon worked with.
“Great, let me set these pieces aside,” Gideon smiled – putting away the non-turquoise items. “I think silver is always a classic look. Gold is nice too, but I think silver would be more fitting. Ultimately, it’s up to you, of course.” He often did his best to reiterate that his word wasn’t the final word. The person buying the gift was the expert on the receiver after all.
