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!.
It had been a long day at the base - family after family seemed to be trickling in to use their spouse's benefits at the base for last minute injections of flu shots. Neverminded that they could have prepared themselves ahead of flu season. No, they had to wait until two weeks before Christmas to do it. This had been very different compared to Germany, Afghanistan, and heck, even the United States where it had been far more high paced verses flu shots and routine vaccinations. So far, her most interesting job to date in the UK had been when a young solider came in from pissing off one of the horned sheep from a neighboring field. But her day was done, and she was clocking out to get on the road.
Quickly changing out of her work scrubs, she ventured to her car and proceeded to drive back to Hickstead. Her companion - a steamy romantic audiobook to take the dullness out of the long commute. Time seemed to fly as she listened to the magical tale of a count falling for a peasant girl, and later tonight, Tiffany knew she'd swap out that audio book for the typical Christmas romance movie on Netflix - which seemed to have a great love for girls getting Princes and a Kingdom for Christmas. Still, the commute took it's toll and the young woman found herself tired of driving. Enough to where she didn't want to cook when she came home to her little pool house and she didn't feel like sitting in on family dinner - especially when she knew tonight she'd be on duty with her father.
Putting off the inevitable of tonight with her dad and being his nurse, she stopped in Willow Bridge City. Parking her car, Tiffany made her way to one of the local pubs, being careful to not slip on a faint dusting of snow that was starting to appear. Pushing the heavy pub door open, the bell chimed to signal her arrival which was ignored. Warmth hit her face, and it was so nice. Tiffany knew people in Hickstead tended to go for R&R or Luna Lounge, but there was something about the older pubs that gave her a cozier feeling than the other two establishments, kinda like a warm hug from an old friend. Sitting at the counter, she ordered herself a beer and some fish n' chips. Her gaze fell on the tv behind her - some talking heads going on about soccer, oh wait, football and it's latest stars. If only there was a dumb christmas movie for the tv to change to. The bell chimed again, and something in her told her to look towards the door.
As chocolate brown eyes passed over people now, she was startled to see a very familiar face. She got up so fast, the stool behind her nearly toppled over as she called out across the room, "Courtney Mendaz! As I live and breathe!"
Christmas was too close for comfort. While Courtney often felt like he was prepared, work had kept him busier than ever. He would thankfully be off starting the 22nd but there was still a lot to do. His family had insisted things would be okay, but he knew they were just as busy.
After dropping off the last kids of the day from their piano lesson, Courtney headed to the pub that was down the street from the family’s multimillion flat. There was a bit of a split in how the rich homes looked compared to this smaller, more humble-looking part of the city.
He walked in and took off his hat and gloves. Courtney was going to find a place to sit when a voice called out his name. His head turned and saw the person who called him. A big grin crossed his lips. “Oh, fork! Hey Tiff!” he laughed, not caring that other patrons were looking.
When was the last time he had seen Tiffany? The two had met ages ago when he was a traveling nurse. They had kept in touch over the years, but he wasn’t expecting to see her in Hickstead. Courtney walked over and gave Tiff a big hug before settling down on the stool next to her. “Fancy seeing you here,” he smiled.
"Oh fork! Hey Tiff!" A snort of laughter escaped her, rolling her eyes at the reaction. People shot them some looks, probably their voices were interrupting the game but as far as she was concerned, the other patrons would live. It's not like people used their indoor voices when a player scored a goal. When the distance closed between the two of them, Tiffany couldn't help but to poke some fun, "Fork? Really? You're such a saint," she managed to get in, right before the hug. It was a nice hug, the kind that made people feel like they were cured of anything and everything. It wasn't long before it ended though and he was sitting down besides her, "Fancy seeing you here." Funny, she was feeling the same way.
"Are you visiting the family? I totally forgot you were a Hickstead native or else I would have called you," The young woman found it hard to believe that Courtney could have given up the life of a travel nurse - the pay was amazing and you got to globetrot, or at least, stateside trot. Shit happens, a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her, You would know. She sat down now, rejoining herself at the bar and waved the bar tender over, "Anything he wants is on me," Tiffany informed them now, "Probably water and coke to start off with. No booze," and then just like that, she waved them off, ignoring the grumbling that came with her unfortunate, bossy antics.
The young woman turned in the stool now, giving Courtney her full attention now that his drink was taken care of. Taking a quick sip of her beer before settling it down on the table, she finally asked, "Man, when was the last time we saw each other? I remember the chocolate tour...but was it Belgium or Brazil?" The crazy antics of being off on your own as a young adult, could do whatever you want, granted, Tiffany had a harder time since she had to stay within the Army's limits, but she had her ways, "How's Janessa and your folks?" Her brain was going a mile a minute, the cruse of being an extrovert, but she was also doing her best to keep the topic off of herself, at least, prolonged as much as she could.
“I moved here permanently. At least, for now,” he laughed. “Stopped the whole travel thing to help the family.” She didn’t need to know about his sister dying, which brought him home. He could tell her when he got to it. Plus, nursing was a lot of work. It was great for his current work, but he sometimes missed it. Singing the songs of SpongeBob and the face painting parties. Such as life, wasn’t it?
“Pretty sure it was the mud run we all thought was a great look. At least our skin looked good after that,” Courtney smiled, taking the beverage plopped before him. Courtney refused the straw, seeing it as an unnecessary thing. He took a sip and mulled over his answer to her question.
“We’re good. My older sister passed a bit ago, the thing that brought me home. I think I needed a break from death/ Especially cancer death if that makes sense.” Courtney couldn’t remember how much death Tiffany had seen in her life. There wasn’t a coemption or anything. Death was death, and it was always sad and a gut punch. “But I’ve been helping Janessa with her business. I guess you could say I couldn’t stop helping children,” he smiled. “What about you? What brings you to Hickstead? Did the Army run out of places to place you?”
It was surprising to hear that Courtney had given up the life of a traveling nurse to relocate back home, but who was she to judge given her own situation? Tiffany wasn't sure if it was similar or not, but everyone was entitled to their reasons and their privacy, "Hey, sometimes it gets exhausting moving around so much and uprooting everything. Nothing wrong with a nice semi-permanent relocation to Hickstead. Makes it easier to lay down the roots." The young woman wasn't sure if she was feeling that yet for herself, maybe if she met someone that would be a different story, but as of right now, her stay in Hickstead wasn't permanent. The Army based her here for her family, but if for better or worse, her parents didn't need her anymore, Tiffany wasn't planning on saying.
Laughter escaped her, "Oh right, the mud run. I was completely off." It had defilingly been fun, and Courtney was right, it had been great for their skin, but it had been tough as well, "I think I must have banished that from my distant memory by how exhausted I was which is silly since I feel like that idea might have been mine." The arrival of Courtney's drink interrupted, and she watched him refuse the straw to the bar tender, who looked rather befuddled by the request. Thankfully, no harm and no fowl. Chocolate brown eyes then noticed a rather contemplative look dance across her friend's face, and Tiffany began to wonder if she had inadvertently asked too personal of a question.
And then came the answer. Tiffany felt awful, a sympathetic look crossing her face, "Oh Courtney, I'm sorry. Cancer sucks." Didn't they all know it though. She could understand wanting a break from it all, death was always hard, and while she had no experience yet of her own, the death of a family member while you were taking care of them truly must feel like brick to the face. Maybe time would tell if she would have her own expirence, but her relationship with her father was different compared to Courtney and his sisters, and, in the back of her mind, Tiffany couldn't help but to think that her father was too stubborn to die, "I am glad to hear that you and Janessa are doing well here though. I'm sure the kids really appreciate having a cool former nurse to fondly annoy."
As for herself, Tiffany had to decide on what to say now. But Courtney had been honest with her as to why he as here, so she should be honest with him as well, "Nah, the army can't get rid of me that easily." Tiffany joked, figuring it was needed to lead into her next statement, "My dad has cancer, he's staying here since he didn't want to be in a hospital. I'm helping my mom out with his care so she doesn't burn out. It's been...interesting." She knew her dad wanted to pass in peace, and both her mom and brother were convinced it was going to happen soon, but Tiffany couldn't help but to think that all things considered, her father was handling everything well to include the chemo. Maybe he'd be too stubborn to die, "Hickstead's nice though. I see why you'd want to live here permanently and settle down. Especially if you're dating." That was a wild guess, but Courtney almost looked too happy to be a single man.
‘I’m surprised,” he commented. “I would think your father would be the last person you would want to be around.” Maybe it was because Courtney had only learned that he was horrible to her. Like this weird, misogynistic kind of thing. “I’m sure your mom appreciates it, though. And your brother? Does he help at all?” Courtney knew Bradley was also in service, he just couldn’t remember if he still was or not. Tiffany’s family dynamic was vastly different from Courtney’s own. “Either way, I hope his cancer hasn’t been too painful, or the pain isn’t as visible. That’s always the hardest part – when you can witness it.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call it dating,” he laughed. “I ran into someone I grew up with. She excelled in what she wanted, so it’s nice seeing people excel. Though, I won’t lie that I like her. But it’s that weird stage, you know? What’s more important? Friendship or trying to make it more official?” Phoenix was something different. Maybe it was her childish love of milkshakes or the crinkle in her nose of trying to find the right puzzle piece.
Given the serious topic of the conversation: her dad, cancer, the very reason why she was in this tiny little town, it was surprising to her that Courtney's shock actually pulled a laugh from her. Tiffany didn't know where it came from, perhaps the fact that her friend knew her so well and called out the very thing that her mom and brother seemed to skirt around, "Yeah, well, given the circumstances, I figured I should probably be mature." Tiffany replied now, her smile warm, "My dad and I are being cordial with each other, which is all what we can ask of each other for now. I believe my mom appreciates my help, but I think I stress her out in my own way, even though I'm being nice to Dad. And Bradley does help out a lot, he actually retired early to relocate here so he's the still the golden child." The young woman still actually could not believe that he did that, sacrificing all of that to retire early at thirty three, but it was his life, and that was one opinion Tiffany figured she'd keep to herself.
As for the pain, she had to think it over before finally coming to her own conclusion, "Sometimes it seemed to bother him, but for the most part, my dad seems comfortable which is all what he wants." A wry smile appeared on her lips, "They say it's fourth stage, but honestly, my dad's so stubborn, I won't be surprised if the last ditch effort of home therapy chemo cures him."
But that was enough about that topic, and Tiffany had managed to rotate it back to Courtney now and his own life since returning. There clearly had been some big changes for the both of them, but his clearly outranked her's - not that that there had been a competition. She grinned when Courtney laughed and informed her that he wasn't dating, but there was something in how he said it that nearly suggested otherwise. The young woman took a big sip of her beer while he explained the situation and then deeply signed, "Well, the hopeless romantic in me believes that love will conquer that situation with patience and kindness, since, youre right, can't force the matter. But I wouldn't wait forever either to make a move." If there was one thing Tiffany was good at, it was getting friend zoned, "What is this childhood friend's name anyways? I demand further details now."
Courtney respected the drop of conversation. Life was hard, but he knew at some point – Tiffany and her dad would come to terms with whatever they were dealing with. Death and family were never an easy subject to talk about in general. Bad relationships or not.
“You think so?” he smiled. “Her name is Phoenix. Her family and mine have known each other for a long time now, so it’s always a treat to hear whatever what going on. There’s a conspiracy that our mothers have planned out our lives since the day we’ve been brought into this world.” Maybe it was the Filipino superstitions. His mother had these weird quirks about her, too. Some people could see it as weird, but Courtney found them fun on occasion.
“I think the hardest part has been pinning her down. She’s been busy, and so have I. There are times I think I should surprise her. But I don’t think that would be appreciated, too much.” Courtney shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “Though if you want some dating tea…I saw your brother chatting up a lady at the hardware store.”
It's not that Tiffany Matthew felt uncomfortable with conversation, this was Courtney Mendaza after all, it was just that her family drama now coupled with cancer always felt like a private battle - mainly because the drama tended to be of her own doing. While she would have been fine continuing to bare her soul to her good friend, the woman was a little relieved when Courtney politely let the conversation drop and launch into love life. If there was a conversational topic that Tiffany loved to listen to do, it was that.
"Phoenix? Is she as fiery as her name suggests?" She asked with a playful interjection before reigning herself in to be quiet for the rest of Courtney's explanation. Tiffany knew she owed the man that much. To her, it wasn't surprising to hear that his mom thought it was destiny that her son and this Phoenix may end up together. Even her limited interactions with the Matriarch of the Mendaza household, Tiffany figured her just quirky enough to believe in superstitions and the stars aligning, "I don't know, I think that's romantic," she said with a smile, "But I get it. Surprises aren't for everyone and you know Phoenix the best. And if your mom thinks its in the stars, I'm sure it will all work out the second you do manage to pin her down..." Oh, maybe she should elaborate, "Figuratively, I mean."
She took a swig of her beer now, her pint coming to an end. Thanks to Courtney though, it came to an end sooner than Tiffany had anticipated: “Though if you want some dating tea…I saw your brother chatting up a lady at the hardware store.” The comment caught her off guard, and she pretty much spewed her drink out, "WHAT?!" That certainly earned her a look from the bar tender, or perhaps it was the fact that she wasted precious beer - Tiffany simply waved for another one though before turning her full attention to her friend now, "He has not said anything to me about this. Tell me everything." It was also a little shocking that somehow the town of Hickstead knew more about her brother's dating life than her. Tiffany's brain was wracking for a name, "Waas it...ughs, what's her name? Temperance?"
Courtney couldn’t help but chuckle at Tiffany’s reaction. He knew it was going to be out there, but not that much. He gave the tender a sympathetic look and made sure that Tiff’s replacement drink was on his tab. “Yeah, I believe so. I don’t think it’s been a super long thing, from what I know. My sister seems to know all the details herself, mainly because she’s at the hardware store more currently. Trying to get a new play set out up.”
He took the last sip of his drink, not realizing he was chugging versus nursing. Courtney asked for a replacement, enjoying the sugar before going home and chugging water to help offset it. “Is it still weird to have a sibling dating at our age?” Courtney asked, the question is a serious one. When his sisters were dating, he always felt the need to know. Or was always shocked when he heard they had been seeing someone for a month. Even in his thirties, hearing about anyone’s dating life was more fun than he thought.
When Courtney gave a chuckle before flashing a sympathetic to the bar-tender, it certainly took Tiffany back to more care free days. She supposed some things between friends never changed, "Damn. Well, I guess I won't lecture him about holding out on me if it's still super new then." The young woman clearly needed to get herself an 'in' on the town gossip though, she had been here for two months and apparently stuff was happening right underneath her nose - with a family member of all things, "So does Janessa get the skinny on everything in Hickstead then?"
The whole thing was still baffling to her. Who would have thought that such a small town had so much going on. Granted, the same thing could be said about any of the army bases or hospitals that she had been at also. Tiffany, as a younger sister, couldn't help but to be a little butt hurt over Brad's omission over the hardware store girl. She couldn't help but to wonder why. It's not as if she put any pressure on him over Steph's existence in town...or maybe she had. A new beer was unceremoniously placed in front of her, a clear warning to not spew it again. Tiffany offered a smile before glancing over towards Courtney, "Uh, it's very weird. It's even weirder when they think they can get away with it without telling you. Has Janessa pulled that one on you?"
“I can’t tell if she willingly searches it out, or she’s just a good listener on things,” he smiled. “Honestly, most of it comes from the kids sometimes! Those kiddos like to spill a lot.” It was something that made Courtney super aware of how he presented himself around the kids he cared for. Especially his language. If a kid was going to pick up a swear word, it wasn’t going to be from him or the household he was in. “We accidentally heard about a kid’s mom’s secret affair once. That was…an interesting day.”
The bartender came back with the refreshed drinks. As well as some pretzels, which Courtney happily dived into. The sweetness of the soda helped balance out the salt. He understood why people liked the bar snacks with the alcohol. But it also was nice for those with the sweeter or fizzier stuff. “I remember when she called me about a boyfriend many moons ago. I wanted to ask him my list of questions, but I’m sure my father handled that one!”
