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!.
Sabine had been watching this stables a little pain stakingly, after nearly having a close call at Blue Arces, she decided to settle for the other barn in town and already, she could tell it was more laid back, less security, easier to sneak by without some watch tower of a mansion sitting around. Okay, there was still a house, but it was set differently and easier to get by. This was the thing she hated about living in Western Europe, the winters were brutal. It brought out the survival instincts because if you weren't good enough, you'd die. It was the cold hard truth. And not everybody was willing to share. The young woman knew that there was the community house, with it's delicious food, but unfortunately, Sabine was born with a streak of stubbornness that seemed to affect her ego when it came to that place and seeking help from strangers.
Blue green eyes caught movement now - the last stable hand closing up shop and heading towards their car to return home for the evening. This was it. The great thing about horse stables, Sabine had learned since living here, is that they were never locked. It was for the horses own safety, because who wanted to deal with locks when there could be a reason inside that they needed to evacuate large animals? Hedging her bets, the teenager darted across the grounds now, trying to be fast as a shadow as she covered the grounds and made it outside the door of a horse stall. Peeking up into the stall, a horse eyed her curiously, "Don't hurt me," she muttered, as she took off her backpack and gently lowered it into the stall, before scrambling in herself.
She had never been bitten by the horse bug as a little girl, and they didn't exist in the city center of Dublin where she had lived either with her dad. But she had become a quick study since coming to Hickstead, since she tended to invade the barns the most now in winter and based off of her observations, Daz and his gang tended to stick to the city limits verses the countryside. The horse came over to greet her, after first shying away and snorting nervously as she had landed in the stall. She gave it a quick pet, "I'm not here to hurt you, in fact, I'm about to get out of your hair." Grabbing her backpack, she made it to the door of the stall and reached over, freeing the latch so she could get out and then slide the door shut and lock it behind her. No escaping horses on her watch.
Quickly, Sabine made it to her favorite place to hide out and sleep in any barn. They hayloft. It was scheduled for invasion on a weekly or biweekly basis depending on how much hay the horses went through, and lessons didn't start til 9 on the weekends and afternoon on the weekdays, so she did't have to worry about students either. Once up in the hayloft, she found a nice little couch of hay, stacked perfectly to mimic the actual piece of furniture. Slinging her backpack off, she zipped it open and proceeded to pull out her musty ole childhood quilt blanket when she stopped. Blue green eyes narrowed, her street kid senses tingling. Glancing over her shoulder now, Sabine glowered into the darkness, "You better not fucking shank me." She was one to talk, some sixteen year old girl who had a cans of spray paint as a defense talking a big.
cause everybody knows something i don't wanna know so i'll stay right here cause i'm better all alone
Ilya turned over in the canvas rug, almost asleep despite the constant pain he was feeling. He was at least somewhat warm, dry and out of a draft. All good things, and better yet, he somehow managed to avoid Leo. He was hungry, his stomach cramping to attest to the fact that he had not yet located enough food to get him by and fuck was it hurting.
"You better not fucking shank me."
Faster than he should've been capable of, he was up, tense, standing to his full height, hissing at the speaker. It took his eyes several minutes to adjust to the low light level to spot them. A little girl. Well, not super little, but still, smaller than he was. He snarled at her but stayed put, not willing to budge over his turf.
He probably could've chased her off, but frankly he didn't care enough to do so. His arms started to shake at his sides, then his foot tapped a few times before he twisted his head to the side sharply, trying to regain his functions and stop all the movement. He went back to studying her, looking at her face, committing details to memory if ever she tried to threaten him.
Sabine watched the person spring up from their sad state of a canvas rug like they were a fucking vampire coming out of a coffin. Actually, the young man might as well have been that considering that he hissed at her. Hissed! The teenager thought she had seen and heard it all, but this was new to her. A frown sat on her lips, that resting bitch face present as blue green eyes stared at him. The man was staring right back at her, gaunt and clearly committing her to memory. Despite the ugly cat hissing, he didn't strike her as someone like Daz. Despite the fact that they were now aiming to sleep in the same place, cat man didn't come near her. He remained on his side and she remained on hers.
Blue green eyes watched him closely, his limbs shaking and then he twitched to quiet them. Sabine puffed up, and hissed back at him, pulling up her hands to curl her fingers like claws for added measure. Maybe that was all he would understand. The shaking was weird though, maybe there was a reason why he looked so gaunt then. Oddly, she felt comfortable enough to allow herself to sit down. Sabine was certain that this stranger would leave her alone as long as she left him alone, or at least not enter his space. Still keeping an eye on him, she dug around in her back now before finding what she was looking for. An apple. She had snatched a few from that new safe home and Dahlia. The teenager pulled it out now and held it out to him, "Do you not talk?" she asked now, waving the apple a little trying to beckon him to come take it, "I'm Sabine."
cause everybody knows something i don't wanna know so i'll stay right here cause i'm better all alone
The fact she hissed back at him was enough to briefly make wonder if she also liked cats - but then she made claws and decided that she was only mocking him. How unfortunate. But she sat and he figured he would have to show her some degree of respect in return - how rare it was for someone not to immediately start swinging at him when he generally appeared out of nowhere. She was perhaps too young to understand.
"Do you not talk?" she asked now, waving the apple a little trying to beckon him to come take it, "I'm Sabine."
Ilya was more than a little dumb-founded as she beckoned him with that apple, like he was some dumb mule. His eyes narrowed as he calmly closed the gap between them, not making much noise as he moved towards her, his eyes trained on her face in case she decided to change something up. Once close enough, he reached out and carefully plucked the apple from her grasp before turning his back to her - a sign of respect in his eyes - and walked back, glancing back at her.
"I do talk," he said, his voice rough in tone, "I just elect not to. Why fill the void with useless banter when silence is better."
He bit into the apple, the crunch loud in the loft as he moved towards his makeshift bed, "I'm Ilya."
A snort of laughter actually escaped her when the stranger looked at her rather dumbfoundedly. It was probably rude of her to do so, after all, it was his face she was laughing at, but it was hard not to with that expression. The look also suggested to her that this man was very capable of talking, mainly because he appeared utterly annoyed at her for trying to beckon him over with an apple no different than a scene from a corny girl and her horse sort of movie. Sabine continued to hold out the apple as his eyes narrowed at her, it would take more than a look to scare her off. Besides, she had a feeling that he really wanted that apple.
Slowly but surely, cat man crossed the threshold between them. Sabine sat put, not moving, and she took watched him closely with her blue green eyes. She supposed they both mistrusted each other, but the teenager wasn't the sort of person to throw the first punch. Defense was always the best offense, right? Her gaze followed his hand as it reached over and delicately plucked the apple out of her hands, "You're welcome," she commented wrly as he turned away from her - exposing his back to her. Something that she wouldn't have expected from someone who had popped out of the shadows to promptly hiss at her. Maybe he would trust her after all.
"I do talk," he said, his voice rough in tone, "I just elect not to. Why fill the void with useless banter when silence is better." Despite the delivery, Sabine couldn't help but to grin, "Ah, he speaks!" He also probably didn't appreciate that little jab. Thinking over his words for real now, she just shrugged, "'Cause you're stuck with me for the night? And I get enough silence in my life, might as well annoy you." Okay, okay, she wasn't going to annoy him. Sabine planned on remaining rooted to this very spot until the morning, so it was best to avoid any altercations. The loud crunch of the apple signaled that the fruit wasn't going to last very long, but she did get a name out of it, "I'm Sabine," before following up, "Nice to meet you, Ilya." Was that the sort of thing you said to a fellow street kid? It would have to work, "I have to say, I thought I was the only kid who caught onto these horse lofts for staying warm." Granted, he looked like he wasn't a kid - probably had quite a few years on her, but she wasn't about to call him a hobo.
cause everybody knows something i don't wanna know so i'll stay right here cause i'm better all alone
He flicked his wrist out, the closest she would get as a form of acknowledgement.
"Ah, he speaks!"
"'Cause you're stuck with me for the night? And I get enough silence in my life, might as well annoy you."
He raised a brow at that, "See how far that gets you."
"I'm Sabine," before following up, "Nice to meet you, Ilya. I have to say, I thought I was the only kid who caught onto these horse lofts for staying warm."
"Sabine..." he mumbled between chews on the apple, "Oh no. You're not the only one. There are a few of us kids that move into the lofts. I've met a couple in passing. Cameron's particularly skittish, weird really. Doesn't talk. The others, well, they tend to run away when they see me so I can't say I know them particularlly well."
He shrugged again. He figured he could part with that information.
Clearly, Ilya did not take well to the idea of being 'annoyed all night' given the look he just gave her. Fine, if he was going to be that way, she'd just grin right back - innocently of course, "Fine. Fine. I'll leave you alone." The teenager was, after all, perfectly capable of doing that as well. Typically it was her method of living and survival, putting up walls and a rough exterior to get people away from her. You had to do that, it was the only way to know you were truly save. And yet, Sabine felt different about the skinny, sickly looking young man across from her - perhaps it was because they were already off to a weird start. It wasn't every day she got into a hissing match with someone.
He was muttering over her name, almost as if he was committing it to memory inbetween chews before moving forward in conversation. Sabine practically scowled at the idea that she wasn't the only one who had been smart about using the stable lofts as home, "Really?" The knowledge alone put her on edge, that phantom feeling that she was being watched even though it was just her and Ilya. He rattled one name - one name that sounded familiar, but Sabine couldn't place it, "Cameron." The teenager muttered, before it hit her, "Wasn't he at that gun point incident at Starbucks? With Daz Pricard?" If that was the case, she hated the guy already. Okay okay, maybe she was jumping to the conclusion that anybody who was with Daz was a dirtbag - and that was putting it nicely - but it was hard to not judge given her own run ins with the gang leader and what she's heard.
There was also something else that she caught in Ilya's statement: they all ran away. Sabine cocked her head, looking at him curiously, "Why do they run away? You don't seem so scary...what'd you do? Hiss at them from the shadows?" The thought actually made her laugh, her imagination getting away with her thoughts, "Sorry, it's just funny to imagine. I almost want to draw it."
cause everybody knows something i don't wanna know so i'll stay right here cause i'm better all alone
