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!.
Auggie groaned when he came to work. Some idiot forgot to lock a gate properly and now he was stuck calling in two of their most stubborn, Tick and Tilly - notoriously called tweedle dee and tweedle dumb. Both smart in their own way, but together- an awful bonded pair. There was a reason they were still here, as they needed advanced people. If the weather was sunny, Auggie wouldn't be as miffed. But alas, downpour and thunder was rolling in.
He could feel the wind rustle through the windows. Not wanting to be a lone in the tackling of sole stubborn horses, he found the closest person. Which thankfully, was Brandon. "Hey Brandon, can you help me get Tilly in? Well, Tick too..but I think Tilly might be the best one to get in first," he asked, slipping into his thick jacket what wasn't really a rain coat- but the heavy, coated canvas worked just as well.
Brandon watched the clouds roll in - wondering what the day would bring. That's what made working at the sales yard interesting as there was always something going on. As his car pulled into his spot, he could hear a soft clap of thunder. He could tell that there was rain coming, though the barn couldn't ever run itself. The horses still needed to go outside and the stalls needed cleaning, so he threw on his jacket, got out of the car and headed inside, seeing Auggie was looking for him already.
"Morning Auggie, of course I'll help. Let me guess, the new stable hand didn't know about the trick with their lock and they got themselves out?" Of course it had to be the most difficult pair that got out, if it was any other horses it wouldn't be this difficult. "Do you think if we get two buckets of sweet feed we could lure them back? And are we doing this on horseback or on foot?" He wasn't sure how far they had made it and he was prepared to do either, making sure his thick jacket was zipped up to face the rainy elements.
He quickly headed towards where the halters and lead ropes were kept. After a quick glance, he saw the ones that belonged to Tilly and Tick before bringing them over - thinking that they would make it better for bringing them back into their pasture.
thanks aofie!
thirty - part time firetruck mechanic & Sales Yard Stable hand - single (hetero)
“Amazing, thank you. Being on foot will be better. If other horses get involved, they will see it as more of a game.” He only knew that from pure experience. Once Auggie did that mistake, it was never repeated again. Granted, he would only tell very specific people this. Call it cruel, but Auggie couldn’t share all his secrets, could he? The younger folks needed to learn the hard way on certain things, but Auggie wasn’t about to watch someone struggle to watch a youtube video on how to tie a proper knot. There were things in life that were easier to be done without the excess of steps.
“Maybe? We could—” Well, the thunder and the sound of rain on the tin roof just nixed the idea of carrying a bucket of food out. “Alright, let's see if we can hide some treats in our pockets…The rain should slow them down. I would rather catch them rolling in mud, than running around,” he laughed. “I’m all ready to drag them in whenever you are.”
Brandon nodded, he was always was ready to help a coworker in need. "Not a problem, I'll go grab two halter and lead rope sets. Let's hope they didn't get too far this time." It often meant for an action packed morning, depending on how many horses got out. He turned and picked up the two closest halters and lead ropes, ready to go catch the horses.
He already had a few sugar cubes in his pockets, taking some from the small kitchen at the yard the previous day. "I already have sugar cubes, here take some so we can divide and conquer.' Brandon had approached Auggie again, pulling out a handful of cubes for the other man - holding them out for him to take. "Alright lead the way, which pasture did they get out of?" If he were to assume it was the back pasture, but they often rotated due to the grass or how muddy they were. He started heading outside of the barn, not minding that it was raining - though the thunder was a bit concerning.
"How's the family anyway? We may as well chat while we run along and catch horses." Brandon chuckled as he walked along, glad he wore his boots to work today, not minding that there was a bit of mud on the ground.
thanks aofie!
thirty - part time firetruck mechanic & Sales Yard Stable hand - single (hetero)
He graciously took the sugar cubes, giving Brandon some carrots. Might as well be loaded if needed. “I don’t know which one they’re in – but I know they escaped the top left. They’re probably on the left but could be in one of the closer ones. They like to romp.”
Auggie could hear the rain hitting the sturdier material of his coat. He didn’t think this was time for idle chit-chat, but he could at least humor Brandon since he was helping him out. “Izzy is doing well. She’s looking forward to the end of the year, I think. Classes were a bit more than she wanted from what I remember her telling me. Not home as much, due to work and friends. Ora is also looking forward to the end. She’s been dealing with some snippy parents, but everyone is doing well!
How about you? I hear Eva has been keeping a close on Dr. Thompson when she comes in…I didn’t think she would be interested in that, or would there be another reason for it?” Maybe that was a personal question, but Auggie knew Eva enough that her behavior of that kind was not normal.
“If I were to guess, they’d be in the closer one. More round bale for them to munch on.” He knew how food-driven horses were, though they always had water and food available to them. “We will have to move them to a different pasture and then fix the fence.” It would mean one more thing for them to do - though this would be priority number one.
He glanced up to the sky as he felt rain hit his vest as they walked along. Brandon usually paid attention to the weather, though he forgot his jacket in the truck. “Ah yeah, I’m sure both of them are having spring fever too? Itching for their break I can imagine.” He knew Eva was feeling the same way, school wasn’t something she tended to enjoy. It was something that ran in the family though. “What about you? Leather shop keeping you busy too?”
Brandon walked along, now looking ahead of him. He could already see a few extra horses in the pasture up ahead. “I’m alright, been busy between working here and at the Fire Station. Dr. Thompson? Oh, yeah she’s a friend of mine.” He shrugged his shoulders, there wasn’t anything else going on between the two of them. “Do you think Eva thinks there is something more going on?” Brandon now headed left towards the closest pasture to go check if his theory was correct.
thanks aofie!
thirty - part time firetruck mechanic & Sales Yard Stable hand - single (hetero)
Auggie couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the should shrug and the way friend slipped out of Brandon’s lips. But he wouldn’t press the matter. Brandon was old enough to figure things out, but no matter the age – people could still be a bit oblivious. Eva felt threatened by the woman. Despite Auggie being a boisterous person, he knew when to keep quiet to observe. It’s like two of the stable hands that think no one knew they hooked up, but Auggie could read their body language when they were together. Could they be any more obvious?
“I think she’s just a young woman who may get jealous of you spending time with people outside of the pod. I don’t blame her, though. She’ll grow out of it, or at least begin to accept that you and Jessie have people outside of just the three of you.” The rain was getting worse, and Auggie picked up the pace. Thankfully, playful neighs were heard and one of the horses was prancing about, leading to a body roll into a mud puddle.
“Well, there’s one. Probably walk up as if to ignore, then see if we hook 'em?”
Brandon needed someone to scream that they wanted to go out on a date with him. He knew that he and Lilith were getting closer, but like anyone else he was scared of rejection. It seemed as if Eva was a bit jealous - Brandon chalking it up to be that she was acting like an attention deprived teenager. "I do spend time with her when I can. It's not like I ignore her or anything. I know that I'm not cool in her eyes anymore. Am I missing something here?" Did Eva know something he didn't about his friendship with Lilith? Sure, he invited her to events going on at the Fire Station, Bed and Breakfast or Sales Yard, but there were other coworkers that decided to bring friends too.
The man could feel the rain starting to pelt, picking up speed shortly after Auggie. He watched as the horse laid down to roll - the horse would need a bath once things dried up a bit. "Yep, we can leave the horse rolling last. I think he'll be busy until we catch the others. I'll go left, you go right and first person to the horse just use the lead rope around it's neck and the other can put the halter on." He ducked under the closed gate, heading towards the one who whinnied, going to the left - acting casual to see what would happen next. The halter and lead rope behind his back so the horse wouldn't see what was coming.
thanks aofie!
thirty - part time firetruck mechanic & Sales Yard Stable hand - single (hetero)