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!.
Roman settled onto a vacant bench and sipped at the luke-warm coffee he'd been carrying around for the last hour or so, hoping something would prompt him to go home. Or do something. There was plenty to do, but he didn't feel like dealing with any of it, which threw him off kilter. He'd offered his sons to come hiking, but they'd mumbled some excuse on the phone about homework which Roman let slide and wished them well on their exams and the like before the phone went dead.
He sighed; his sons were... a complex mess for teens, but he supposed that it was his fault to some level for not being there as they grew. He couldn't really blame them for not wanting anything to do with him, but he did want to be apart of their lives, wanted to see them do well but the more he tried, the more they pushed him away.
Maybe he was trying too hard, not being cool enough for them perhaps. Whatever it was, it was a damned mystery and it wasn't the sort he liked. He didn't have much of a mind for riddles and brain-teasers - he could do them, it wasn't a case that he couldn't - he just didn't enjoy them like some people, and his sons seemed to hand them to him constantly. There was a bang of annoyance that he couldn't just keep working like he had, stayed on base and just shut the world out entirely. But no. There was no chance he'd get that. Instead, he had to work out how to live normally with very few friends, and no real desire to reach out to his parents.
Even as he was mulling over trival things, movement caught his eye and he looked, tilting his head - was that? Was that Jax? He frowned - was it really him or was he just hopeful that a stranger looked like his closest friend? Either way, before he knew what was doing, he was on the move. Moving purposefully to get in front of the man, to make him see him before he spoke.
Another nice day meant another cardio day that meant running outside. Now that spring had come and left, and summer was officially happening in England, Jax didn't mind the run too much. The heat always seemed easier than the cold, but perhaps he had just been conditioned due to his previous work. It was weird to think that for once, everything in his life, appeared to be calm. Well, other than Wisteria and Penny refusing to talk to each other, and making him be the message owl between them. But other than that, Jax thought it was going great in his own life.
The estate was taken care of, the will was more or less taken care of. Jax didn't feel like prodding too much into that mystery, and considering the snide remarks on his littlest sister's side, he had a funny feeling that she had figured it out and was just waiting for the right moment to drop some atomic bomb. Until then, the man was willing to be ignorant. His work at the flower shop seemed to be doing okay, Dahlia was ever patient with him. And to top it all off, Jax had himself a lady friend. He wasn't sure what to consider Ember quite yet, other than he knew he liked her liked her. But he didn't want to pressure her on their situation, she had her own stuff to figure out with the baby being due soon. Jax knew he would help her if she asked it of him, but he wasn't going to force himself upon her. That was Ember's choice.
All what he needed in life was a dog, and perhaps, a call back to the Navy. But he knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Jax still wasn't going to therapy, he was still ignoring his weird paranoia and panic attacks, and he was doing a good job at hiding them from his sisters and Ember. Without a written form signed off on by a therapist, Jax knew the Navy was going to keep him on inactive duty. He missed it, it was weird to say, given that it was special ops and his life was always on the line. It was hard to explain, and nobody could understand that, well, unless they were also in it.
His thoughts drove him to run faster down the pavement, once again heading into Echo Park. There was something peaceful about the park, sometimes the other walkers irked him, and the stupid geese, but it felt early enough to where it wouldn't be too crowded. His music blaring, his middle sister had made him a workout playlist she swore by for the treadmill. Pop music wasn't his thing, but he was willing to humor her, just like Penny and Wisteria. The climax of this song was happening, Jax's mind was wrapped up in it as he started to speed up again to the rhythm and then, there was someone in front of him. Startled, he hit the breaks fast and yanked the airpods out. A frown set on his face, emotions riling up to bitch someone out, and then, he gave second thought as his hazel eyes met the man's face.
"Roman?" That stupid golden retriever-esque grin hit his face now, "Shit man, I didn't think you'd be here or else I would have hit you up." Some best friend he was, totally spacing that the man before him was a Hickstead native. Looked like he was sporting some new scars since they last time they had seen each other, "You on homeleave? What's up?" And just like that, he offered out his hand, ready grab Roman's to pull him into that half way bro hug.
They say its a suicide mission. I intend to prove them wrong.
thanks aofie!
Thirty Six . Inactive US NAVY . Floral Designer . Crushing
"Roman?" That stupid golden retriever-esque grin hit his face now, "Shit man, I didn't think you'd be here or else I would have hit you up."
Roman smiled, "You're fine Jax, honestly."
"You on homeleave? What's up?"
He embraced the bro hug more than gladly, giving Jax a firm pat on the back before they seperated and he considered the question, his expression serious and almost pained for a moment before he replied.
"Not many people know I'm back home," he said calmly, sticking his hands in his pockets, "Not even the boys... As for why I am home... it's, messy. But that's not important. How have you been? What are you doing in these parts, thought you'd be at home or deployed still."
He finally let go of his friend, both to give him air to breathe and the space between them again. At least he still got a well-deserved pat on the back for that epic bro hug. Hazel eyes looked over Roman Hughs now and it became clear that the world had not been kind to him. Jax understood, that was the danger of coming with the job and serving, you could seriously get hurt, you could lose your life – they all signed up for it in order to serve their countries. Whatever happened to Roman, it had been big.
It became even more evident of that when the smile dwindled from the big man’s face and it was replaced with a hard and pained expression. Jax was about to tell him that he didn’t have to explain a thing, but Roman managed to find his choice words. Whatever was going on was big though if he had elected to not tell his sons. At the words ‘messy’, he merely shook his head, “You don’t have to tell me.”
And naturally, the conversation and topic flipped to him. Guys were always the best at that, especially ones who wanted to avoid talking about things. Jax had a specialty in it as well. A sigh escaped him, mainly because the whole situation was sigh worthy, “I’m inactive. Navy put me on medical leave and won’t clear me until I see a professional. I think they’re being dramatic.” His professional opinion though, “The other reason why I’m out here is because my dad, he left when I was like…eight, died and apparently left me and my sisters a large sum of money and a stupid mansion that I get lost in…daily.”
Dads. How annoying. He thought it over for a moment before finally saying, “I’m only going to overstep my boundaries once…you might want to consider letting your sons know you are in town. Better to hear it from you than a stranger or somehow run into you in town.” Hazel eyes continued to stare for a moment, before then shrugging, “That’s it though. My one dumb lecture. You know, if you need a place to crash, you can come move in with me. I have a shit ton of space in ‘my section’ of the house. I’m not even there half of the time.”
thanks aofie!
Thirty Six . Inactive US NAVY . Floral Designer . Crushing
Roman nodded once, he knew Jax understood more than most.
“I’m inactive. Navy put me on medical leave and won’t clear me until I see a professional. I think they’re being dramatic.” His professional opinion though, “The other reason why I’m out here is because my dad, he left when I was like…eight, died and apparently left me and my sisters a large sum of money and a stupid mansion that I get lost in…daily.” "Inactive, shit. But if you jump the hoops, you're back in action right?" he tilted his head, feeling a slight pang of jealousy. "Just know that uh, when you do go back to work - we'll never cross paths like we used to, fleeting as they were."
“I’m only going to overstep my boundaries once…you might want to consider letting your sons know you are in town. Better to hear it from you than a stranger or somehow run into you in town.” Hazel eyes continued to stare for a moment, before then shrugging, “That’s it though. My one dumb lecture. You know, if you need a place to crash, you can come move in with me. I have a shit ton of space in ‘my section’ of the house. I’m not even there half of the time.”
Peeling off his sunglasses, he observed Jax, taking in how he looked. Whatever was going on, on his side of the fence was taking a bit of a toll but he didn't push it.
"I know, I know - better you lecture me than my father. I have plans to go and see the boys tomorrow, catch up as it were. I'm not even sure they'll care, but I'll do it anyway, gods only know what a life they've had because of my choices," he shrugged, "Thanks for the offer, but I was able to grab a small flat when I was allowed to move freely. I don't like intruding on other people, you know that."
A laugh actually escaped the man at his friend's comment: "Inactive, shit. But if you jump the hoops, you're back in action right?" Ah, if only if it were that simple. Jax rolled over some thoughts, what he wanted to share and what he didn't want to share - if any. Talking about feelings with another guy always proved to be somewhat hard, Jax didn't know why. It was probably the testosterone talking, despite being raised practically in a woman only houseold, "I'm not sure if I want to jump through their hoops though." Jax mused now, "What if I don't like what they say?" It would appear that he wasn't the only one having issues though, as Roman inferred that they would no longer be crossing paths again once Jax did get back to work. Already, the man could feel an eyebrow arch as hazel eyes stared at his best friend, "What? Did they retire you?"
It was a prodding question, and already, Jax felt embarrassed to have been so bold to ask when he was being borderline mute on his own situation, "Sorry. That was a dick move of me to ask. You don't have to tell me. Just sucks, not going to be the same working without you." He couldn't even imagine working with a different British Special Forces guy. Yeah, he knew that it would always be the case, but it still felt weird. Not getting to work with people again always sounded like a myth until the situation actually presented itself, "Well, Chamberlain will have some big fucking shoes to fill then with you gone." He replied wrly now.
After talking about how Roman should go see his sons, the man felt a pang of regret. Who was he to lecture his best friend on his situation? Its not as if Jax was a father, and he only knew snapshots of Roman's life. His drive to impress his dad, to provide for his family, and, well, Jax was also certain Roman liked to stay out in the field because he didn't know how to do anything else. He knew that feeling well, still did even with his filler job at Dahlia's. A smile, a reassuring one at that, graced his lips now, "I'm sure they care. Just...might not show it," It was a vague reassurance, "Teenager life and all. We were all one once." It wasn't surprising to hear Roman turning down his offer, but it was nice to hear that he already had a place to stay, "No worries. Figured I'd just offer. I'm a terrible roommate anyways, so you're not missing much." He said with a grin now before nodding down the pathway, "So, besides the kids, settling back into Hickstead well enough?"
thanks aofie!
Thirty Six . Inactive US NAVY . Floral Designer . Crushing
