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!.
A throw size quilt that illustrates the rich history of lighthouses and boating of the Hickstead coast line. Perry used picture piecing and there are no quilt lines.
He pondered on the best way to answer her, without him bragging about his lineage. But the history of the store was because of his grandmother after all. Maybe not say anything about his relation? But lying about that didn’t seem like a good option either. If Emma kept frequenting the place – she would surely find out soon enough. “Ah, my grandmother,” he laughed. “She’s one out of seven sisters. Since Hicsktead has a solid mariner history – it felt fitting for the coast.” He gave another small shrug. “I think it fits, and people like the logo of the Siren on the sign-out front.”
“I work at the docks. I work for the Dorsey family down there. Have you been to the docks yet? It’s neat if you’re looking for a spot with some neat wildlife!” The ocean was one of his favorite spots. There was something about it that was calming. Perry knew there were plenty of people in Hickstead who thought the same as well.
Well, shit. Perry wasn’t expecting to be taking something. Aria had just told him she wanted someone to go to a party with her. But now here he was, the keys of someone’s car he had never met in his hands. He wouldn’t admit that there was a thrill in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Theft wasn’t something Perry had done in a long time, mainly because he tried to avoid it. But now, he was like a former drug addict going on a bender.
With the keys, it was easy to unlock the Audi. Perry slipped into the driver’s side, started the car. He looked at Aria. “C’mon slow poke!” he grinned ready to drive a car he probably could never afford in his lifetime.
“Oh yeah, there’s a lot to be heard,” he laughed. It was always the older men and women that had the craziest shit to say. Heck, even at his other job – there was a lot to be said. It was a different type of crazy, but it was still crazy.
“No, I don’t teach anything. But probably sewing since you grew up with it? But honestly, there’s so many I can’t tell you what to take,” Perry smiled. “How about beginner sewing and maybe crochet? I hear crochet is easier to learn than knit.” Perry had attempted both, but they were on the back burner as he got too frustrated with them. Amy, from the circle, was determined to get him to at least get a scarf out.
Perry wasn’t prepared for the hug, so he just let it happen. Not out of fer or anything, just a delayed reaction. Thankfully, Emma managed to rein herself in and Perry just brushed it off as excitement. She had a lot of energy, like the herding dogs he had seen around town. It was as if Emma had the energy to burn, which an artful hobby seemed like a decent start. Or maybe not.
“Great. Wait right here and I’ll grab you a schedule.” Perry scurried off before Emma could blink again. He grabbed a paper schedule and returned. The schedule was printed on white paper, with a cute border of sewing supplies clip art.
“We mainly offer sewing classes, but we have knitting and crochet. With a few other specialty ones that happen with visiting artists. We also have a yarn circle. People come in and sit around in our lounge. Gossip, craft, and so on. Good place to meet folks if you want!”
Perry couldn’t help that his eyebrows were expressive. He hoped that it didn’t come off as judgmental. The girl’s voice and pace of speaking were a lot different compared to the slower pace of the older English women that he often dealt with. There were still plenty of fast talkers, but it was something that Perry was used to.
“Ah, that’s a pretty neat background,” he complimented. “There's a pretty solid costume department at the local university, so I have a somewhat decent understanding of what is needed. Clothing and costume aren’t my forte. But it’s fun to see what they’re up!” It was true that he had a bit of a jealous streak towards what some of the theatre and fashion students could make. A few were the same way about him and his quilting. The way they each saw patterns was new and different.
“Nice to meet you, Emma. I’m Perry. I don’t know if you’re into lessons, or learning anything new – but we do offer a few classes if you are interested in seeing the schedule?” He responded, offering a hand for a handshake.
“Ah, well welcome to Hickstead, happy you found the time to walk in. Seven Siren’s has been around a long time, about thirty-ish years? Family-owned and operated. We carry a lot of different supplies, catering to those who don’t want to venture into the city. You can find anything from sewing supplies to painting, embroidery, drawing, and so on. It can get a bit overwhelming – but it’s always well stocked and organized.” Perry didn’t often give a spiel like that. Most of the customers he had were regulars or people who already knew what they wanted. He had a feeling his grandmother may scold him over a few things, but she was busy on the long arm today – so she couldn’t critique him too much.
“Are you in the search for anything specific or just browsing?” He asked, not knowing if the young woman needed any kind of help. Some customers preferred to just go on their own after the shop spiel. While the sewing machine was on his list, Perry couldn’t resist talking more about his grandmother’s hard work. Granted, Perry put a lot of work into the space, too – but the shop was his grandmother’s pride and joy. He and Elodie always joked that Marina would save the shop over something else.
The Seven Sirens had finally slowed down for a brief moment. Perry was ready for a well-needed break. Between the hustle at the docks and the upcoming state fairs, Perry was ready for a chill day. Teddy was off on a class until the afternoon, but the mornings at the shop allowed Perry to do what he wanted. Well, other than his projects.
They had gotten a new quilting arm in, as well as a few new machines. His grandmother had insisted he set up the home machine out front. Since Gertrude Lorton would for sure buy it come the weekend. Perry didn't know how true that was, but it was a brand the old bird was babbling about for months.
Perry had gotten the machine set up and locked in place. He was beginning to read the instructions when he heard the jingle of the bell. The young man turned his head with his retail smile on. “I'll be right with you!”
Perry made sure he had put everything away into the box and locked it away into a cabinet. “Welcome to Seven Sirens. How can I assist you?” He greeted the patron who walked in.
Perry had been finding himself in a better mood lately. Maybe it was because he was accepting the fact this dad was never coming back. And maybe he would never meet his mom. It did help that he was allowing himself to open up to Cal and Christian, as well. Not as much as he wanted to yet, but Perry was working on it.
He was at the dock, wrapping up some ropes on the dock – whistling to himself. There were a few patrons here and there. Many of them he would’ve been a piss rat too, but Perry had been nice to them. Their harder demands, he threw toward his boss. So far, the patrons seemed to like that he was becoming more personable. Bigger tips, for sure.
After finishing the ropes, Perry found himself walking back to the office covered in sweat. He opened the back door and was greeted by a young woman. She didn’t appear to look like someone who fished or boated, but Perry knew better than to voice those assumptions out loud.
“Oh, hey, welcome in! I must’ve not heard the bell,” he apologized. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long. How can I help you?”
A small “Ah” escaped him, but he knew that history was never easy for anyone. Especially a history like Erin’s. But Perry decided to leave it at that. He couldn’t help but scoff when Erin mentioned he would for sure win. “I don’t know, there are some very talented people out there. There are thankfully groups of skill, but the one grandma wants me to enter is super advanced. I mean, I think I make some cool stuff, but Mary, a customer always enters and her stuff is hard to beat.” It wasn’t an uncommon thing for him to talk down his skills. It was hard for him to understand that his interest in quilting was okay. He didn’t need to hide it, but he was still worried. Worried about the stigma.
“I’m honestly…still trying to find myself. It sounds silly, I’m sure. I don’t know.” He was rambling now, words just kind of vomiting out. Maybe it was because Erin was someone Perry was comfortable around. Even if they hadn’t seen each other in a minute.
God, this day was already awful – but Perry did have a feeling it was about to get worse. Christian was right, the weather needed to chill out before anyone could do anything about finding Cal. Cal was a solid sailor. But mother nature was unpredictable. Thankfully, he hadn’t headed out towards the direction of the North Sea. That sea took everyone and everything with it.
Perry fumbled with the radio again, but nothing. Thankfully, the storm was disappearing as fast as it came. It was still bad, but the horizon appeared clearer. He grabbed a telescope and looked out the backdoor. It didn’t take long for the carnage of the boat Cal was on to be seen. At least, the silhouette on the horizon.
“The boat is 8 kilometers away. C’mon,” he demanded. “We can beat the tide if we run out now.” Panic was holding Perry by the throat. Was he breathing? He didn’t know. But this was their chance. Perry fumbled putting on his raincoat as he ran out of the back door. A normal person would’ve slipped, but Perry’s natural knowledge of the land formations made him quick across the docks, rocks, and pebbles.
Perry didn’t know what he was going to be doing today. Well, other than work that was. He had the day off from both places, but there was a new project he was working on. So far, only a few people knew – but Perry was picking up knitting. Perry didn’t know how he got roped into it, but there was something about picking up another hobby – it was fun. It was a bit embarrassing, getting caught with it at the dock – but Cal and Ivey were more interested in what he was making versus any of the stigma. Perry was still a bit shy about crafting in public, but he was slowly opening up.
His grandmother asked Perry to run over to Parkers to place a pickup order for later in the week. There was a trunk show happening, and Marina wanted to make sure there were some treats for people. Parler’s was busy, as always it felt. Granted, it was a lot later. Perry often showed up when it was slower.
The young man waited patiently, the piece of paper for orders filled out. Daisy, the bubbly blonde, greeted him. Perry was kind of thankful it was busy. If it was slow, he was sure he would be roped into a conversation. As Perry was handing the order to Daisy, he heard his name called out. He turned his head to see Christian. “Ah, hey.”
Perry placed his order of coffee with a croissant breakfast sandwich and moved out of the way. “My grandma wanted to make sure she had her custom order put in right away. Late start for you, today?”