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!.
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?"
Tiffany Matthew had been a little surprised when her much younger co-worker had asked her out to the Luna Lounge's 666 event. The young woman hadn't thought that she and Maelle Orchidaceae were at the level of 'hanging outside of work' status, but life proved her wrong and Tiffany wasn't about to question it. She did however, question the location, which was Luna Lounge itself. The bar and lounge was rather upscale for the woman's taste, she almost always preferred dive bars and R&R given it felt like they matched her personality more, and she couldn't help but to wonder if the employees and attendees tonight would suss out that she didn't belong. This fear was what prompted her to invite Stephanie King out - her sole female friend in Hickstead.
The choice attire had been a little odd as well for Tiffany, but there was no going back now as she felt like she was bearing it all in a tight leather dress that left little to imagine in curves and propped up the goods quite nicely, "Thanks again for coming to this with me, Steph," the young woman said now, hoping that her tone of voice matched how profusely in debt that she felt that to the brunette accompanying her. Even though Maelle would be sure to show up, the comfort of having a more than familiar face with her in uncharted territory helped Tiffany out immensely until the drinks started to come. The hostess ushered the two women to a table now, where they would wait both on the show and Maelle.
As chocolate brown eyes noticed that there were more than three chairs at the table, she was quick to flag a waiter for a much needed draft beer and hoped this dress would allow such indulgences tonight. Tiffany should suppose that she should be thankful that a night at Luna Lounge proved to be the most unnerving part of her quiet life since moving to Hickstead, UK. She had made some friends, she had her brother, she was managing her best behavior for her parents and her dad was still chugging along despite what the doctors had said. Yet, Tiffany had found herself growing bored and restless, and with this weird energy lately between her brother and Stephanie, the young woman had oddly felt lonely as well.
She had been lost in her thoughts, zoning out, uncertain if Stephanie was even talking to her when her beer arrived along with a new face to the table who was not a tall, female redhead: "Friends of Maelle?" Brown eyes stared at him - unbashful between the outfit, the cropped hair, chiseled face, and tattoos. However, in all of the new man's distracting sexiness, there was something awfully familiar about him that Tiffany could not place, "Yeah, I'm Tiffany and this is my friend, Steph," she greeted now before taking a sip of her beer, "And who are you other than Friend of Maelle?"
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?"
When Stephanie told her that the said brownies were milk chocolate brownies, a deep and heavenly sigh could not help but to escape Tiffany, "Maybe we should just skip the real food and head straight into dessert." She commented now as they waltzed into the kitchen, "My brother can keep his chocolate free cheesecake." The mood upon entering the kitchen seemed quite foul though for a moment, and brown eyes shot her brother a look at his comment. Although it wasn't the comment that bothered her so much as it was the tone. Tiffany supposed she knew why though, given work, his breakup, and the matter of how their parents had treated said break up - but now was not the time to wallow, not with company involved who went by the name of Stephanie King, "I'm sure that passenger would have deserved the ole Navy style sucker punch," the woman quipped now, knowing fully well that nobody was allowed to hit her older brother other than herself.
As for herself, it took her a moment to realize what Stephanie meant by 'did anyone jump off a building' comment, "Thankfully no, but I've mainly been at the Army base verses Hickstead Hospital. Although, given how tiny this town is - I am sure I would have heard about it." Tiffany knew that holidays in combination with the dark hours usually brought out the worst in people, she had seen it before, but thankfully, it would appear that things would go by rather cheery this year in her new home. As her brother and Stephanie started their idle chit chat about themselves, Tiffany figured she better give the two some space and instead, tend herself to poking around the food and soon found herself invading Bradley's highly photogenetic charcuterie board, "What are non student students? Is that like a weird horse colloquial?" She asked now, neverminded that she was practically a chubby chipmunk with cheese, meat, and crackers. Manners were for strangers, not family and friends.
It took everything in Tiffany's power to not laugh at the young nurse - mainly because she saw that mildly hungry look in Maelle's eyes as they watched Elliot Scott come in and make his way to the chair that nobody ever wanted to sit in, "I know, he's distracting." But even with a distracting hunk of a man in the room, Maelle was able to expertly walk the older woman through drawing blood. In fact, she actually gave Tiffany even more that what she bargained for, perhaps she was too used to how the army functioned. Feeling Maelle's dark eyes boring into her now, it snapped her out of her surprise, "I feel like you downloaded the text book into your brain, cause you're correct." She said with a smile, before nodding to her to follow, "And, for the record, his veins are exactly for extracting blood."
"Elliot! How are you today?" She asked with a grin now, the man just staring at her blankly as always as if to suggest that Tiffany Matthew was too much to for him, "I see you have your slip. Confirming you are still Elliot Austin Scott born on November 28 1990?" He nodded at her, signaling that she was correct. Tiffany merely smiled at him before her chocolate brown eyes began scanning his paperwork, "Ah, yearly blood work. Nothing special. Should be a piece of cake then." She handed the paperwork over to the young woman before taking a seat in one of the rolly chairs, "Maelle here will be taking care of you. I'm just here to be an evil overlord and observe."
Elliot's steely blue eyes stared at her for a long moment before looking to the redhead now quizically before finally a wry smile appeared on his features, "I'm sure Tiffany has you jumping through hoops...don't you usually sit behind the reception desk?"
Tiffany couldn't help but to crinkle her nose when Bradley pointed out the obvious - he was her brother. She always hated when he used that logic with her as his excuse to do something, mainly because there was nothing that she could use to argue against it, and as it stands, he would forever be her closest family member. So the only response Tiffany had was to wave him off and allow him to take her luggage as she just followed in step now, besides him enough to feel like an equal but just a step or so back for him to take the lead to the car.
The young woman wasn't sure on what she expected to hear when she prompted Bradley about their father, but it hadn't been that explanation, "Shit. I didn't...I didn't know it was that bad." Although stage 3 or 4 cancer should have said it all, and yet, it didn't feel real to Tiffany, she didn't know why. Well, she did. Denial was a powerful thing with a family member, even one where you didn't have the greatest relationship with. Chocolate brown eyes looked over at her brother curiously though, a little surprised to hear him say that he wished their father would just die and be put out of his misery, "I think Dad is too stubborn to die," Tiffany replied wryly, trying to make the best of Bradley's current mood.
It wasn't surprising though to hear that their mother was feeling burn it. That was certainly a thing with home caretakers - a very real thing, that people didn't quite seem to understand. Tiffany was finally willing to share that burden with her mother, and the army granted it to her, along with some part time work to keep her active. She got into the passenger seat and shut the door now, buckling in when the driver's side open, "Ha! Well, I missed you the most. But Mom was second place. We'll see how she feels about me after a few months," Tiffany said with a grin now, as she clicked the seat belt, "What's new with you anyways? Besides mom and dad." She felt a little guilty that she hadn't exactly been the greatest at keeping up with her older brother's life - but they both had been in active duty with different timezones, so it felt reasonable to drop the ball every once in a while.
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."
Tiffany could not help but to laugh at the surprise in the other woman's voice when they first laid eyes on each other. She supposed it had been a long time since they two of them had spoken, let alone been in the same room. Just as it had been with all of Bradley's navy friends, Tiffany had been the tag along whenever Stephanie had come over as well when they were kids, thankfully, she had been generous to include her in their adventures, "Ah don't worry. My sweet tooth will make up for Bradley's absence of one. Are these dark or milk chocolate based? And yes, this is an important question." Given that it altered what beverage that they might be pairing them with.
She carefully took the tray from Stephanie now before wrapping her in a hug, expertly keeping the tray of coveted brownies safe. Somewhere from the kitchen, Bradley had to inject some smart ass comment which only made Tiffany roll her eyes. The woman gestured for her friend to follow her now, leading her into the kitchen where the smells of Bradley's slavery in the kitchen could accost them, "I have brought her to you alive and unmaimed." She jested at her brother now before placing the tray on a blank space of the counter, listening to Stephanie talk. Once prompted about her job, Tiffany just smiled, "Oh, same old stuff. Plenty of vaccines to be given for holiday travel at the base, and Hickstead is just whatever pops up at the ER. Thankfully nothing too exciting." And then...there was their dad, but Tiffany kept her mouth shut, uncertain of what Bradley has told Stephanie and what he hasn't - and given the energy, she had to keep note of when she should stop being a third wheel and run out of the room.
If the young woman had been judging her, she had been excellent at keeping up a rather kind mask with that smile. Tiffany thought that she knew the receptionist and nursing student enough though that there was no judgement behind her eyes. Sometimes the nurses here could get a little clique-ish like it was high school, and the woman always felt like she was the odd one out as the part timer. Thankfully though, it would appear that she had finally found herself a secure friend at the hospital.
She patiently waited for the red head to make a decision about her offer, and by the time that Tiffany was starting to feel her characteristic impatientence starting to set in, did Maelle make her decision, "It's always an adventure," she said jokingly, "We'll aim for the grumpy people. I got a hell of a mean look to protect you anyways, and if we swing to pediatrics, we have the power of the post lollipop on our sides." Both would be good practice for the young woman anyways, a taste of both worlds. Although, Tiffany wasn't sure what was the better to start off with, probably the grumpy adults. Besides, drawing blood probably beat any cleaning that Maelle had to tackle while she sat at the front desk.
Tiffany lead the way to the back lab where the neatly aligned chairs for blood drawing. Everything looked sterile as always, along with its tubes and spinners, "Rachel, Maelle and I have the next victim." She called out, just as a rather handsome but burley man entered the area. One she reconized from the hardware store. The woman cringed a little but smiled and waved to one of the chairs, "Elliot! Nurse Maelle and I will be with you shortly." A grunt escaped him, which she long learned was typical before looking back to her young student now, "Walk me through it first before we start to torture him." A small test, yes, but Tiffany liked to know that all of the interns would be good to go when they graduated from her watch.
"Scowl?" Tiffany asked in response, "When did you become an aura reader?" Talk about a brotherly love verbal sucker punch to the face though. She should have expected it though, nobody knew her better than Bradley. That was the best thing about having a sibling, they somehow understood you more than your own parents. Tiffany was beginning to think that the telepathy link really was a genetic given when people had more than one child. Despite his initial greeting, the young woman accepted the hug from her brother, and when he broke it, she noticed that her bag had disappeared from her side and was suddenly in his hands.
A sigh escaped her, how sneaky of him, "For the record, the army made me a strong capable woman and I could carry my bag, but...thank you." She gestured the way, asking him to lead as she started to walk, "Flight was good. Heathrow was chaotic and I wasn't expecting the puddle jumper, but it was nice enough." These all felt like avoidance questions though, which just went to show that Bradley knew her just that well as a sister. She couldn't help but to wonder how he felt about her being here though, at least in conjunction with their parents. Figuring it was best to just rip off the proverbial band aid now, Tiffany dared to ask, "How are Mom and Dad? Is it...really that bad?" Of course it had to be. Bradley discharged honorably from the Navy and that was saying something. Still, Tiffany wanted to hear the actual confirmation.
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.
Tiffany didn't know what to make of the young woman at first when she raised her eyebrows at her antics. Was it really that strange? Granted, she supposed she was being a little odd about a book that she didn't want anybody knowing was hers. Was it weird to not want people to know that she, the brash and opinionated nurse, had a thing for corny romance novels and was an utter hopeless romantic? For two hole seconds, Tiffany thought maybe it was weird, but then brushed it away. People were allowed their fluffy secrets.
Chocolate brown eyes continued to watch Maelle like a hawk, waiting to see if she had any in's on the whereabouts of the book. The redhead appeared to settle though, deciding that Tiffany wasn't completely off of her rocker, “Oh, this?” she asked, opening the drawer under her computer, “I found it on the floor of the break room earlier. I’m guessing it is yours? It’s a secret if it is.” Sure enough, it was the Rodeo Queen alright. There was no mistaking the cover with golden fields, horses, and a beautiful brunette cowgirl straddling an equally sexy and muscular man. Tiffany beamed though, "I knew I liked you, Orchidaceae."
She supposed it could remain safe in that drawer for a few more hours now that she knew where it was, and didn't have to freak out looking for it all over the hospital, "Well, now that I have that mystery solved," Tiffany mused, "I guess it's time to take you back to see if you have what it takes to draw some blood per Dr. O'Hara's instructions. Unless you had a yearning for something else. I am willing to be flexible."
- Lush Life – Zara Larson - Love Myself – Hailee Stienfield - Stay – Zedd ft. Alessia Cara - Sorry Not Sorry – Demi Lovato - All About You – Hillary Duff - What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction - Better When I’m Dancin’ – Meghan Trainor - To Be Human – Sia ft. Labyrinth
"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.