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!.
heather was more than ready for this day to be over. it had started out bad and had just gone from bad to worse. it was like the universe had conspired for her to have everything go wrong. she'd had to borrow her brothers car that morning because hers has decided not to start, her professor hadn't liked one of the photo's she'd submitted for an assignment so now she either had to take another one or try and find another one she'd taken that suited what it needed to, she'd spilled her coffee all over her jeans at break and hadn't had time to change out of them or go home to get another pair because of course it had to be the day with the heavy class load and then she'd discovered that she'd left a whole book at home and couldn't get the feedback she needed before submitting what she'd written. she was looking forward to getting home, taking the longest bath on record, ordering pizza regardless of what was on offer for dinner and then drinking hot chocolate till the cows came home.
stepping out of the university doors she frowned and sighed when she was it was raining. well that was great. the sun had been shining half an hour ago. she pulled her jacket up over her hair as much as she could as she ran across the parking lot, thanking god that she'd at least made the smart choice to wear sneakers that morning. as she reached the car she threw her book bag into the car and was about to throw her purse into the front when she spotted something she didn't want to spot on a million years. a flat tire. she could have cried, right then and there she could have curled up into a ball and laid there till time ended. she let out a frustrated noise instead and moved to the boot, grabbing the jack out and hoping she remembered everything from when caleb had taught her to change a tire. she dropped to the floor carefully, kneeling next to the wheel, the rain falling heavier now, the water soaking through the knee's of her jeans as she fiddled with the jack, trying to find the right spot to put it.
Faye finished off the last of her essay and sat back in the creaking seat, stretching her arms above her head and yawning. The library was quiet, and relatively empty at this time of day, which she preferred. She didn't mind doing her work at home but she preferred to do it at the university, it meant that it kept her school studies and home life separate, so that when she was done at the uni, she could go home and spend the time with her family without the stress or worry of work, of trying to complete work with her kids demanding attention. It did mean she spent a little longer at the uni on her days in, but as she was only doing one course, and she managed to fit some of her practical work into her work at the gym which made life easier.
Her assignments were now done for the week and she packed everything up neatly before putting it away in her bag and pulled it onto her shoulder. She was looking forward to getting home for a late lunch, she had spent most of the day here and she was ready to relax and spend her evening with the girls - and Nik of course. Faye smiled a brief goodbye to the librarian and left quietly, heading down the corridor and then outside and across to the car park. As she was heading across the lot, she noticed another woman seeming to have some trouble. Faye couldn't pretend to know everything about cars, but she knew a fair bit. She liked being an independent woman and all of that, and she could certainly change a tire. She paused, not too far so she didn't make the young woman jump. "Hey, do you need a hand?"
she could do this. she was a strong independent woman who didn't need anyone to come and rescue her. that was what she kept repeating in her head as she sat there soaked through to the bone trying to lift this damn car so she could change her tire like the independent woman she was telling herself she was. she'd pulled her hood up in an attempt to keep the water from her face but in true bad day fashion it hadn't happened. she fumbled with the jack as her hands slipped on the wet metal but eventually she felt it lock into place and she could have yelled in excitement. now she just needed to undo the nuts and she was away and home free. she shifted on her knees and gripped the pipe with both hands.
she just needed this to work. she needed them to come undone easily enough that she could change them and she'd be on her way to a hot shower in minutes. she could just about melt into a hot shower right now, she could picture the hot chocolate that sam would make her if she showed up at starbucks cold, she could just imagine the hot soup she could make when she got home and the thought of all of them was just about enough to keep her from freezing her ass off. "right, come on." she said as she threw all her weight at the but to try and get it to turn but it didn't budge. she could have cried right there and then in that moment but she took a breath and tried again and again and again until her hands were sore. "you bugger." she said as she got to her knees and she started trying to kick the pole into submission. the rain had stopped at some point in the last few moments and she couldn't help but shiver a little as she stood there trying her best to push it with her foot. she heard the footsteps behind her but until she heard the voice she assumed they were hurrying to their cars so they could get warm. she lifted her head at the familiar voice and her hood slid off her wet hair and she smiled at faye. "hi faye." she said as cheerily as she could muster. "you don't happen to have a six foot three, body builder who can work a jack hiding in your car do you?"
She hadn't recognised her from a distance, the rain was lashing down and made it hard to see, and the woman had her hood up, making it impossible to see her face from behind. Faye didn't need to know them to want to help though, she was the kind of girl who would always stop to help someone, and in particular another woman - she was all about empowering woman and woman power. They didn't need men to help... though she was absolutely guilty of asking Nik for assistance when she needed; opening jars, reaching stuff from the top shelf. Nik was very useful for quite a few things like that, the kind of things she should just get on and do herself but... well, sometimes you just wanted to ask your man.
As the hood slid off her head, Faye realised who it was and her smile warmed. "hi faye.""Heather!" She said in surprise, "you don't happen to have a six foot three, body builder who can work a jack hiding in your car do you?" She snorted at that and raised an eyebrow, "You've seen Nik haven't you? That's the best I've got." She joked and then shook her head, "Forget the body builder, you've got me. What can I do?" She asked, surveying what stage Heather had gotten to in changing the tire. She knew how to change one, so hopefully she could be of some kind of assistance.
she was glad to see faye, even soaking wet and struggling to change a tire. a friendly face was always welcome, especially when it was a friend who was behind it. there might have been an age difference and faye might have been her brothers friend but that didn't stop her from liking the woman a lot. age wasn't important to her, it was the friendship itself that was and she knew that she'd always be able to go to faye, or any of her brothers friends, if she needed help. she smiled when faye said all she had was nik and she laughed a little. "well you're not married yet, there's still time to find the body builder." she joked as she put the wrench back around one of the nuts and she stood up from the ground, pushing off with her hands. "if i've got you, i don't need anyone else." she said with a genuine smile as she looked down at the wrench, though it was more of a glare.
"that stupid nut is holding out on me, i can't undo it." she said as she looked back towards faye. "i tried standing on it but i think i heard it laughing at me." she said with something of a smile as she looked back down at the tire. "got any ideas on how to loosen it?" she could always call a car service or one of her brothers but that was admitting defeat to people she didn't like admitting defeat to. besides things with her and dustin weren't all that great at the moment, so she didn't want to bug him. the car service was an option but that would be money she couldn't afford to spend.
Faye didn't like the idea of Heather being out here on her own, not that the town was seedy or anything but there were definitely parts of it that were less desirable than others, and people that could be somewhat concerning - Heather was young and pretty, and would look like an easy target. "well you're not married yet, there's still time to find the body builder." Faye laughed at that and grinned, "I'm not sure, I think the two kids might be enough of a ball and chain to the old guy." She joked back, though honestly, she loved Nik and - despite their long engagement - was very content in her relationship, still looking forward to marrying the guy. She didn't need him to be 6ft5 tall and a bodybuilder, they were hard work and high maintenance. Nik was sweet, he was protective and kind, a good friend, thoughtful, a fantastic dad, he had his shit together and hey... it didn't hurt that he wasn't bad in the bedroom either. A girl had to have her priorities.
"if i've got you, i don't need anyone else." She smiled at that and nodded, "well, I like to think I'm of some use at least." She admitted. She could change a tire, so she should be good enough for this kind of issue. "that stupid nut is holding out on me, i can't undo it." Faye pursed her lips in thought. "i tried standing on it but i think i heard it laughing at me. got any ideas on how to loosen it?" Faye looked at the wheel in consideration. "I hate to admit it, but that was probably a passer-by laughing - it would have made me chuckle too," She joked and came closer to inspect it. "I can give it a go? Though I doubt I'm much stronger." She was heavily into her fitness, given the fact she was working on becoming a personal trainer, she held her hands out for the nut and crouched down, frowning. "It doesn't help that they put the wrong covers on these nuts, who last took this tire off?" She asked, pointing at the black caps that had been wedged onto the nuts.
it might have been funny to joke about but she knew there was more to men than their height and the size of their arms. of course height and strength came in handy sometimes, like when changing a stubborn tire, but when push came to shove she's rather someone who was kind and reliable. she'd thought she'd wanted excitement, nonstop passion and adventure. but she's had excitement and it hadn't been all it was cracked up to be. now she was with sam it was different but she couldn't help but feel it was better. there was no hiding, no being worried about getting caught and she could find herself gushing without fear of getting into trouble. there was that and the person he was, she felt safe in his arms, he was somewhat opposite of her and she found that to be calming when the world felt too much.
"beauty and brains over brawn any day." she said with conviction as she wiped some of the water from her forehead with her wet sleeve. she looked down at the nut and couldn't help but think it was doing this on purpose, that this inanimate object was taking great delight in keeping her out in the rain when all she wanted was to go get a hot coffee and curl up with a good book. "it was probably hilarious. me trying to jump on this stupid thing but i was desperate." she could imagine the sight and if it had been anyone else she'd probably have had a chuckle before she helped but it had been so frustrating at the time.
"we could always amuse other people watching by both trying to jump on it?" she said but there was no real suggestion there. the last thing she'd want would be for faye to get hurt while trying to get this nut off. it wasn't worth someone else getting hurt for her car, it was her problem so if she got hurt it didn't matter so much. who changed the last tire? probably the last person who owned the car. she hadn't done it while she'd owned it. "i mean, the person who owned it last? the tires have been great till now." she said as she shivered slightly, looking up at the sky as the clouds started to roll back in. "maybe i should just call the service?"
"beauty and brains over brawn any day." Faye glanced at Heather and smiled to herself. Given what she knew of Heather's past experiences, she was not surprised about the sentiment. "Well, really we just can't judge a book cover," She gave a quick wink and an easy smile to show no harm was meant by it. She had met plenty of gym nuts over the years who walked around looking scary with their stacked arms and ridiculously wide shoulders, face's serious and intense.. then they talked to you and were so soft inside it was like marshmallow. It was almost laughable. Just the way that even a nerdy guy could be a heartbreaker depending on how he went about conducting himself. All it did was make her all the more thankful for Nik; the guy was a diamond in a cavern full of coal.
She pulled her own hood closer around her face as the rain tried to get in. God it was miserable, and she shivered as the cold of the weather pressed in through her clothes. "it was probably hilarious. me trying to jump on this stupid thing but i was desperate." Faye pressed her lips together to avoid chuckling, though she knew Heather wouldn't mind her having a giggle considering she'd made it sound amusing, but she still felt bad for her to have gotten into this position in such bad weather. "I'm sure they were glad of the entertainment for a rainy afternoon," Faye suggested.
"we could always amuse other people watching by both trying to jump on it?" Faye smiled and pretended to think about it, "I mean, I would say yes but I don't fancy a hospital trip as well as to the mechanics." She joked, though she felt that maybe they would need to call someone else out to get the tire off at this rate. "i mean, the person who owned it last? the tires have been great till now. maybe i should just call the service?" She frowned slightly and took over with the tool, leaning all her weight into it and even letting out a long groan as she did. Finally, after what felt like an age, she felt it shift. She slipped and nearly smacked her face on the car as it moved, but she grinned triumphantly at Heather, "I got it, I got it!" She announced, as if it wasn't obvious enough as she managed to carry on turning the nuts.
she watched as faye put all her weight onto the bar that would hopefully loosen the nuts and then they could both get out of this weather that seemed intent on flooding every living thing out of the land it was falling onto. okay maybe that was an exaggeration but she didn't think she'd ever been as soaked through as she was now and that was saying something. she was just about to give up and tell faye it was pointless as the bar started to move. her eyes widened with joy and then horror as she saw it slip and the next thing faye was falling towards the car. "oh go-" she reached her hands to grab the back of faye's shirt, hoping to stop her from falling into the car but luckily faye was quick enough to stop herself and heather breathed out a strong sigh of relief as she let go of her shirt.
"superwoman!" she said with a genuine smile and a small laugh as she crouched to take the nuts off the tire after faye loosened them. there was no way she was going to chance losing these buggers. she wanted to go home, take a hot shower until the water in england ran out and drink as much hot tea as she could physically stomach. she'd probably even go as far as to start a fire when she got home and turn the heating up to just below boiling, regardless of what her family said. she was desperate to get warm. "who says damsels in distress can't rescue themselves." she said with a smile as she stood up so she could roll the spare tyre from the back of the car now they could take the flat wheel off.
Faye grit her teeth as she gave the bad another shove. She liked to think she was pretty strong given her personal training. She hit the gym frequently, and though she was nowhere near some of the buff gym girls or bodybuilders, she certainly wasn't a featherweight either. It felt like it was a sudden shift and she'd been leaning so hard into it, she'd have smacked her head on the car if her hands hadn't caught her. Quick reflexes. A hand on her shirt helped too, that extra support to avoid falling forwards. She grinned in relief that they wouldn't have to call someone else out to deal with it as she proceeded to finish loosening the nuts, glancing at Heather when she heard the girl call her superwoman. "Nah, just your friendly neighborhood supermum." She joked. Women definitely had an underappreciated strength that people underestimated.
She felt Heather crouch next to her and shuffled over to give her space to help get the nuts off properly. At least the rest of it would be simple from this point on. "who says damsels in distress can't rescue themselves." Faye snorted and double checked the jack was all okay as she went to wiggle the flat tire off. "Who are you calling Damsel? We've totally got this... Were the Knights!" she laughed as she watched Heather roll over the spare tire. "Want a hand or you got that?" she asked as she lay the flat and useless tire out the way on the edge of the pavement. After this she definitely felt they were in need of a hot chocolate or a drink or something for sure.
