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!.
there was something comforting about the chaos that filled the air around them right now. there were kids running back and forth, happy laughter and joy from the kids and there was about ten pounds of sugar per kid being consumed at an alarming rate but it was all in good fun. with everything that had happened over the last few months he was glad to see jarad running around, having fun with his cousins and being more like himself than he had in a while. it was still a journey with tae, he thought to himself as he kept his hand against tae's back gently, just to offer some extra security to boy. if there was a child in the family that took longer to work his head around situations it was tait but the family understood and would do whatever they all could to help him feel safe and secure again. he chuckled as he watched logan pull out a fake pad and he nodded a little, reaching into his pocket and pulling out fake bills. "$1000 on two minutes, odds almost certain." he said as he looked down at tae and bounced his son a little with his shoulder. "because we all know uncle leo can't help it .. and uncle luke won't give up without a fight, don't we?" he said softly with a smile as he saw the shadow of a smile cross tae's face and he considered it a win.
he shifted a little on the chair as more people came to their little corner to join them. he watched lexi come out of the house, their daughter in his arms, and he couldn't help but watch her for a few seconds. the time away had done them all the world of good and while it hadn't been a long trip it had been so worth the time for both of them and the kids. he was already planning a surprise trip over for christmas this year, since the last few had been spent in england with his family he figured it was time they celebrated family with lexi's. he knew that ash and damon had arrived before they'd even walked out of the back door. his nephew burst out of the back door with the unmatched energy of a child and he couldn't help but smile wider as he watched him join in the chaos. he hadn't lived here his whole life but he'd taken to being part of a large family like a duck to water it seemed. he lifted a hand to wave to his sister as she came over to join them. he reached the arm that wasn't holding tae up over his head to give her a hug and he smiled. "sup? trying to be young and hip still are we ash?" he teased as she kissed tae on the head.
he sat up all the way now, feeling a little rude while he was all stretched out and lounging. it didn't make it easy to participate in conversation and as much as he saw his family all the time, they didn't really run out of things to say to each other. he felt tae squirm a little and he let him go, wondering if he was going to go sit with lexi now she'd joined them but he was a little surprised when tae clambered onto the chair next to chance and he pulled himself up all the way onto the chair and leaned against his older cousins side, eyeing the soda in his hands carefully. normally the kids didn't drink soda but it was something of a treat today. "yeah ashley, how're things going?" he said as he looked up at her, he couldn't pin it but there was something slightly different today.
she really did think it was adorable that zeke and claire seemed to gravitate towards one and other. there were dozens of other children they could be playing with right now in the house and they were focusing on each other. she thought it was cute but she also couldn't help but ge glad that maya wasn't running around with one of the children at the party, because she had no doubt that leo would sit a kid down of any age and lecture him about staying away from his baby girl. the thought made her chuckle and she nodded over at lily as she picked up the platters. "probably, i started around their age." she said with a flush of red to her cheeks and a laugh. "i'm also going to start a book, take bets on how long it'll take them to get married." she was teasing but she did know it was a possibility. there were plenty of people who married their childhood sweethearts.
once she'd deposited the food she'd brought out of the kitchen she left lily and luke at the bbq because it looked like they'd enjoy a moment alone, well that was until leo started to kick off about the chef. she was actually really proud of how long he'd lasted, normally he'd have tried to take over from the start but he'd left it alone for a good while. she turned to look at chance and she tried to hold back a smile. she then looked past him to logan and she held her hands out to motion to chance. "when, when did your sweet boy turn into a glorious smart mouth." she said as she broke into a smile and she reached out to run her hand over chance's hair lightly. "your last name is shining through." which of course wasn't a bad thing, it meant he would fit in with the rest of their brood as they grew up and their own mouths started working properly. she wasn't looking forward to that day because most of their children were miniatures of their parents. she glanced over at leo after a moment, waiting till it seemed like he was losing the battle before she held up her empty hand like there was a wine glass in it. "leo, my darling husband, i'm awful thirsty but my hand is empty? do you know how to fix this?" she said with the sweetest smile she could muster as she looked at him.
"I'm surprised you weren't hot on heels," She flashed him a grin and rested a hand briefly on her stomach. ”Well I’m carrying precious cargo” She said with a wink before heading outside. She watched him head over to the BBQ then turned her attention to Lexi. "Hey you two, how is everything?" She smiled and returned her sister-in-law’s hug, being careful of her niece. She glanced towards Damon as he chatted with her cousins and her smile widened. ”Good. . really good actually, how was the holiday?” She asked. "josh! avenge me!" She heard Chase and let out a laugh as Josh sprinted over, taking the water gun from his cousin and turning to Claire and Jare as they came over. ”Who are we chasing!?”
She waved back to Lily and smiled as Josh began running around with the other kids, confirming she’d made the right choice to come back home. sup? trying to be young and hip still are we ash?" She looked down at her brother with a smirk. ”I am young and hip old man.” She said, ruffling his hair. "yeah ashley, how're things going?" She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face as discreetly fiddled with the new ring on her finger. She knew Damon had asked James for permission – he was old fashioned like that – but she wasn’t sure if he’d mentioned when he was popping the question. ”Things are great. .amazing even”
"he doesn't have the attention span to be a chef. a child sure, but not a chef. though i'm not itching to end up in hospital again, so i wouldn't mind if leo took over the BBQ." Damon's eyebrows rose and he gave Luke a dubious look and then turned his gaze warily to the meat sizzling away above the flames. Maybe it would be best if it was charcoaled, as interesting as that would be to eat. "Maybe I should be a vegetarian for today..." He shot Ranger a curious look, "How did you end up in hospital exactly?" He raised an eyebrow but then took a swig from his drink and headed over to where the rest of the adults had set up a camp before he could get in too much trouble with the chef.
He chuckled as the kids flew past, pausing awkwardly mid-stride to avoid knocking any of them over. It was always a mad house here, though he thought it was quite sweet how well they all got along. He would have given anything to have been brought up in the way these kids were. There had been a brief moment in his childhood where his older brother had actually stood up for him, had cared for him, and then it had all fallen apart to dust in his hands. Him and his brother would never be the way this family were - ridiculously close, could tell each other anything and still stand strong at each other's side. It was the kind of thing he wanted his son to grow up surrounded by - and his unborn child.
”Things are great. .amazing even” He caught the tail end of the conversation, coming to stand behind Ash for a moment and gently resting a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze and smiling down at her. He was glad she felt that way, he was always a worrier but he felt like things were as good as ever between them right now, and Josh seemed to be thriving despite the moving countries. He wondered if now was the time to announce their news, whilst everyone was together. "Should we tell them?" He bent down to murmur to Ash for a moment, his eyes glancing to her hand with the ring on full display.
"he doesn't have the attention span to be a chef. a child sure, but not a chef." Lexi snorted and raised a brow, "careful now, that's fighting talk." She teased Ranger as she settled in her chair better now that she was down, gently tapping Rory's back as they rocked. So far she was behaving and being peaceful enough, but that could change at any given moment, Lexi was pre-empting this by keeping her settled whilst she could. She laughed softly at the talk of bets, tilting her head as she looked over at her husband. "What are the odds? Give us some good odds and we might take up a bet or two." She pointed out, wondering if Luke would manage to hold onto his tongs or if Leo would pry them from his cold dead hands - likely not even cold actually before he took that kind of action.
She smiled as Ashley replied to her "Good. . really good actually, how was the holiday?” Her eyebrows rose at the comment - really good... that was something. Lexi nodded however, "it was wonderful ..." Her eyes flickered to James for a moment and softened. The holiday had helped to reset things between them after the tension and her smile was easily genuine. "Just perfect - what we needed really." She knew the family had been aware of their issues but she didn't know if they all knew just how tough things had gotten for a while. Now everything felt like a fairy tale once again. ”Things are great. .amazing even” Her eyebrows rose and her gaze went from Damon to Ashley as she saw him murmur something in her ear. "Okay what is going on with you two, spill it." She indicated a finger back and forth between them.
he couldn't help but laugh as both logan and lexi admonished him for his words about leo but he wasn't worried, it was all in jest. he settled into the chair next to logan and shifted thatcher so he was against his shoulder rather than laid across his arms, this way he could drink a beer if he could convince anyone to get him one now he was settled with thatch. "he'd never risk snapping his nephew." he was sure of that, as rough and tumble as leo could be and as hands on as he could be too, he'd never risk hurting one of the kids. that he was certain about. these kids were the center of the white family's world and it was comforting to know that they'd grow up in that environment.
it was also comforting to know that if anything happened to him on the job, that logan would have the support he needed to help chance and thatcher grow into decent adults. he looked across at damon and couldn't help but laugh again as he asked how he'd gotten sick. he shook his head and raised a hand to point at the horde of children who were still running around chasing each other. "i caught some flu off one of that lot." he said to assure the fellow white by relationship. "it wasn't luke's cooking." hopefully that reassured him. he hadn't been here for the tuna bake saga but it was a well known fact in the house that luke didn't cook.
he grinned as chance joined them and teased his uncle too. he knew that would mean a lot to logan, they had both worried for a long time whether chance would relax into the family. it had taken time and a lot of patience and so much support from logan, but he was getting there. he watched as tae settled next to him and he smiled a bit more before he shifted his attention back to the adults in the group. there was something happening between ashley and damon and it seemed like they were teasing telling the family. if they thought they could drop that tidbit and not explain, he'd like to see the whites let that go. he doubted they could.
he couldn't help but grin as his uncle leo ruffled his hair and he reached up to push at his hand playfully. he knew it wasn't something he should dwell on but leo had been one of the first people he'd relaxed around in the house, after logan and then ranger. he didn't know why because they'd all been so nice and had treated him like one of their own from the second he'd been brought into the family but he couldn't help but feel a little closer to him that his other uncles. "i thought you liked pizza?" he said with a laugh as he grabbed his soda from the esky and he walked over to where everyone else was sitting. he looked over at josh as he ran past him to grab the gun he'd left for him and he pointed across the yard to maya and jare. "them! get em!" he smiled as he watched his younger cousins run around with each other. he cracked the soda as he dropped onto one of the chairs, pulling his legs up to cross them as he sat across the plastic lounger chair. "it's pretty much open season on uncle luke right now." he said with a grin as he cracked open the soda.
it was then they were joined by lexi, bella and then ashley and damon made their way over to them. he still wasn't sure around james's sister and her boyfriend. not because they'd done anything but because he didn't know them well. he knew and trusted josh because he was a kid and he'd been around him a bit more but he was trying his best to stay relaxed around them, even if he couldn't help being slightly wary. he smiled at bella as she called out his smart mouth and the smile on his face was one that was filled with pride. it just made him feel a good but weird sort of way when people said he was just like one of them, because it meant he really did belong there. he leaned his head into her hand lightly and took a sip of his soda. it didn't take long for tae to leave his dad's lap and come and join him on the lounge chair. he leaned back a little as tae crawled into his lap, sitting with his back against his chest and he hugged an arm around his younger cousin. "want some?" he said quietly while the adults were slightly distracted by the fact ashley and damon seemed to have news. he helped tae take a few sneaky sips of the coke, not really aware that james was watching them with a smile, and he took the can back so he could take another drink of his own, waiting to hear what was happening around them.
She grinned, a mischievous look in her eye as he turned to look at her. As if they weren't both fully aware that he had a ridiculously good body. Besides, with her cooking the majority of their meals she made sure there was a healthy balance of good and bad - considering she was often cooking for the 5000, she had to look after the family and make sure they didn't live off a diet of pizza and chicken nuggets. "you're just jealous i can eat anything." She gave a small squeak of surprise and then let out an easy laugh, narrowing her eyes slightly on her husband. "You keep telling yourself that, sweetie." She teased, swatting him on the butt in return and winking.
"never leo, never." Lily rolled her eyes at the boys antics, but she gave her husband a soft look. She got it, even if Leo didn't (the dense clotpole), that Luke had to do this because this was their party, for their girls. She stopped teasing for a moment and rested a hand on Luke's arm, raising onto her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "I pronounce you King of the BBQ," She said proudly, "just don't poison anyone or they'll never let you live it down." She added in a quiet whisper. She chuckled at the talks of a bet and rolled her eyes as she went to grab her drink. "Come on now guys, I think that's enough ribbing on the cook, or he'll poison you all on purpose," She warned, though she knew he wouldn't actually do that. It was all in jest and no harm done but she didn't want Luke developing a complex that they really thought he was going to make them all sick... it wasn't without cause but still.
Lily took a swig of her drink, glancing over to Bella when she helped pick up the plates. "probably, i started around their age. i'm also going to start a book, take bets on how long it'll take them to get married." She gave a soft laugh at that, watching the two play for a minute. "I'm not even sure who is chasing who anymore," Lily admitted as they zipped by again, the other way around this time. "I think I could get in on that bet, though I only need Claire to be happy, and I'll be happy - no matter who she ends up with." It would be sweet if their childhood crushes remained and they ended up together, but she didn't care if it didn't happen. "Is anything ready to take over yet, hun?" She asked Luke, glancing over the smoking options.
he knew the ribbing was coming from a place of love, well from most of them anyway. from leo it was all annoyance because he'd been too slow to grab the tongs that morning. he couldn't show off his prowess on the bbq but luke wasn't about to feel bad about it, for once it was nice to know that he'd bested him, even at something so trivial. he chuckled as lily pronounced him the king of the bbq and he leaned down into the kiss she placed on his cheek before she raised her lips to his ear. "don't worry, i'll make sure it's charred all the way through." he teased with a smile as he turned back to the bbq, finishing off what needed finishing off before he felt everything was done enough to call it finished.
"married?" he asked incrediously as he overheard what bella and lily were talking about and he shook his head a little. he set the tongs down and reached behind him to untie the apron strings from his waist and he glanced across to where his oldest daughter was chasing around after zeke. "oh that needs to be nipped in the bud." he said as he reached down into the esky for another beer and he cracked the top. "i'm setting a no boys or girls rule until their 30. actually none of them can date until slade is 30." he said with a slight nod as he took a sip of the beer. "it's all done." he said with a quick smile as he reached to pick up one of the trays he'd set the meat onto. "foods done!." he called out, waiting to be mobbed by the masses now there was food on offer and the afternoon could really begin.
TWENTY FIVE | STUDYING LAW/FIRE FIGHTER | LILIANA HONEY WHITE-COLE CLAIRE WHITE | 4 ROSE WHITE | 3 FELICITY WHITE | 3 SLADE WHITE | 1
