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!.
as jasper pulled up to the house his partners family lived in, he glanced into the back seat to the child that was laying ever so calmy in his chair. "i think that's the quietest you've been all day bud." he said with a smile as he got out of the car and walked around to lift rocke out of his little seat gently. if he'd been sleeping, he'd have carried him inside with it but since he was awake, he didn't feel the need to bring it too. besides it lived in his car, with the amount of time they all spent watching each other's kids it had made sense to just keep seats with all of them in case of emergency. it was a lesson they'd learned the hard way when dustin had come across avery and holly's crumbled up car with levi in the back seat. dustin had got them out but then had nowhere to put levi. so it was one of the reasons they had the system they did. he settled rocke into the crook of his arm gently as he pulled out the bag avery had dropped off that morning and he headed to the door.
he was hoping that holly's car was pulled around to the back because he couldn't see either her or avery's car and this was when avery had said they'd be home. "are they running late?" he asked the baby in his arms as he reached the front door and set the bag down before fumbling around in his pocket for his key to the front door. once he'd opened it he stepped inside, hooked the strap of the bag with his foot and pulled it inside so he didn't have to bend with rocke in his arms. "easy peasy." he said with a smile as he closed the front door and walked a little further into the house. "avery? holly?" he called into the silence and he rocked the baby in his arms gently as he waited for someone to respond to him. if no one did, he'd give them a call and then wait here with rocke. they shouldn't have been too far away anyway.
TWENTY SEVEN | ENGLISH LIT TEACHER | KARA LYRA MCCARRAN SCARLET CALLAHAN | 2
Rehab had not been kind. He'd pushed himself harder, for longer, far longer than directed to the point where the nurses in the clinic had to help him off the floor. His legs, or rather leg, did not feel right, like there was no active connection to help him walk any more. It had been a painfully long walk once he got out of the unit all the way back to the bus stop, and then the remaining walk down the street. Getting in the door to an empty house gave him brief relief, a chance to just sit and process without all the noise that came from such a large family.
He didn't hate his family, he loved them - but it was still a lot to deal with when his own head couldn't be quiet for long. Collapsing on the family lounge, he tried to relax and work through the pain that had settled into a deep ache that no amount of rubbing could fix. The quiet allowed him to breathe, but it let the voices in too.
"Avery? Holly?"
That voice. It irritated him for no good reason. He knew who it belonged to and why it was in the house, but he didn't feel the usual fake happiness he reserved for family.
"No," he growled from his place on the couch, "Just me."
His tone was immediately unfriendly despite knowing there was no reason to be. Jasper somehow managed to push unseen buttons without ever meaning to. Joe almost wanted to pity the man, but that felt more false than what he put forward to his family.
well this wasn't a good sign. well it wasn't a bad sign but he couldn't exactly leave the baby in the empty house. he rocked rocke gently as the baby started to grizzle and he shushed him softly as he heard someone answer him from the living room. he knew who it was straight away because it wasn't a voice he'd heard in the house very often. joe was the only one home was he? that meant he was staying with the baby until avery or holly got home. or even dustin and hayden. he wasn't going to mention it but he didn't know how joe was with kids on his own yet and there was every chance he didn't want to be saddled with his nephew on his own. he didn't know if he'd be welcome in the lounge but it wasn't like he was unfamiliar with the house. he'd spent just as much time here as he did his own since becoming involved with kara so he wasn't about to feel uncomfortable here.
"well you're going to have some company for a while." he said simply as he walked into the living room and he saw joe laying down on the couch. he didn't know much about what he was going through, the very little kara had told him didn't really elaborate on how he might be feeling and what he might be going through but there was a lot there that the kid was trying to process and keep from everyone who loved him. he shifted rocke onto his shoulder and rubbed his back as he kept grumbling softly and he sat down on the arm of one of the arms of a chair opposite to where joe was sitting. "at least until avery and holly get home." he figured he'd let joe that he wouldn't be staying any longer than he needed to, because while kara hadn't told him everything, she'd told him that joe didn't particularly like him because of a certain previous thorn in their relationships side, luc
TWENTY SEVEN | ENGLISH LIT TEACHER | KARA LYRA MCCARRAN SCARLET CALLAHAN | 2
"Well you're going to have some company for a while," he said simply as he walked into the living room, "At least until Avery and Holly get home."
Joe rubbed his face - there went the quiet before the chaos of the house unraveled once more. He shouldn't have felt the spike of anger that hit him, but it slapped him in the chest alongside the residual pains of a cramp in his good leg that was holding on for far too long. He should've been happy with the pain, having ditched his crutches for the most part, finally feeling confident enough on the lump of plastic that replaced his limb to at least walk on flat ground on his own. Any other time, the pain would've been welcome, but it was decidedly not welcome this time and his stubbornness to refuse pain medication was adding to it.
"What does my sister see in you?" his tone wasn't overly friendly, but it wasn't immediately hostile, it was just that lingering question in the back of his mind that he wanted to understand but had no intentions of actually caring about what result it might've brought back on himself.
he didn't think joe would be overly happy about being in his company for any amount of time but he wasn't about to apologize for needing to be there. it wasn't like he'd shove his nephew into joe's arms and leave him there. as far as he could tell joe avoided the kids like the plague and he wasn't even sure if he'd met his and kara's daughter scarlet just yet. he knew the family were all giving him the leeway and space they thought he needed but as far as jasper was concerned, the brother that had just returned needed a swift kick up the ass and told to pull his head in. though that was an opinion he'd keep to himself because of his own troublesome brother, he really wasn't one to give advice on how to handle siblings.
he shifted from the arm of the chair so he was sitting properly so he could settle rocke when he grumbled about the situation he was currently in. he blinked a little as the question came from joe and he looked up at him and he raised a slight brow. well he certainly wasn't one for any sort of subtlety was he. "you'd have to ask her that." in fact he'd gone through a long period when he hadn't thought he was good enough for her. he'd loved her from the get go but he hadn't thought that it was everything she'd deserved and then when luc had come into the picture it had been even worse, it had almost broken them but they'd worked through it, trusted each other and had come through the other side stronger than ever. "are you still trying to play matchmaker with her and luc?" he asked joe as he looked across at him, trying to figure out where he was going with all of this.
TWENTY SEVEN | ENGLISH LIT TEACHER | KARA LYRA MCCARRAN SCARLET CALLAHAN | 2
"Funny, considering I did and she rebutted that I should ask you," he grunted, "So no one can answer a straight question."
"Are you still trying to play matchmaker with her and Luc?" he asked joe as he looked across at him.
Joe turned his head on the cushion he was resting on to stare blankly back at Jasper, "If this is me trying, someone better hand me the closest gun and let me pull the trigger, I've lost my edge. If I was trying, you'd know it."
He was slow to sit up, his upper back on fire as he moved upright, hands bracing against the edge of the lounge. He pinched the bridge of his nose against the wave of dizziness that hit him.
"I don't even know why I bother caring some days," he growled,"I really don't. Vous ne pouvez probablement même pas parler ou comprendre le français."
Translation: "You probably can't even speak or understand French."
he could just imagine kara giving him that exact answer, with a few other choice words to go with it. if there was one thing kara was it was fiery and she didn't take prisoners. it was one of the things he loved about it. that's what he could answer if joe would have asked. he could sit there and talk for hours about what he loved about kara and what he'd seen in her. but since joe didn't ask, jasper wasn't going to give him that explanation. it didn't really feel like he cared all that much about it anyway but jasper couldn't tell if he was trying to catch up in his own way or if was doing it just to stir things up and because he was bored. he hadn't really spent much time with his soon to be brother in law so he didn't know if this was normal for him or not but judging by what everyone else was saying, it wasn't.
"or maybe we feel like we don't need to justify it to you." he said simply as he looked down at rocke and he tucked the blanket around him a little more when he saw he was falling off into sleep again, apparently not too excited about just sitting down on the couch. "would i?" he asked him as he returned joes blank stare with a sort of one of his own. he couldn't pretend he wasn't interested in getting to know the guy but he didn't really seem to want to make it easy. it was like he'd been prepared from the get go to dislike him. "i've never seen you make an effort so i wouldn't know." he didn't mean since he'd come home but they'd not really met before he'd turned up back at home because joe had been deployed so it was no one's fault, just the truth.
"this is you caring? interrogating your sister is caring?" he shook his head a little. he'd known that kara and joe hadn't just had a discussion, he'd pretty much attacked her over the table and they'd fought about it. he'd promised kara he wouldn't confront joe about it but he wasn't about to sit here and treat him with kiddie gloves like everyone else was. "have you confronted dustin or avery about hayden and holly? or is it just me you don't like." he said as he frowned. "c’est là que vous avez tort, you assuming shit." he wasn't perfect but he'd needed to learn at least some so he could keep up with the mccarrans who often slipped between the two languages, especially when they were upset.
translation | "that's where you're wrong" (according to google :'D)
TWENTY SEVEN | ENGLISH LIT TEACHER | KARA LYRA MCCARRAN SCARLET CALLAHAN | 2
"Or maybe we feel like we don't need to justify it to you." he said simply.
"It just baffles me how quickly people can just brush off things so easily. Seems to me that loyalty is dead," he snarked back, rolling his eyes, "Forgive me trying to understand such things."
"Would I?" he asked him as he returned Joes blank stare with a sort of one of his own. "I've never seen you make an effort so I wouldn't know."
"Yeah, you would. That's because there is little to care about," he shrugged, "Saves everyone the hassle."
"This is you caring? Interrogating your sister is caring?" he shook his head a little. "Have you confronted Dustin or Avery about Hayden and Holly? Or is it just me you don't like." he said as he frowned. "c’est là que vous avez tort, you assuming shit."
"Yes, this is my way of caring. But it's hard interrogation - I've done that and I haven't pulled out her teeth or beaten her to a point of internal bleeding. And no, I haven't spoken to my brothers purely because as far as I know, they didn't write off other partners. If they are smart, they won't talk to me."
He raised a brow at the French, "C'est tout ce que vous avez ? Pathétique vraiment. Vous n'avez que l'anglais comme langue maternelle et rien d'autre. Vous souhaitez seulement pouvoir comprendre tout et tout ce dont on parle et votre pauvre excuse pour le français vous débrouille. Alors que diriez-vous d'aller vous faire foutre avec quelque chose de dur comme un cactus en béton et de me dire ensuite vos meilleures insultes."
He got up slowly off the couch, wincing as pain stabbed him in the back before getting onto his feet and slowly limped his way across to the kitchen for water, muttering as he went - "د خندا وړ ټوټه."
translation | "Is that all you've got? Pathetic really. You only have English as your native tongue and nothing else. You only wish you could understand everything and anything that gets spoken of and your poor ass excuse for French gets you by. So how about you go and screw yourself with something hard like a concrete cactus and tell me then your best insults." ++ Pashto - "Pathetic piece of shit."
jasper couldn't help but shake his head a little as joe started going on about how quickly people got over each other. how people could be understanding with joe was beyond him when everything that came out of his mouth was either an insult, an accusation or a grunt. he got that his siblings probably wanted to make him feel welcome but jasper didn't have that familial connection to him. he loved kara and he thought of dustin, avery and heather like family because they'd treated him the same. joe treated him like a stain on the floor and he didn't have to put on kid gloves, joe was a big boy. "oh you mean like how you've been brushing your family off since you got home? treating them as if they don't matter or exist." jasper raised a brow as he stood up from the couch, settling rocke a little as he walked across to the playpen that was set up for the kids in the living room. "oh how loyal of you." he said as he bent down to lay the child in the pen and he gave him a toy to hold onto. he stood up and turned to face joe once more. "forgive me for trying to understand such things."
he knew that this probably wasn't going to be a productive conversation but they were in it now and if there was one thing he didn't do it was back down. it had never been in his nature and he wasn't about to make it a habit and joe was just saying all the right things. jasper owed a lot to his fiancé's family. they'd accepted him as their own, dustin had helped him straighten out tripp and other countless things. they were as much his own family as his brothers were and joe seemed insistent on turning his back on them. not to mention what he'd done to kara, how he'd hurt her. hurt her heart and made her cry. if there was one thing he couldn't forgive it was someone making her cry. "well if there's nothing to care about, let your family know you don't care about them anymore. i don't want to see them waste their efforts for someone who doesn't give a shit."
hardly interrogation? maybe that was true. but for joe to think it hadn't hurt her? then he was very wrong. he hadn't had his teeth pulled or his nails pulled but he had been beaten. he'd been on the other ends of fists who wanted to know information from him and he highly doubted there was a difference in beatings that happened in the army and on the streets. "if you think you didn't hurt her because you didn't hit her, you're an idiot." he said with a shake of his head.
he raised a brow and couldn't help but roll his eyes just slightly as joe kept on at him in french. he listened to it as close as he could and while he might not have picked it all up, he got most of it. "forgive me for being born english. i'll forgive you for being born french." he said as he shook his head slightly and he crossed his arms over his chest lightly. "is that why you act like you have such a stick up your ass? did some three bit general shove a concrete cactus up your ass because you said something mouthy? did you like it joe? is that the problem." he might have taken that a little too far but he wasn't about to apologize for it.
"thank you for that fine compliment." he said as joe spoke a language he didn't understand as his almost brother in law muttered at him after he'd got up from the couch. jasper has seen the way he'd moved and had they not been in a bit of a heated conversation he'd have offered him a hand but he was also sure it would have been hit away so there was no point in thinking about what he would have done. as he watched joe's back he shook his head before he turned to rocke, who was happily chewing on the toy without much of a care of what was happening around him.
TWENTY SEVEN | ENGLISH LIT TEACHER | KARA LYRA MCCARRAN SCARLET CALLAHAN | 2
"Oh you mean like how you've been brushing your family off since you got home? Treating them as if they don't matter or exist."
"Oh how loyal of you."
"Forgive me for trying to understand such things."
I don't want to hurt them you fucking idiot. Can't you see that?
"Well if there's nothing to care about, let your family know you don't care about them anymore. I don't want to see them waste their efforts for someone who doesn't give a shit."
I do give a shit... I want to.
Joe was glad his back was to the man, glad he couldn't see just how much that actually hurt. He started tapping rapidly against his hip, unable to stop the tick before it began.
"If you think you didn't hurt her because you didn't hit her, you're an idiot."
So what if I am? I'm a failure everyone, another name to add to the list...
"Forgive me for being born English. I'll forgive you for being born French." he said as he shook his head slightly and he crossed his arms over his chest lightly. "Is that why you act like you have such a stick up your ass? Did some three bit general shove a concrete cactus up your ass because you said something mouthy? Did you like it Joe? Is that the problem."
He felt something cold wrap around his throat and stop the air that he'd some how managed to breathe in until that moment. Why did that hurt more than everything else? There was a shake in his body, a twitch in his hand.
"Thank you for that fine compliment."
He needed to hit something. Wanted to. There was anger too deeply seated for him to just brush off. He could've lashed out at the wall, but that would mean mess for his siblings, mess they didn't need. But then they were dealing with him? He was a mess all over their lives. How did he resolve this? Kill him. He shouldn't have been surprised by the voice that suggested it, it was far too active all the time for him to be comfortable. But there was still anger there, hurt more so, but it was there all the same. He was throwing everything away as it stood and there was no stopping him from digging his grave deeper.
He limped back over to Jasper and threw the punch with all his anger and pain behind it.
should he have walked away? probably. did he regret not backing off and keeping his mouth shut? never in a million years. joe had hurt kara and that was something that jasper couldn't just ignore. she was the love of his life and when she hurt, he hurt and he'd do anything to stop the thing that was hurting her. even if it happened to be her brother. he knew it was tough, that coming home would suck but to jasper it didn't mean you could take everything out on the family that had done nothing by try to help. was he being a little harsh? probably but those were the breaks. he hadn't grown up in this family. he'd grown up in his own bad situation and had gone through shit too but he didn't take it out on the people who loved him, he'd done what dustin had. he'd raised his siblings, paid for them while paying for himself and had kept them alive when the world seemed to want nothing but to bury them.
joe didn't seem to want to answer him anymore which was a blessing and a curse. he couldn't see his face but he could see the tension rolling off him. he'd struck a nerve and again he couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not. would joe's siblings chew him out for this? probably? would kara. he wasn't sure. he hoped not but he'd understand if she did. he wouldn't take too kindly to someone chewing out one of his brothers, at least not without a good reason. he shook his head a little and turned his attention down to rocke when he stirred in the pen he'd put him down into. "shh buddy." he said as he tucked the blanket up around him more and he tucked the teddy next to him once more.
as he straightened he heard the footsteps coming towards him and those senses that he'd long abandoned since needing them on the streets, sent a tingle down the back of his spine and he knew why the second he turned around. the fist that came flying towards him wasn't possible to duck so he took it on the jaw, the flash of pain made him feel like his brain was shaking but he kept his feet. he wasn't military trained but he could fight just as well as the next person and he wasn't afraid to bruise his knuckles for the sake of defending himself. he formed a fist and swung back at joe, aiming the curled fist directly at joe's jaw.
TWENTY SEVEN | ENGLISH LIT TEACHER | KARA LYRA MCCARRAN SCARLET CALLAHAN | 2
He wasn't even sure what he'd been thinking - a moment in between having a formed fist and the connection it made, he had briefly wondered if this anger and action was worth it. But as quickly as he'd had the thought the wave of anger and frustration came back to kick him in the guts again. He should've known that bringing up a physical fight would mean retaliation. Should've known it a mile off, so when Jasper's fist connected there was a moment where the world didn't make sense as the pain registered.
The pain was immediate, blinding and it rose up a panic sharp and fast, accompanied by a blooming metallic taste he felt his body recoil at internally. And in that same moment there was another sharp spike of panic as the world suddenly went more quiet.
You brought this on yourself.
Just as quick as his aggression rose, it fell back, his face more concerned. He stepped back gingerly and a faint crunch caught his ear. Looking down, he saw the broken remnants of one of his hearing aids on the floor. Growling, he bent down to pick up the broken piece and immediately tossed it in the bin before pulling the other one out immediately and turned it off with an agitated motion.
