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!.
Wren yawned as she headed up the garden path, covered her mouth with a hand and then stretched her arms above her head and shaking out her shoulders. She’d just gotten off from a night shift at the local fire station – her first one since arriving in town. She had only been here a few days and she been keen to throw herself straight into the mix; partly because she needed to be making the money to afford her ridiculously expensive flat, but also because she wasn’t good at taking a break – she always had to be doing something, on the move normally. She hadn’t brought that much stuff with her, and so unpacking hadn’t actually taken long. She didn’t have much in the way of furniture yet, it was on her list of priorities but not that high and she had the basics.
It was partly because of this that she changed direction on her walk home – she’d sold her car to be able to afford to move. She wanted a comfy sofa, a smart TV with Netflix and snacks for breakfast. So far, she didn’t have any of those things. The other reason was that she felt like company, the idea of her empty, silent flat didn’t appeal. Mason had given her a key right from the beginning, just for emergencies mind you. This classed as an emergency in her mind – well, sort of. Her first shift hadn’t been too busy and she had only met a couple of the guys at the station as there had been left of them assigned to the shift – there was no need when it was generally considered the graveyard. So far they had seemed like decent guys – naturally she was the only woman as far as she knew but that didn’t bother her – and she was keen to meet the rest of them later in the week.
She let herself in without knocking first, not even thinking as she unlocked the door and slipped off her shoes like she owned the joint. Another yawn and she padded her way down the hallway toward the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. “Come to mumma…” She muttered, spying a pack of bacon at the back of the fridge, along with a carton of eggs, and delving in to fetch it. She’d make herself a bacon and egg sandwich – that would do nicely.
he was stirred from his not so deep slumber by the sound of the front door closing. his room was just above the front door so he usually heard the comings and goings of people from the house. but this, this woke him up because it shouldn't have happened. he stretched as he looked at the time on his watch, feeling every aching joint almost groan as he worked out the kinks that had been put their on his shift last night. once he'd done that he kicked the covers off before he found a pair of dirty jeans on the floor, pulling them on quickly and as quietly as he could. it wasn't mason in the house, his best mate was working right now and he'd told jay he wouldn't be around for hours. so they that left only one option, someone had let themselves in and was helping themselves to their stuff. he dropped to his knees quickly as he felt under the bed for his baseball bat, used to hit balls but he figured it could also be used to whack would be burglars over the head.
he knew there was crime in hickstead but he'd hardly seen it. never had anyone break into his houses or places he'd lived, never had anything stolen from him and people were usually nice. there was he odd drug fuelled idiot but that was easy enough to brush off. this was the first time someone was actually committing a crime against him. as far as he knew, he admonished himself as he crept down the stairs, his bare feet making no noise on the carpeted stairs. he kept his breathing quiet and gripped the bat in his hand. they were in the kitchen? which meant they'd walked past the living room full of things to pinch and gone for the toaster and kettle? that didn't make any sense. maybe it was mason. he felt his fingers falter a little on the bat but he kept it close as he walked down the hall.
when he reached the kitchen, he wasn't expecting what he saw. there was a pert little derriere poking out of their fridge and it made him stop short. he blinked and wondered what kind of burglar went straight for the fridge so he found himself relaxing a little. not totally but enough that he no longer felt like he was going to belt the first person he saw. he leaned his bare shoulder against the door frame and rested the top of the bat against the floor gently before he looked back down at the woman in their fridge. "put my bacon down and nobody gets hurt." he said with something of a smile as he waited for her to respond either with violence, surprise or charm.
Wren made an approving noise as she saw a slice of cake stuck right at the back, "Why is he hiding you back there?" She muttered, sticking herself further in the fridge so she can reach behind a jar of pickled onions - gross - and help herself to a portion of the chocolate cake. She stuffed a fair size of it into her mouth, letting out another noise of appreciation at the chocolatey goodness, "So good," She muttered around the mouthful, still reveling in it as she heard someone suddenly talk from behind her. "put my bacon down and nobody gets hurt." Wren let out a surprised squeak and jumped so hard she smacked her head against the shelf she was currently underneath. "Ouch," She complained, switching the prizes she'd pilfered into the cradle of her left arm and rubbing her head with her spare hand as she turned.
She hastily swallowed her mouthful of cake at the sight of the ridiculously gorgeous guy leaning against the kitchen doorframe. "Give a lady some warning next time," She joked, still rubbing her head as she pulled the fridge shut behind her; the bacon and eggs still in her arm. "Yooou're not Mason..." She blinked, unable to help but stare just a little at the bare chested Greek Goddess, and then as her eyes drifted lower she raised a finely plucked brow at the bat resting against the floor. "I didn't think you'd be so serious about your bacon... but if you'll allow me to share, I'll cook you the best breakfast you've ever had?" She offered with an easy grin, going to put them on the worktop as if he'd already agreed. "Wren, by the way." She added as way of an introduction.
had she not been bending into his fridge without warning, he would have felt worse about the fact she knocked her head as he made her jump. as it was he flinched when he heard the thunk of her body hitting the plastic and he almost took a step forward to see if she was okay. he steeled himself to stay where he was though, because even though he'd lowered the bat and his guard she was still a stranger in his home and he didn't know why she was there. what he couldn't ignore was the shapely figure she had, it was hard to ignore when it was all he could see of her at the moment but he couldn't deny he enjoyed the view she was giving him.
"try knocking next time?" he said as he raised a brow slightly as she finished eating whatever it was she'd shoved into her mouth. had she broken in just to steal food? well then she really should have just knocked on the door because if there was anything he'd been raised with it was you helped the hands that reached to you for it. he leaned the bat against the doorframe and let it go from his grasp as she mentioned mason. so she wasn't a stranger to his roommate. that was something at least. but he couldn't let the opportunity slip past. he patted his hands down his chest and looked down as if puzzled. "i guess i'm not." he said, not being able to help the quick smile that crossed his face.
"three things i'm serious about, my car, my family .. and my bacon." he said as he stepped further into the kitchen, going to the clean pile of laundry in the basket by the back door. it hadn't been put away the day before and now jay was thinking it had been an act of forethought. he found a black tee, not bothering to check if it was his or masons before he pulled it on. there wasn't much of a size difference between them and he just wanted to get a shirt on, there was something a little vulnerable about standing in the presence of a gorgeous woman while he was half naked. "promise you won't put arsenic in it?" he joked as he leaned his hands on the back of the chair at the small dining table in the kitchen. he nodded a little as she introduced herself and he offered his own name in return. "jay."
"try knocking next time?" She rolled her eyes, "People still do that?" She joked, finishing her mouthful and taking her time to look him over. She couldn't help herself, she took another look. He was fit. Seriously ridiculously good looking - like he'd stepped off the cover of a stupid romance novel. Immediately, she knew that was trouble. He had to be the roommate - her best friend's roommate. Which meant off limits. Wren quit checking him out and leaned against the kitchen worktop for a moment, pressing her forearms into the edge to try and get herself to concentrate. "I forgot that Mason had a roommate," She admitted after a moment, "I don't actually make a habit of walking into random houses and making them breakfast."
She chuckled as he patted himself down, and then eyed the bat he had brought with him. "You off to a baseball game or something?" She asked pointedly, hoping he might relinquish the thought of smacking her face in. "I'm quite fond of my face as it is, I don't need it rearranging," She added, though she didn't feel particularly threatened. He seemed relatively relaxed, he was making no moves toward her in that way and him being friends with Mason negated the idea that he would be a raging nutjob. She trusted Mason's ability to make good and rational friends - after all, he'd picked Wren to be his bestie. Maybe rational was the wrong word actually.
"three things i'm serious about, my car, my family .. and my bacon." Wren gave a serious nod, "Those are three very fair things to be serious about." Though she wasn't sure what it said about him that the car was ordered first. She thought it a crying shame when he slipped on a t-shirt but it was liable to distract her from cooking a good breakfast and then she'd have to berate herself for being a terrible chef. "promise you won't put arsenic in it?" Wren snorted at the idea and then tilted her head in consideration as she hunted down a frying pan and some oil to get the bacon on the go. "Lucky for you I am fresh out of arsenic..." She mused, and then grinned wickedly, "But I did bring some belladonna?" She offered. "jay." The name rang a bell and she nodded, sure that Mason had mentioned him before. "nice to meet you."
he couldn't help but smile at the roll of her eyes and he resisted the urge to roll his own eyes at her, he simply shrugged as he looked at her, hoping it was as casual as he was trying to be. it wasn't every day that he woke up to beautiful women standing in his kitchen and even if she'd been there to rob them blind, he couldn't say it had been an unpleasure so far. "yeah generally." people still knocked in his experience, though she couldn't tell if she was teasing of being serious. he relaxed a little more as soon as she said mason's name. it didn't mean she wasn't there for the wrong reasons but it reduced them greatly. he'd been friends with mason since he'd started at the firehouse and he was usually a decent judge of character. "that's a shame. here i was thinking i had it made this morning." since she wasn't here to take them for all they had, he set the bat down in the doorway and it seemed the motion had brought her attention to the fact he had been holding it in the first place.
"nah, defending my comic books and video games from would be cat burglars.." he joked as he let it rest in the frame of the door to the kitchen. he glanced down at the bat as she said she didn't want her face rearranged and he felt his smile widen just a little at that. "well i have to admit, it's a nice face." there was no harm in a little flirt was there? mason hadn't mentioned a girlfriend and he didn't think he was in the habit of hiding parts of his life. so she could have been just a friend? someone he met on a call. there were a number of possibilities really. had it not been early morning and had his brain been working a little more he might have put more thought into it but he wasn't going to. "but the trick is to leave no visible marks and not dirty the kitchen." not that he had much experience beating people with a baseball bat but he could only assume that it wasn't good practice to beat someone's face in, that would just put blood everywhere.
he knew they were, they were the three things he'd found brought him the most joy in life. there were other things such as his job and the friends he had, but it was one of those 'what three things would you grab in a fire' moments. although he did have to admit he'd grab his roommate before he ever grabbed the food in the fridge. he felt a little less vulnerable once the fabric was covering his chest, something like a thing suit of armour that let him relax just that little more. "ah the old dealy nightshade." he grinned as he watched her rummage around his kitchen. "good call." he joked with her as he leaned on the back of the chair. so she wasn't willing to share her name just yet was she? well that would be a fun game to try and play with her. he shifted to slip into the chair so he was sitting at the table, his arms crossing as he leaned his arms down on the surface. "so did you break a window to get in?"
"yeah generally." She gave a shrug, but was far from apologetic. "Oops." She covered her hand with a couple fingers but didn't bother to try to hide the smile. "that's a shame. here i was thinking i had it made this morning." Wren's smile widened and she raised an eyebrow. "I guess you sort of do, if you're up for some breakfast?" She suggested, already going to collect the pans considering she knew that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. Not that she was keen to get into his heart. "nah, defending my comic books and video games from would be cat burglars.." At that she laughed. "You can rest easy, I'm not here to take your books or games... and I don't think anyone would." She teased, watching as he put down the bat and she could fully relax. She was pretty confident that Mason's roommate wouldn't take a swing but a girl could never be too cautious after all.
"well i have to admit, it's a nice face." Wren pulled a face, "Nice? Is that it?" She made a noise of disappointment, but she was teasing all the same. It was odd, how quick she sunk into that fun back and forth with the guy. Like she knew him already. "but the trick is to leave no visible marks and not dirty the kitchen." She snorted, "I don't mind cleaning up after cooking but that's as much as I'll be cleaning up." She warned, opening his packet of bacon with a quick glance at his handsome face to check he wasn't about to genuinely get mad at her - then she placed them in the pan and got the heat on.
As the bacon sizzled away, she went for the eggs. "ah the old dealy nightshade. good call." She smirked as she cracked the eggs neatly, doing it one handed just to show off some kitchen skills. "Thanks, I'm glad you approve of the method of your imminent death." She joked, though she liked to think her cooking would not actually poison anyone. "so did you break a window to get in?" She gave the bacon a little shake and shook her head, peering over her shoulder at him. "Oh no, nothing that exciting. I just walked in the front door." She laughed softly. "Great home safety you have if you were looking to keep your comics safe - leaving the front door unlocked for any riff raff to walk in." And she had to add a wink to that.
he could go for some breakfast and he wasn't about to dissuade her from cooking it if she wanted to. she seemed harmless enough and unless she'd brought anything to poison the food with her, it didn't seem like she was here to take them out with eggs and bacon. "i could go for some food." he said with a little grin as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on. he chuckled when she assured him that his comic books were safe and he rested a hand on his head. "you wound me. they're priceless." he said with a chuckle. he had a few that were probably worth a few hundred dollars when they were in mind condition but he actually read the comics that he had. he didn't see the point in keeping something for the sake of keeping it, he was careful, didn't ruin them and kept them packed away when he wasn't using them, if that wasn't enough it was no skin off his nose, he'd just grab a different comic to replace it. so he had a collection but he wasn't a collector, at least not as he saw it.
he couldn't help but grin a little as he saw the face she pulled and it gave him an odd little thrill to know that he'd struck a nerve. he didn't know what it was but he was a little bit glad he'd irked her, sort of like a little jab that he could turn into a flirt if he wanted and that was a weird feeling for him, normally he treated girls just like anyone else but there was something about this one already and he'd only just met her. "you broke into my house, i'll fawn over your beauty when i know you're legit." he teased her as he leaned forward a little and he let an easy grin slip onto his face. "ah you don't have to worry, i've decided you're not a blood splatter worthy threat." to be honest he was pretty sure he'd be able to pick her up and put her on his shoulder and carry her out of the house if he really thought she was there to do harm to them but he was relaxing more by the second.
he nodded and raised a hand up slightly, as if to say he was cool with it. "i figure when i go i go." he chuckled a little and to be honest so long as it wasn't in a fire, he was probably okay with it, granted it was as natural as possible. murder might not be natural but the nighshade was so that's what made it the plus. "as long as it's cool, i'm good." she just walked in the front door? he was sure he'd locked it when he'd got home last night. he was darn near positive but he'd been that tired he couldn't be sure. he'd have to remember to double check that later on or when he got home from nis next shift, make a point to lock it. "well if you're the kind of riff raff that's going to walk into my kitchen, i really don't see the benefit to locking you out." he said with a slight chuckle and one of those easy grins of his. was he flirting? a little. did he think he should? probably not. did he care? not a chance.
She couldn't help but pop her hip as she waited for him to decide if he was brave enough to chance her cooking. "i could go for some food." Wren gave a small grin in response and a nod, "Well alright then," secretly pleased that he had decided to trust her. She opened a couple of cupboards so she could locate what she needed, a couple of pans and a spatula. She was pretty quick to find them, having always felt at home in the kitchen she had an uncanny knack for knowing her way around one even if she'd never been there. "you wound me. they're priceless." Wren made a pouting face over her shoulder at Jay as she split open the pack of bacon with a slice of a knife. "Awe bless you, perhaps you could use the comics to dry your tears," She teased back, her wide and easy grin hopefully taking away and sting from her words. She had a dry sense of humour and loved to tease but she could happily tone it down for those who weren't a fan.
"you broke into my house, i'll fawn over your beauty when i know you're legit." Wren pointed the spatula at him and raised a brow. "Technically I did not break anything, I just let myself in. And how can you be doubting my legitness whilst I'm cooking you breakfast??" her voice held a teasing tone of incredibility as she laid the bacon out in the pan and grabbed a couple of eggs. "ah you don't have to worry, i've decided you're not a blood splatter worthy threat." Wren pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Well now I'm not sure if I shouldn't feel offended... I like to think I'm not completely harmless." She missed as she cracked the eggs into the pan with practiced ease - one handed of course whilst the other nudged the bacon. She could cook this kind of thing with her eyes closed.
"i figure when i go i go." Wren tilted her head, her back to him for a moment as she kept an eye on her food, but she glanced over her shoulder again at him. "How very philosophical of you." she teased again and mentally slapped herself. She was practically flirting with the guy - not good. She didn't even know him and he was her best friends roommate. Bad idea. "as long as it's cool, i'm good." She flipped the bacon. "Alright I'll be sure to make it interesting," She promised, and then went to check the eggs again. "well if you're the kind of riff raff that's going to walk into my kitchen, i really don't see the benefit to locking you out." She turned and leaned against the counter for a moment as she caught his grin and her stomach gave a little flip. Damn this guy was ridiculous...far too good looking for his own good. "I'd just find another way in, trust me, once I'm in you can't get rid of me." and she gave him a bright grin in response. "Fancy setting the table so we can have a civilized breakfast? Or we can eat straight out the pan standing up like savages?"
