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!.
Joel knew something was up - something big. Avery didn't generally call on him in the way that he had unless he really needed to talk to someone, and it was usually something serious. It didn't necessarily mean it was bad - Joel remembered when Avery had called him before to talk about asking Holly to marry him for example. But he also remembered the times he'd needed to talk following his accident's. It could go either way, but Joel anticipated from the tone of the call that Av needed to talk to someone and it wasnt anything nice. They met a few times to talk about Joe, but Joel could do nothing more than offer an ear for that really. He didn't know about the army or how to handle coming out of it - only similarities with people he had met along the way in his travels.
He had told Av he'd swing by after work, putting off some after school stuff to make the time. He knew when someone needed him - as flighty as he was and as much as he could disappear and be unreliable, when he was here, he would do anything for his friends. Now he had somehow put down some roots that took even more hold over him. He hadn't even brought beer, though he had been tempted, but he didn't want to be inappropriate should the conversation not be something to drink toward. The driveway was empty as he headed up to the front door and gave it a loud knock, wondering if Avery had cleared everyone out for some reason or if he had taken this opportunity to call him round.
joel was one of the very few people that avery allowed himself to open up to. holly and dustin were the two other people on his list but joel, joel was probably the one he went to the most. he didn't like burdening holly, he was her partner which meant his job was to help her, not lump on her and dustin had his own shit going on, he was the head of the family and the main one responsible for keeping heather alive so the guy needed all the help he could get, so it was often joel that was avery's sounding board, his drinking buddy and the one he wanted to talk to when shit hit the fan. joel had helped him escape before, it was often when they did those stupid things that made the town think they were a few screws loose in the head but sometimes it was just what was needed. though he didn't think scaling a cliff would make today's problem go away.
he didn't know how much more the country they'd left wanted from his and his family. it had taken their childhood, it had taken their parents and it had taken something from dustin and avery that they'd never get back. it had tried to take his legs and his life and with that he thought they'd be done with it. he'd left, dustin had left and they were settled here. their families were settled here and life was going on. it wasn't perfect, it was messy and sometimes stressful but it was better than it had been in years and now they were going to try and take more from them. he wanted to tell dustin he'd go for him, but he doubted dustin would let him.
he hadn't planned on clearing the house out but it had worked out that way. he didn't know where most of his siblings were but he knew that heather had taken his boys out to get some ice cream, she'd known joel was coming over and she'd thought it best to hightail it out of there. so he found himself sitting on the back steps, staring out at the garden where gadget was sniffing around everywhere, rolling himself over everything that smelled good and chomping his teeth on just about every kids toy that had been left outside. normally avery would stop him but today he didn't care. the world sucked and what was some dog slobber going to harm. when gadget lifted his head from the grass and barked, avery knew joel had arrived. he picked up his phone and shot off a quick text to joel 'out the back, doors open, bring beer.' he dropped his phone lightly back onto the stair he was sitting on and he waited for joel to come through.
TWENTY SIX | YOUTH WORKER | HOLLY MILEY EVANS LEVI MACCARRAN | 3 ROCKE MACCARRAN | 1
Joel glanced down at his phone as it beeped, unlocking the device to open Avery's text 'out the back, doors open, bring beer.' he snorted and shot back a stupid Gif before shifting the beer in his hand to get a better hold and traipsing round the side of the house. He assumed his friend was too lazy to get off his butt and unlock the front door but it also must have meant the house was empty; an unusual feat for a house as big as theirs, and as full. He opened the hatch on the back gate and let himself in. "Not a burglar!" he called out in warning, shutting the gate behind him in time for a ball of fur to come barrelling at him. He almost dropped his package as he laughed and bent down to ruffle Gadget's ears. The grey speckled nose of Dustin's old chocolate lab glanced up from his perch on the patio, a warning look to check who it was and then a huff as he returned to sunbathing in the weak Autumn sun.
Glancing up from the pup, he spotted Avery. "What did you do?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrows as he crossed over to take a perch on the cold stone of the steps beside his friend. " I assume you're out here as you've been sent to the dog house?" Joel placed the pack of beers down beside him and opened the pack, pulling one out and handing it over. "I'm guessing you'll be wanting one of these?" he offered, and then took another out for himself and popped the top with a key chain on his keys, taking a pull from the bottle.
normally he'd have some smart comment back for his friend as he called out that he wasn't a burglar but today there wasn't any. he didn't have the heart for it, he wasn't in the mood and he didn't think he could muster a smile even if the funniest person in the world was in front of him telling jokes. they'd just got their family back together. the last piece had just come home, as much as he didn't seem to want to be there, he was home and they were all okay and alive. damaged but alive. that was the main thing but it seemed that it was too much for the universe to allow, that they'd had some taste of what it was like to be a family again and it had thought, fuck that's too much hope for them, steal it away. he knew it was probably over dramatic but he couldn't help but think that way, there was only so much blood their family could give to the country he'd been born into. his parents blood was in the ground, his sisters blood was in the ground and his and dustin's blood was all over it. was it going to eventually want to take all of them?
he watched as gadget greeted joel with his usual energy, happy to have someone else to play with because his master didn't seem to want to cheer up, as much as the fluff ball had tried. "for once, it's not me." he said as he rubbed his hands across his face as joel came to sit down on the steps next to him, the dog abandoning both of them as he went to nose about in the garden. "no one's home to put me in it." he said as he took the beer that was offered to him. he closed his hand around the lid, taking a moment to relish in the way the sharp edges of the lid dug into his palm. he twisted it with his hand, his grip strong, the metal tearing his skin slightly as it gave with the force he'd put onto it. he dropped the cap to the ground with a metal twang as he brought the bottle to his lips and he took a long sip. "we got some news today."
TWENTY SIX | YOUTH WORKER | HOLLY MILEY EVANS LEVI MACCARRAN | 3 ROCKE MACCARRAN | 1
Joel knew something was really wrong from the fact that Av didn't have some witty comeback. His friend always had something funny or sarcastic to come back at him with for those kinds of words. Fighting talk and all that, his mate had a wicked sense of humour and was always ribbing him - it was why they got on so well. He wondered if perhaps he'd pushed too hard on his own entrance, upset the apple cart somehow. He let the quiet sit between them for a moment, let things sink in as he took another pull from the bottle, reveling in the refreshing cold taste of his beer. It had to be bad, for Avery to be sitting there mulling and stewing so badly. He went through the possibilities, just waiting quietly for when he friend was ready to say whatever it was - feeling the trepidation himself. Surely it was something that could be mended or fixed, or hashed out. He loved Av's family, how close they were, how they stuck together through everything and would literally do anything for each other. It was how a family should be, how he had never been growing up.
He ruffled the pup's ears when Gadget came over, smiling slightly and careful to tuck his beer behind him so the dog couldn't knock it over or try to grab a taste with a sneaky lick. "for once, it's not me." He frowned slightly; his dog house comment automatically then put him onto the thinking it was a relationship issue, and if it wasn't him then.. Holly? Had something happened to her again? "no one's home to put me in it." Which sounded even more ominous, but he didn't want to jump to further conclusions. Him and Holly had to be fine, he'd never seen a couple more in love than those two - ridiculous, disgusting, vomit worthy love. Alright, so the rest of the family and some of their friends gave good competition, but he'd seen Holly and Av make it through so much shit and never falter or waver in their love and support for each other.
Joel looked away to give Avery a moment, watching the dog instead. "we got some news today." Well if this wasn't dragging it out. But he knew Av, and how closed he could be sometimes - a trickle of information was all he might manage. Joel took a moment and gave a slow nod. "Alright.." He said carefully, taking a swig from the bottle again. "I'm guessing bad news?" He added, trying to help nudge whatever it was out of him. "Tell me, Av, what's going on?" He resisted the urge to crack another joke - his friend's serious demeanor begged seriousness in return, now was not the time.
"tell me, Av, what's going on?" he didn't want to tell joel. no that was wrong, he didn't want to have to tell joel. he didn't want it to be happening at all. he'd honestly thought that when joe had come home that this would be the end. that would be the last time their family would have to put their lives on hold for a service that didn't appreciate them. he had no idea about the british army but .. he didn't think highly of the one he'd fought for. even if he had been convinced going back was what he needed to do, the people made the fight worth it, not the fat cats who sat in large offices, safe from the fighting and making choices that didn't effect them in the slightest. their families were safe in other countries so why should they care about the people beneath them. it was enough to make his blood boil.
he gripped the bottle so tightly his knuckles went white, he was afraid for a second he'd break the glass but it held up under the strain and he took another long drag of the golden liquid before he spoke again. "they've called dustin back to the front line." he said as he stood up, the tension in his body ready to snap, making it almost impossible for him to sit down and still. "his flight leaves tonight." he said as he started pacing in no particular pattern across the grass, focusing on everything and taking nothing in. his brother didn't deserve this, he had his family now, he had hayden and dean and a baby on the way for gods sake, hadn't dustin given enough to the army throughout his life? they'd given their parents, their home and their sense of security and now they wanted more. he didn't know how much more his family had to give.
he knew that dustin had told the rest of their family that it was just a conversation but avery knew better. he knew how they worked, the sneaky tricks they used to get their way. if his brother got on that plane, he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. he and dustin had actually been prepared for this for a while. they both had plans in place, in case anything were to happen to either of them. they'd needed it, they couldn't leave their family with nothing, no security and no plan for the future. they both had money stashed, separate to each others, deeds to homes, cars and insurances. he was hoping they'd never have to use them, but life had taught both of them that the world didn't work like that.
"our family .." he said as he drained the last of the beer and he tapped the bottle against his upper thigh, hard enough that it actually hurt a little. that was the point though, if something hurt he could focus on it, use it to keep his mind straight. "hayden's accepted it, just .. but heather, i don't think she'll cope again." it was taking him to long to open his mouth, the words dragging as his brain fought against voicing his thoughts. he was so used to internalizing but he knew that if anyone could see through him it was joel. "and dean .. god .. his face joel" the thought of his nephews face was something he'd never forget.
TWENTY SIX | YOUTH WORKER | HOLLY MILEY EVANS LEVI MACCARRAN | 3 ROCKE MACCARRAN | 1
Joel stayed quiet, giving Avery time to process, to mull it over and decide what he was or wasn't going to say. Even as worry and anxiety started to eat away at Joel, concern over what was so back that Avery couldn't tell him. It was really starting to worry him now, what was so bad that it was taking this long to get out - was someone terminally ill? Had an awful diagnosis? Was it money issues? Joel would help in anyway he could, and the longer he watched Avery, the more he realised how much like family the guy was to him - they all were to him. How they could almost have been his family, if he'd stuck by Heather - how he could have lost it all, if Avery hadn't been so understanding when he had split with his sister instead of marrying her. It had crept up on him, this closeness, but he couldn't imagine life without them, didn't want to either. He'd damn well do anything for these people, and he hadn't felt like that in a long time, not ever really, aside for his mother and Kyle, when they'd been closer.
He almost wanted to put a hand over Avery's, but he thought it might be a step too far - they were men after all, blokes and all that, emotion was tough to handle. "they've called dustin back to the front line." Oh. Of all the things he had expected, that was way way way down the list and Joel felt himself freeze, in both surprise and then in understanding as he realised what this meant. "his flight leaves tonight." Joel frowned slightly, staying sat as he watched his friend stand up. He knew Avery needed to release the tension, but with Joel staying sat and calm, it would hopefully keep him grounded and not wind him up. "Why so soon?" He asked after a moment of quiet - was it really that urgent? Could they not do without one man for another day or two at least. "I'm so sorry Av, is there no way to contest it? I thought he was off on injury?" The last he had heard about it, not that Dustin would tell him, was that he was on permanent leave due to an injury to his leg that left him crippled - not in an obvious way, the limp was faint and depended on the weather apparently, but it meant he wasn't completely in top shape. Why would they take back someone of less value?
"our family .." Joel took a careful swig of his drink, holding the liquid in his mouth for a moment befor ehe slowly swallowed. "hayden's accepted it, just .. but heather, i don't think she'll cope again." Joel swallowed, but his throat had already gone dry. "and dean .. god .. his face joel" Joel frowned, his mind racing a million miles an hour. "We'll do what we can, to help them." He promised, "they'll know but we'll distract them, get them out, make sure everyone is always fed and the roof stays over their heads." It wasn't going to be enough, he chewed his lower lip. It wasn't fair, why take Dustin, there were so many more men out there, so many fit and healthy young men, like Joel.... he glanced at Av. Yeah, just like Joel. "Does it have to be him? Is it him they need or just a body for the numbers?" He asked, his voice lowering as he tried to keep his thoughts to himself.
