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!.
"I don't know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine."
Kyler really couldn’t look at himself in the mirror. His face looked like a lopsided turnip. Both jobs had thankfully allowed him two rest at home until he was ready since his injuries weren’t going to be healing quickly anytime soon.
A minor concussion, a shattered right elbow, and a face only a mother could love. He honestly couldn’t remember what had happened. He knew he had seen Kenz in an alley, but that was it. Honestly, how did he even make it home? Ama was the one that had driven him home from the hospital. She said a coworker found him in front of the museum and called Christian – who in turn called Ama since he was out on the water.
He didn’t think he’d ever seen Ama’s face contort the way that it had. It wasn’t out of anger, at least he had hoped not. Worry? Sadness? Maybe it was anger at the people that did this to him.
The activity in the house hadn’t really changed. The kids were still loud and his sister bopping music. In times like this, he was thankful that his room was in the basement. The darkness was needed. Ky only felt a bit humiliated when his siblings or Ama had to help him wash his hair. Being in a cast was awful. He could’ve dealt with it being on a leg since it allowed more movement in his hands. At least he was ambidextrous from an early determination to do so.
Nat had helped wash his hair this time after he finished dressing into his lounge clothes. She teased him of course, as all younger siblings do. But she let him be. He had wanted to continue being in the darkness, and he hadn’t been able to contact Kenz since screens were off-limits. His stomach said otherwise and dinner was needed.
Everyone was in the dining room, preparing for Taco Tuesday. Carnitas and chicken were cooked in the slow cookers the whole day. His nieces and nephews were in the kitchen helping grandma and grandpa. “How are you feeling Ky?” Ama asked as she finished setting up the dining room. Well, the non-formal dining room.
“Still sore...I’m convinced my eye will be shut forever,” he joked.
“You took a heavy beating. That’s for sure.” Ama would’ve continued on, but their doorbell went off. “Nat, can you get that please?”
Ky could hear his sister scurry off to the front door. He didn’t hear anything else for a few minutes until his sister’s voice called out, saying some girl named Kenz was there. Ky jerked, regretting the movement right away – but he made his way to the front door, forgetting he was shirtless and in athletic shorts. He shooed his sister away, a soft smile crossing his face. “Hey…uh..I don’t remember giving you my address. The spirits tell you?” he teased. “Family is just prepping dinner. Come on in.” Ky stood aside, to allow Kenz in – and closed the front door after she was. “I hope you’re hungry. Classic Taco Tuesday.” .
It took a lot for Kenzie to be here. Which sounded harsh, given what had happened - but it just wasn't generally in her nature to face up to the shit that had hit the fan. She usually ran. Her friends had always meant everything to her, over family - family was useless when it came down to it, her cousins came and went but she still felt obliged to answer their damn calls; partly why she was in this mess now. Ky meant something to her, she was slow in figuring out what exactly, but she knew she needed to see him. She owed him some form of explanation - she didn't want him to think too badly of her. She dabbled but she wasn't a drug dealer, even her cousin wasn't, he was just a complete moron.
Still, this was new to her, coming to apologise to someone. It felt very much like she had her tail tucked between her legs as she approached the house, every instinct in her yelling at her to run, to turn and leave it. He was probably fine, right? But she needed to see for herself. Before she could give in to her temptations she rapped on the door, no way she could back out now. It wasn't Ky who answered and she bit her lip, trying to summon her usual wit and banter despite feeling like an absolute dick, subdued inside for a change. "Hi... my name's Kenzie.. I'm looking for Ky?" She said hopefully, giving the girl an awkward smile. Luckily, she seemed to have the right house - she'd used her contacts for the info and on occasion they were wrong, so it was possible.
She hovered on the doorstep as she waited for Ky to appear. When he did her heart dropped into her toes and she had to work to keep the shock off her face. God he looked like he'd been through the ringer. And it was all her fault. Her eyes glanced to his chest but she was unable to appreciate the baring of flesh for the cast and bruises that her eyes lingered on. “Hey…uh..I don’t remember giving you my address. The spirits tell you?” She managed a small smile, "I know some people," Not the best explanation given the last time they'd met. “Family is just prepping dinner. Come on in. I hope you’re hungry. Classic Taco Tuesday.” She hesitated and then stepped inside but she was still reeling and trying to catch up, her eyes not able to leave his face.
"Rewind a step..." She cleared her throat and took her eyes off him a moment to open the bag on her shoulder, digging in to find the box of expensive chocolate's she'd brought them - then holding them out. "These are for you, I'm sorry.. for everything." It may seem stupid but it was what she always asked for from people when they owed her, chocolate made everything better. "God, Ky, your face..." Not that hers was much better, but her eyes were both open and she only sported a bruise on her cheek, the worst of it was her neck. The slice had been sallow but the last couple of days had given it a healthy raw scab and an impressive colour of bruises. She'd managed to hide it well but a collar could only do so much. She found herself reached up to touch his cheek as gently as possible, not even realising she'd done it.
"I don't know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine."
Ky stopped in his tracks and looked at Kenzie who had a face that he hadn’t seen on her before. Maybe it was because she had this sarcastic look. He had seen her smile a few times, and fear on her face that day in the alley. He opened his mouth but closed it when she began speaking again. In front of her, she held some chocolates. Incidentally his favorite too.
“Oh, well thank you. Honestly, I’m just glad to see you.” Maybe it was cheesy, but it was true. It hurt him that he couldn’t reach out to her the past few days, but she was here now. He smiled, well, kind of. It was more of a half-one but was still a smile. Ky took the chocolates, gingerly holding them in his casted arm.
“Do I have toothpaste on my lip?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood. Ky didn’t like having Kenz look at him the way she was now. Not that he wasn’t grateful for her worry, but he much preferred her usual face. Judging him, teasing him, joking with him.
Her touch took him by surprise, but he didn’t flinch. It felt comforting and he didn’t move, letting her hand rest there. “How are you doing? How’s your cut? I owe you a lot of waffles,” he chuckled. His free hand reached up to her face as well, cupping her cheek. “Sorry I couldn’t prevent you from getting hurt,” he whispered, his thumb gently caressing the highest part of her cheek.
“Oh, well thank you. Honestly, I’m just glad to see you.” Kenzie frowned slightly, "I'm surprised you'd be saying that." Most people tended to sidle away from her if they got too close, like they'd been burned. She'd have assumed he wouldn't want to see her, even though it hadn't been her fault - wrong time and wrong place and all that - she had still gotten him involved because he'd known her. If he hadn't, it was likely he'd have gotten away with it, or maybe cared less to see her hurt. And now he was there, looking like that, because of her. She sighed, her shoulder drooping a little at the mess everything had become - seriously, her stupid fucking cousin owed her big time.
“Do I have toothpaste on my lip?” An eyebrow rose slightly at that, her gaze dropping to his lips, ignoring the slight swoop of her stomach in that moment. Inappropriate and not the time or place. "No, you know it's not that." She said quietly, unable to provide her usual sarcastic self and quick wit. She knew people usually preferred jokes to sympathy, but she couldn't help herself. She felt subdued and unlike her usual self anyway. Life was hard and whilst she did well to keep it at bay, every now and then the suckiness of it got to her.
She was careful with her touch, aware of how much it would hurt, and her fingertips ghosted the bruises. “How are you doing? How’s your cut? I owe you a lot of waffles,” She frowned again, "Why do you owe me waffles? Not that I would turn them down," She added, a hint of a smile as she sighed again. "I'm fine." Somewhat of a lie, but all she was going to give him in that moment. The raising of his hand surprised her, but she didn't flinch either as he cupped her cheek. It felt surprisingly intimate but rather than shying away like she usually would, she found herself leaning into the touch somewhat. “Sorry I couldn’t prevent you from getting hurt,” She shook her head, trying not to think about how nice the caress of his thumb felt. "Sorry I dragged you into getting hurt," She countered, because there had been many steps prior that could have prevented it. She dropped her hand slowly after a moment, not wanting to overstep the line.
"I don't know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine."
“What? Why? I like seeing you and I like buying you waffles,” he smiled. It was true. She didn’t need to know that he had a small little account called Kenzie’s waffle fund. It was some silly little thing, but waffles and chocolates were the things that allowed them to see each other. Not recently, of course, but the late nights and all that. While Ky would feel dead tired after it, it was worth it.
A frown crossed his face, well a partial one – before doing his pathetic-looking half-smile. While it would’ve been nice to not beat up, there probably wasn’t anyone else that he’d do the same for. His family, obviously, but outside of that – no one really. Ky rested his hand for a moment before lowering it. “It’s over now. Just call me next time before you have any more dark alley meetings,” he joked.
“But c’mon – I’m sure we’ll both be better after we eat!” He was hungry now, and Ky knew Kenzie could probably handle the onslaught of questions. Mainly from his younger sister. Chris, Ama, and the grandparents didn’t really mind too much. Their questions would happen later.
Ky draped his good arm over Kenzie’s shoulders and gently dragged her to the non-formal dining room. Where everyone was sitting and just starting to serve themselves. Ama looked up and smiled before standing up. “Oh, if I had known we would be having a guest - I would’ve set up the other dining room!”
“No, it’s fine,” Ky smiled back. “Everyone this is Kenzie! Kenzie this is everyone.” The whole lot of them looked from their plates, all polite and warm smiles. If it was a horror movie, there would’ve been a concern. But everyone here was genuine.
"What? Why? I like seeing you and I like buying you waffles,” She gave a slightly awkward shrug, not quite up to her usual standard of humour, but it did dampen the funny somewhat to see your friend battered and bruised from your mistakes. For once she didn't have an answer and so she kept her smart mouth shut, trying not to stare too hard as the patchwork of colours on his good looking face. As much as she joked about people owing her treats and coffee, she wasn't greedy, it was often a joke and she didn't expect that kind of stuff. She hadn't had proper friends in a long time, rarely made them in fact, and so genuine generosity often caught her out and made her feel a bit squishy inside, when it was used to being all dark and twisty.
She didn't know whether to feel sad or relieved when he dropped his hand, the skin warm from his touch, but yet another thing she just wasn't used to. "It’s over now. Just call me next time before you have any more dark alley meetings,” She rolled her bright blue eyes at that. "And here I was thinking you wanted to make it a regular occurrence. The more surprise the better." She managed a joke in return, though in all seriousness she had no intention in getting him involved in anything like that again, no matter what the cause. “But c’mon – I’m sure we’ll both be better after we eat!” She pulled a slight face at that, especially at the arm draped over her shoulders, effectively cutting off her escape and pulling her inside. She shot a wistful look to the outside before her escape route was closed off to her. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I'm not about to get thrown to the wolves?" another half joke, well aware of how protective families could be of thekr kin, especially their young lads.
It seemed she wasn't going to get a chance as she suddenly found herself standing awkward tucked into Ky's side and facing what seemed to be his entire family. Oh joy. She was going to kill Ky for this, and then a look at his face had her rescinding that thought pretty sharp with a stab of accompanying guilt. "Oh, if I had known we would be having a guest - I would’ve set up the other dining room!.....No, it’s fine, Everyone this is Kenzie! Kenzie this is everyone.” the group of smiles was somewhat disconcerting for old Kenz and she gave a slightly nervous one in return, raising her hand for a wiggle of her fingers. "Uh hello," she glanced from one face to another. "Not a problem if there's no room, I'd best get back anyways. I need to feed my uh...my goat." an animal she'd never met in her life, let alone owned as a pet.
"I don't know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine."
Kyler lifted an eyebrow when Kenzie mentioned a pet goat. A satanic quip was on the tip of his tongue, but his nieces and nephews were there so he held it in. If anything, the laser glare that Natalie was shooting towards him was what made him stay silent. Despite Natalie being younger, she still made sure that she was down to throw punches if needed.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You can at least take some food home? Or eat downstairs?” Kyler wasn’t in the mood to have Kenzie leave just yet, but he understood that his family was a lot. Even to those who knew him. If it wasn’t for the people, it would be the home itself. With the luxury it provided, but with humble inhabitants.
Kenzie caught Ky's raise of a brow and felt a little sheepish, knowing full well she'd been caught in the exaggeration... or well, let's be honest it was a lie. She just wasn't good at family get together's, no matter who's they were - her own families in particular she stayed well clear of if she could help it, and stepping into someone else's family stuff felt.. like dodgy territory to her. Still, she kinda owed Ky given his whole 'face' situation, and she'd dragged him into her dodgy family drama. She probably should have gone with the usual 'I need to wash my hair' quip that girls loved using so much, but that had felt a little on the nose. The goat thing was original at least.
“Are you sure? You can at least take some food home? Or eat downstairs?” She cringed on the inside - eat downstairs? That was worse than her coming out with the goat line. She'd feel totally awkward knowing everyone else was eating upstairs and she was lurking downstairs like a gremlin in the basement. Her own fault, Ky was trying to be nice. Wrinkling her nose a little, she knew there was only one way to fix this. "I guess the goat can wait, he's good at feeding himself anyway." There was an element of truth there - her cousin had a goat, and that thing had eaten everything under the Goddamn sun, before her Aunt had made it into goat soup one day out of frustration. Poor Geraldine. "I could do with some fatting up anyway, let's eat." She agreed, giving the family a half smile and trying not to seem too weird. "So what do we have here?" She asked, heading for an empty chair out of instinct.
"I don't know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine."
Ky smiled when Kenz decided to stay. He was trying to get better at voicing what he wanted when they were together. Nothing to be pushy, of course – but he was still struggling to find a way to say things. She hadn’t exactly been too open to him, but Ky was patient. They were still both young and trying to figure things out. Nat had said he was dumb and in love. Only someone sick in love would allow themselves to get beaten up by some goons. Maybe Nat was right.
He took a seat next to her, scanning the food that was placed out. “Looks like we have birria tacos, shredded chicken, and the classic ground beef. Various toppings and such. It’s hard to find some solid Mexican food around here, so we try to recreate it as best we can,” he laughed, as Ama grabbed the plate in front of him. It felt a bit odd having his plate be set up by his considered sister-in-law.
“Can Nat get you anything to drink, Kenzie?” Ama asked, placing some meat into a hard shell. The youngest St. Croix looked like she wanted to roll her eyes for being voluntold but put on a polite enough smile.
She caught Ky's smile and it melted the anxiety in her just a little bit. She could do this with him next to her, she was sure of it. It seemed stupid to others, probably, that she was anxious about a damn family dinner, when she'd faced off drug barons and loan sharks and all manor of shit her family had gotten her into.. and things she'd admittedly gotten herself into over the years... but a sit down meal with a normal, respectable family? Oh hell that was way out of her comfort zone - above her paygrade - all of the above.
“Looks like we have birria tacos, shredded chicken, and the classic ground beef. Various toppings and such. It’s hard to find some solid Mexican food around here, so we try to recreate it as best we can,” It was probably lucky, and useful, that Kenz had such a big ass healthy appetite for eating. Any food was good to her, though she happened to lean toward unhealthy - but she was a regular for going sniffing for food in friends houses, unable to help herself. She would quite happily have a bit of all that was going, and she tried not to overdo it as she started loading up her plate. "Well all of it can come my way," She said appreciatively, hoping there wasn't some kind of order that she was messing up.
“Can Nat get you anything to drink, Kenzie?” Kenz blinked, not having thought of that given, "Now that you've mentioned it, I am a bit parched." don't ask her where that came from. "I'll take a glass of your cheapest whiskey." she wondered if she might be about to cross a line. "Maybe add a couple of ice cubes, as I'm driving..." as if watering it down would make a difference then she half grinned, "joking.. joking..." her usual sense of humour felt like it was digging her a hole right then and she abruptly shut up. "Why haven't you kicked my shin yet?" She whispered out the corner of her mouth to Ky.
"I don't know why I'm so afraid to lose you when you're not even mine."
Ky gave Kenz a soft tap on her leg when she began piling her plate. There was something about her feeling comfortable, or at least somewhat comfortable eating with him. Even though the introduction was a bit odd. But with the work his brother did and his sister-in-law – there could’ve been weirder.
As Ky was gingerly trying to shovel some onions that fell off his taco, he couldn’t help but widen his smile at Kenzie’s request. When she whispered to him, he leaned in close. “You’re doing fine, love. My grandpa will refuse the cheap stuff to you. So don’t hammer it too fast,” he replied.
The mention of whiskey always got his grandfather-in-law to have a drink himself. Nothing more than two as he liked to nurse the richness. Nat, knowing the look – agreed and got up to get two crystal-cut highball glasses from the freezer. She put one large ice sphere into one, leaving the other empty. Finding the right decanter, Nat poured the drinks before placing one in front of Kenz and the other in front of Ama’s father.
“How are classes going?” Ama inquired, like a normal family dinner talk. “Ky said you’re in criminology?”
She felt the light tap and gave Ky a quick glance, checking in that she wasn't about to overstay her welcome by out-eating the rest of the people at the table. Kenz was small and on the lighter side, but damn could she pack it away. She supposed it would probably all catch up with her sooner or later, but she wasn't the type to worry about that now. She ate what she ate, when and where she wanted. The spread smelt good, and tasted even better as she shovelled in food with abandon, remembering a little late not to look like some starved street animal who hadn't been fed for a week, and reluctantly slowing herself down.
“You’re doing fine, love. My grandpa will refuse the cheap stuff to you. So don’t hammer it too fast,” Kenz gave a small snort, being of Russian descent, the girl had grown up on Vodka the same way a baby did water, and her tolerance for spirits was higher than her stature would suggest. Still, she rarely actually picked a whiskey, it depended on the mood, and so perhaps it might go straight to her head. It depended on what 'good' stuff it was - sometimes, she felt it was overpriced and over rated for the sake of it's age, and not the flavour. But hell, she was no connoisseur. "I'll survive, I'm sure I can find my way back with a stagger or without." She was joking still, no need to worry about little old Kenz.
A glass was placed neatly in front of her, and she paused her hammering of the food to smile a thanks - avoiding doing so with her mouth full so she didn't look too much like a heathen. She saved herself a moment to take a sip, and raised her eyebrows in pleasant surprise. "Much better than the supermarket home brand," she teased, if only it weren't just a little on the truth side. Good liquor did cost money. “How are classes going?” It took Kenz a minute to realise she was the intended individual for the question, and she blinked in surprise, a little delayed in responding. “Ky said you’re in criminology?” Kenz nodded, swallowing her final mouthful of the taco. "Oh, yeah." She agreed, "It's going well, interesting for sure, though I'm not longer certain I want to go down that path.." She shrugged. Aside from the con artistry side to her life, she had to admit that the private investigator (she'd called herself) aspect did keep her on her toes. The formality and policeman-like parts of criminology put her off a little, given that most of her life she'd spent on the other side of the wall. She also wondered with her given history and family contacts, if she'd even be allowed to go into a job in that area, or if the background check would always flag up a red card. Probably best not to mention that to Ky's family though.
