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!.
Cassandra was finally done teaching for the year. She had called the bakery a few days ago to ask Hazel if she needed help finishing up the last of the baking. She had already finished her baking to take home to her family, so when Hazel agreed she was excited to help out.
She was up bright and early, eating her breakfast and filling her thermos with coffee from the coffee pot in her kitchen. The woman quickly took Rocket out for his morning walk and left the older dog in the apartment.
It wasn't long before the blonde was at the bakery. She was there before the other employees - agreeing to give as much time as Hazel needed her for. The woman knocked on the front door, waiting for Hazel to let her in. She held the metal thermos in her hands to keep them warm as she waited patiently.
Cassandra didn't have to wait long until she saw the door open, smiling to see the woman on the other side.
She was up early, but that wasn't unusual for her - even when she got to sleep in these days, she quite often couldn't help but wake before the first sign of light. Whilst the sunrises were beautiful - especially on a cold and crisp winter morning, or a beautiful warm summer morning before the heat hit, and she could always appreciate them - she still wished to be able to sleep in some times. Occasionally she managed it when she was with Tristan; if he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close she could drift off again. On the mornings he was still working, she slipped out of bed as soon as her eyes opened, even if it was ahead of her alarm clock. If she got started early on the work then so be it - it meant there was no rush to get the baking ready for opening time.
She was looking forward to having Cassie as her morning company, she hadn't seen the young woman for a little while and she was interested to see how things had been going for her and to catch up. It was quite a simple morning in the baking department - mostly just bread and a couple of iced buns to finish off, so she was glad that they would be able to take things easy as they talked. Hazel made herself a coffee and switched on the lights in the bakery, getting things prepped when she heard the knock. A quick smile as she headed to unlock the front door and let her in. "Hey, good morning!" She said brightly, stepping aside to let her in. "Do you want a coffee?" She asked, taking a swig of her own.
Cassandra kept her smile as Hazel opened the door, walking inside the warm bakery. The smell was welcoming, reminding her of her time working there. "Good Morning, Hope I didn't wake you!" She made sure to run her boots along the mat, not wanting to drag anything through the clean floor.
"Yes, please! I finished my thermos of coffee on my way over." Cassie never said no to a caffeine kick, especially this early in the morning. It was odd for her to wake up and not prepare herself to teach at the school, but this was a nice change.
She headed over to the sink, washing her hands with the nearby soap. It didn't take her long to dry them off with a nearby towel. "What are we making this morning? You lead the way!" Cassandra didn't want to step on any toes by dictating what they were baking - it was Hazel's bakery after all.
"How have you been? Busy for the Holidays, I hope?" She made her way over to the back room, which was where the baking happened. Cassie knew she was busy herself, though she liked to keep it that way most of the year.
"Good Morning, Hope I didn't wake you!" Hazel smiled and shook her head to reassure the woman. "no no, sadly have the alarm to blame for that." She chuckled, though her internal alarm clock rarely let her sleep in either. So used to getting up before the crack of dawn that it was impossible to ignore. "Yes, please! I finished my thermos of coffee on my way over." Hazel nodded and headed over to the machine, switching it on and getting the mugs ready to go. She's given in and invested in the thing after deciding instant coffee wasn't good enough at ridiculous AM, and Starbucks wasn't open early enough to cope with her very early morning cravings. It had been somewhat of a good send on the days she really hadn't felt like getting up.
"What are we making this morning? You lead the way!" Hazel laughed a little as she finished up on their coffee's, adding in a little cream over milk - they deserved to treat themselves. "Hmm well I was thinking about some maple and pecan pastries? And perhaps chocolate twists? They went down a treat the other day. Is there anything in particular you thought of?" she might be captain of the ship, but Hazel was always open to ideas and such, other people had the ability to come up with just as good a thought as she did, and she liked hearing opinions. She tried to keep on top of everything but sometimes someone else might see something on social media that suggested a new popular pastry or flavour of the month. She'd just noticed that people were in the mood for chocolate and pastry for the moment and Hazel was more than happy to oblige.
"How have you been? Busy for the Holidays, I hope?" Hazel grabbed the coffees and headed after Cassie to the back, putting them on a surface that was unlikely to get used so the coffee wouldn't get coated in flour or sugar. "Actually things have been kind of quiet for me. Work is busy which always keeps me on the go, so it's nice but after everything I just want a nice, easy time." She gave Cassie a quick smile and swigged her coffee before going to grab her apron hung up on the peg. "How about you?' She asked as she started collecting ingredients.
“Yeah, same. Though when you offered that I could help, I was too excited to sleep last night.” Christmas was her favorite time of year. She knew that Parker’s Pastries was always sold out of their Christmas goodies - from her time working there. The blonde rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands, making sure to scrub under her nails as well. “Those sound amazing. Always a hit! Maybe we could also make some chocolate peppermint fudge too?”
She didn’t realize the shop was practically empty. After washing her hands, she dried them off. Cassie walked over and took a sip of her coffee, glad for the warm drink on a chilly morning. “Oh good. I felt so terrible after I heard what happened. Just promise me you won’t work yourself too hard?” The blonde set her coffee mug down and followed, grabbing another apron before putting it on her. “Oh, I’ve been good. Also busy with teaching both at the barn and at school. I’ll be glad for the Christmas holidays.” She would be flying home to visit her family for a few days - something she always was looking forward to.
“And Tristan? All healed up after the accident?” Cassie began gathering the measuring cups and spoons, remembering where they were from when she worked there.
“Yeah, same. Though when you offered that I could help, I was too excited to sleep last night.” Hazel gave the woman a kindly smile, her shoulders rising slightly in a small shrug. "You're welcome any time, especially as a spare pair of capable hands." And she meant it. The business was good. It was never going to make her millions, but she was in the black and could afford to dish out an extra few pounds every now and then without breaking the bank. Plus it gave her a little bit of time back that she then got to spend outside the kitchen, which as much as she enjoyed being in, it as nice to take a break and be elsewhere.
“Those sound amazing. Always a hit! Maybe we could also make some chocolate peppermint fudge too?” She was pleased her friend approved, it meant the masses likely would too and she nodded. "Sure, should be easy enough to add to the load and peppermint is always Christmassy." She agreed; anything peppermint generally was, it didn't take much to dress something up and have it feel like Christmas. The same went for ginger and cinnamon. “Oh good. I felt so terrible after I heard what happened. Just promise me you won’t work yourself too hard?” Hazel smiled again and had a quick sip of coffee to get her moving. "Don't worry I won't, everything is all balancing out fine," She promised.
Hazel began to work on getting some ingredients together and into a large bowl for the mixer. She had made a point of getting good equipment to aid with the baking, it meant they could make bigger batches of things without having to work their elbows to the bone and go home crying. Just because it wasn't hand mixed, it didn't meant it wasn't still made with love. “Oh, I’ve been good. Also busy with teaching both at the barn and at school. I’ll be glad for the Christmas holidays.” Hazel nodded an agreement, "I bet, I imagine you've been quite full on?" She guessed. “And Tristan? All healed up after the accident?” Again, she nodded. "He's doing much better thank you, almost all healed up and back to work now - which he's actually delighted about." Though she could understand why, even if she joked about how lovely it would be not to need to work.
Cassie nodded, happy that she had been called competent. She was thankful that her aunt was the one who taught her how to bake. "Whenever you need a date night with Tristan, I'd be more than happy to cover. Don't worry about paying me, just think of it as a present." Baking was something she enjoyed doing - it helped her with her mental health. She also knew Hazel worked far to hard - running the bakery was a handful!
"Did you want me to work on the fudge or shall we do everything together?" Cassie made sure her hair was up in a ponytail as she shuffled over and began gathering the wet ingredients, knowing that milk and eggs would be needed as well. "Oh good, have you had a chance to ride your horses too? Something to clear your head." She was busy with her three horses - glad that Morgan was able to help out when she was in a pinch with school.
Cassie glanced at the electronic mixers, glad that Hazel didn't go about it the old fashioned way with such big batches. "You bet. My students are itching do to their classes outside, three horses to ride and coaching? I feel like I'm in a circus sometimes." Cassie laughed, though it kept her distracted from missing her boyfriend. She was also trying to make more time to see her brother too.
"Oh, I'm glad he healed up nicely. Did you two get sick and tired of each other?" She didn't really have anything to compare it to - though from when Tristan came into the bakery when she used to work for Hazel, she could tell they truly loved each other.
"Whenever you need a date night with Tristan, I'd be more than happy to cover. Don't worry about paying me, just think of it as a present." Hazel smiled, pleased that Cassie genuinely was happy to help out - not that she didn't think she would be, but that she didn't want to ask too much of her friends or staff and burn them out or make them resentful. "You know I would never let you do this for free, right?" She chuckled, "but thank you, I may take you up on that - date nights would be great." It was nice to have the option, especially with her husband getting back to his feet and feeling more like himself again.
"Did you want me to work on the fudge or shall we do everything together?" Hazel nodded as she started kneeding dough. "Go for it- if you want to start on the fudge and then we'll go from there." She didn't imagine it would take them long, working together. Christmas was always a busy time but luckily, most of the goods were relatively simple to complete. "Oh good, have you had a chance to ride your horses too? Something to clear your head." She nodded, "yeah they've actually been a great help to get some space and clear my head, as you say. They've been going really well, which has made things less complicated. I gave them a bit of time off when things got busy and it seems to have done them the world of good. I might even try getting back into competing again." Which hadn't happened for a long time, and then as she'd thought about it before, the accident had happened and knocked everything down again.
Hazel saw the glance and grinned to herself. She didn't need to have giant biceps to complete the work, there was that at least. "You bet. My students are itching do to their classes outside, three horses to ride and coaching? I feel like I'm in a circus sometimes." Hazel laughed a little, "it does sound like it sometimes - but at least it's never boring, right?" She guessed, even if sometimes boring was nice. "Oh, I'm glad he healed up nicely. Did you two get sick and tired of each other?" turning the dough in her hands, Hazel's expression softened and she shook her head. "No, it was too... odd... for that to happen. When he lost his memory, things were awkward and stilted, he felt like a stranger but also not, and I know that to him, I was a stranger. So, it wasn't quite the same as being cooped up with someone you knew like the back of your hand. It was an odd time... challenging."
