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!.
Kasey had left Dog with Rex for the day, knowing that it was going to be a long day at work with parts getting delivered and heling Heidi set the record straight as to how her maternity leave was going to work while she was out. While everyone in the garage was nice and amiably got along with out any issues, Kasey had a hard time trusting a bunch of kids, irregardless if they were over the age of twenty, to not goof off while the boss was away. Thankfully his whole demeanor alone appeared to keep people from snarking or goofing off, or at least that is what he heard on the download from Elle - who would help him tag team any shenanigan's that may breakout over the next six weeks. It was funny hearing that, mainly because being the father of two young adults taught him that they didn't give a crap about the sort of aura he admitted, well, maybe Tally, Rex not so much.
His son had managed to somehow inherited his Kasey's personality - aloof and finding very little need in the terms of small talk. In the back of his mind, the man couldn't help but to wonder if that had somehow been his fault. Kasey knew that he hadn't handled Morgan's death well at all, and it only felt like just very recently was he able to move on fourteen years later. A sigh escaped him at the thought, nothing he could do about it now but move forward and do his best. Cerulean eyes glanced at the pizza sitting on the passenger seat, wondering if the pizza would win him over at least dinner with Rex before he and Dog went on their way back home to an empty house. Knowing Rex, the boy would probably just pull the cheese and toppings off and eat nothing but the bread and sauce.
Shaking his head, he parked in the visitor parking for Rex's apartment complex, grabbed the box and headed into the lobby before taking the lift up. Thankfully, the box still felt warm to the touch despite the ten minute drive over from Pizza Express to Woodbain. Stopping outside the door, he could already hear huffing on the other side. Dog likely had sensed him the moment he stepped out of the hallway. A smile touched his lips - no one would every love him as much as that Belgian Malinois would. Shifting his weight so he could free one hand, Kasey knocked on the door to the greeting on a barking dog and waited for Rex to come and open the door.
Carolina knows why for years I roam, free as these birds, light as whispers, Carolina knows
how he'd ended up watching his father's dog, unironically called dog, for the day was beyond him. he didn't mind really, the company was nice and it wasn't like the animal expected rex to sit down and have a full on conversation with him. he'd just been company while rex had been in his studio painting. the spare bedroom in his apartment had become his studio the moment he'd moved in. he'd set it up before he'd set anything else up, he'd been sleeping on a sleeping bag in his room for weeks before he'd been bothered to build the furniture that had been sitting in boxes since he'd moved in. but his studio, that had been set up the moment he'd gotten the keys. painting was his escape, the way he dealt with the world and what he could spend hours upon hours doing without breaking. not so much the painting he did for his day job, painting walls for a real living and then painting to make art on the side. it worked for him but sometimes it wasn't all that great for him, he'd actually gone days without really eating before while he'd been in the middle of letting his creative juices flow, it wasn't always healthy but to him it was always worth it.
he'd been in his studio when his dad had dropped dog off that morning and it's where he was when there was a knock at the door. the dog got up from his spot at rex's feet and barreled out of the room with the deepest of barks. rex hardly noticed it though, so engrossed in what he was painting. he'd finished the portrait he'd been working on this morning and he'd moved onto painting dog, having stared at the sun shining through on him through the window at one point and it was burned into his brain and it would be until he got it out on the canvas. he moved the brush across the material, his strokes careful, quick and precise as he added the details to the picture while dog continued to bark at the closed door. he let his focus drift enough from what he was doing to call back out behind him. "it's open!" he hadn't remembered to lock the door that morning when he'd closed the door on his father when he'd left, needing to get back into his studio.
Though muffled, he caught his son's words: "It's open!" A sigh could not help but to escape Kasey before he opened the door to the greeting of Dog, who ecstatically greeted him with a wagging tail and leaning aggressively into his owner's legs. Kasey smiled at his companion, crouching a little to give Dog a few good pets while keeping the pizza box out of the way, "You know you should keep that door locked, right?!" He called back, knowing well that his son didn't give a rat's ass about his opinions. The man already knew some summary of a response he was going to get, 'Yeah, okay, whatever, Kasey'. Kasey. That that that Rex continued to insist to call him by his first name over Dad bothered him - granted, he knew why it was his son's choice title for him and maybe, at a time, he probably deserved it, but now?
Regardless, it was a topic pointless of arguing. They both were stubborn men and they weren't going to budge on their own opinions of the situation. That much was clear. Tally would always insist to him in private that Rex would eventually change and start calling him 'dad', he simply agreed with her to not disappoint her. Kasey moved through the small apartment now, placing the box of pizza on the small island while the Belgian Malinois remained glued to his side. Cerulean eyes glanced down at Dog now, "Where's Rex, boy?" He knew exactly where the twenty two year old was, but it was still hilarious to see his dog's eyes light up at the question and scamper away to lead him to the answer.
He followed after the dog now and as he got close to the 'studio room', he started to talk, "Hey, I brought Piz-" but his words came to a halt when he stepped into the workspace now. On canvas, there was a beige background with a perfectly painted portrait of Dog, staring right back at him. It was always fascinating to see how talented Rex really was, given that Kasey truthfully wasn't very sure where that skill came from, "That Dog?" he asked now, a stupid question really, but the man knew that his son was just as aloof as him when it came to conversational topics it seemed, "It's beautiful."
Carolina knows why for years I roam, free as these birds, light as whispers, Carolina knows
had he not been focusing on what he was doing, he'd have rolled his eyes at his father's remark about the door being locked. he'd been forever forgetting to lock the door of their home when he'd lived there. he didn't know why, it just never seemed to be big on the priority list and he was sure there was a few nights here he'd gone to sleep without it being locked. did it bother him? not really. was it ideal? not really. but he wasn't about to let his dad know he cared about it, or think that he was right. so he did what he could in the moment and he ignored it. he was too focused on the painting in front of him to come up with something witty enough for his liking, the inspiration to paint taking all of his brain power in that moment.
he could smell the pizza before his father walked into the room but he didn't have time to tell his dad that he wasn't all that hungry before he heard the pause in his dad's words and the surprise was just enough to pull his attention away from the painting of dog and he turned to look at his dad. he just raised a brow when the obvious question was asked and he looked pointedly between dog and the painting before looking back at his dad again as if to say, really? but he didn't. he shook his head a little at his father's praise of the painting and he turned back to it, using the brush in his hands to make a few more strokes. "it's rushed and rough looking." he said critically but he'd never been one to think his work was as good as other peoples, he could always find faults. "but he's a good model." he said with a smile as he looked down at dog.
As soon as the question had left his lips, Kasey knew he was probably in for it. The painting was obviously of Dog, but the shock of seeing it had caught him off guard. That, and it gave him an opening for engaging with Rex, something neither of them were really great at doing with each other. Granted, Kasey knew that his son chose not to engage on purpose. Sure enough, without words and just a dramatic look between Dog, the painting, and then at Kasey himself, did Rex convey that yes, the painting was indeed of their Malinois. A sigh escaped the man, shrugging slightly before replying, "Okay okay, I deserve that look."
His gaze moved back to the painting now, just as Rex's gaze had, "It's rushed and rough looking but he's a good model." Beneath their feet, Dog's tail began to thump, knowing full well that he was being called a good boy even though those were not the exact words. The Belgian Malinois was quick to shove his head into Rex's lap now, looking for some well earned scratches. Now it was Kasey's turn to roll his eyes, what an attention seeker. His attention returned to his son though, and his comments, "I don't think it looks rough," not that Rex was really asking his opinion, and what did Kasey know about art? Nothing. But he did know something, "You're being too hard on yourself." That statement was also possibly a can of worms waiting to explode, but hey, had to try.
He nodded towards the kitchen, "Well, I brought pizza. I even did half as your weird order without the cheese." And even though Kasey was convinced he had put in that order several times over the years since moving to Hickstead, every time he did it, the kid behind the cash register was always flabbergasted.
Carolina knows why for years I roam, free as these birds, light as whispers, Carolina knows
well at least his father would admit that he deserved it. had he been anyone else he might have smiled, but he was rex caufield and sometimes it was hard to drag those out of him. dog, dog he could always smile at because he wasn't people. it confused him sometimes to but who was he to argue with his personality at twenty two years old. he glanced down at the dog as he shoved his head into his lap and he dropped his hand down to scratch his ears affectionately. dogs he could understand, they were simple and when you knew what to look for they were better communicators that people were, he didn't have trouble working out what they wanted from him. it was always so simple.
"i'll fix it before i give it to you." he said as he looked back at the painting, seeing all the flaws in the strokes, the colours and the details that might seem miniscule to others, but to him they stuck out like sore thumbs. he fought the urge to roll his eyes when his dad pointed out that he was being to hard on himself. honestly he thought the opposite, if he hadn't been in a rush to get the picture out, it would have been better. "how else am i supposed to improve." he stated, almost matter of factly as he forced himself to put down the brush. in past times he would have just kept painting and ignoring his father's prescence, especially when he'd been a teenager, but things had improved slightly since then and there was effort on both sides.
when the pizza was mentioned, rex looked at his watch and actually couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten. he'd had a few days off work and had been painting some pieces to sell at the local market, he'd skipped dinner last night because he'd been inspired and when he'd woken up this morning he'd come straight to his studio, so the odds were it was at least a full day. it happened more than he'd ever admit to his dad, because he couldn't imagine that kasey would be happy about it, not that rex would really listen, but there was no point stressing his dad out about it. "i haven't lived at home in a while and you remembered." he was almost touched by that. he stood up from his stool, hearing his back crack as he straightened it after hours of being hunched over. "did they still look at you like you were insane?"
Kasey wasn't really certain what needed fixing, but knew better than to get any deeper into this conversation than he already had. While his relationship with Rex wasn't perfect by any means, they seemed to be hobbling along now without any issues, and Kasey hoped to keep it that way. The man knew he had nobody to blame but himself, he had gotten lost in Morgan's death and checked out, and every reminder seemed to have set him off in the United States. Coming to the UK had helped him clean up his act for good, but the damage with Rex was done. Now Kasey was always playing catch up, and cringing internally every time his son called him 'Kasey' instead of 'Dad'.
The next statement from the younger man was so matter o fact, it was hard to argue at all: "how else am i supposed to improve." As always, Kasey's face remained a mask before finally saying, "Can't argue with that logic." The conversation was dying, which meant it would be time to turn to food if he wanted to last longer in this apartment than five more minutes. There wasn't tension between the two of them, but it was still something. Long had Kasey gotten used to this though.
Even from a distance, it felt like he could hear his son's spine crack as he got up, popping with each rolling joint of his spine. There was a lecture in there, Kasey wanted to give, but bit his tongue and held back. And he was glad he did, given the next words that left Rex's mouth: you remembered, "I'm your dad, of course I remembered." It came out a little gruffer than he meant to, but that was just how he was, "And they still gave me a weird look. I swear, the teenage staff there switches out so often its like by the time they remember me and my orders, it's a new kid." It probably also didn't help that the man wasn't always the warmest of customers either, "I take it you don't go often enough for them to remember you?"
He opened the box now, showing the contents before wryly asking: "So, do you have plates or are we just going to be using our hands?"
Carolina knows why for years I roam, free as these birds, light as whispers, Carolina knows
