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!.
He couldn't tell if it was the weather or the school blasting the heat ridiculously high. Either way, Oliver could feel his eyes drying up from the dryness. Thankfully, the music room and the auditorium were better at temp control. He could only cringe at the idea of his violin getting any kind of damage. Next to his friends, Oliver would kill anyone over his Violin. Like the horses were to Janie and Molly, his violin, was his baby.
Oliver wasn't in a particular rush to get out of school today. His friends were off doing something at the barn and Oliver didn't have land or water practice. There was a piece he had been eyeing cautiously at home. And biting the bullet, Oliver felt brave. A high chance of being laughed at, sure, but none of the students had three titles of violin wins under their belt as he did.
Bach's Adante no. 2 would kick his ass and Oliver knew it. But he was ready to get messy. He stood in the empty music room, Mr. Stonehouse probably in his office or something. Oliver lifted his violin and began playing, slowly and painfully. Sight reading as he went.
He was so involved that he didn't hear the door open and the person came in. Either to ogle pr study their own stuff.
School had become his second home. His only safe haven and some sort of sanctuary where he didn’t have to worry about outbursts from an aggressive brother or drunk father. All he needed to do was keep his teachers happy and content and Nash was pretty good at that while basically not doing much of the work he was supposed to be doing. Did it help that they took it easier on him and Creven with everything that happened to their family over the last couple of months? Yup. And while he felt bad about taking that kind of advantage over the back of his mother’s death he wasn’t going to apply himself to schoolwork that he wasn’t ever going to use again for the rest of his life.
Music was different though. The teen had found a love for the art early on, most definitely mum’s doing. It had been her singing that led to the engagement in his own vocal abilities and music class was certainly what made school the perfect refuge. He had forgotten his sweater in the room after class and hadn’t bothered to go grab it earlier since he had all the time in the world after school, detouring what was made these days better.
Just around the bend, the sound of a violin could suddenly be heard but it wasn’t music just yet and as Nash stepped into the room he saw it was Oliver. Christ, that boy was more talented than the Breckah boy would ever be. The bow glided over the strings and the other teen was obviously in a world of his own and seemed to be fighting the music instead of letting it guide him. Nash understood the intensity of music, the way it could make you forget about almost anything. He played a few instruments himself but nothing like that.
”Geez, what piece is that?!” Nash flashed his classmate one of his famous grins and winked, ”I was about to call you stringnado but you better stick to sharknado. Can’t excel at everything, mate.” Oh, it was a joke and the fifteen year old knew Oliver well enough that the boy would master whatever he had set his mind to.
”It sounded ace already though, way to difficult for ‘normal’ people like the rest of us” he airquoted the word normal with a smirk and sat down on the edge of the podium in the room.
Oliver let out a huff of air before looking up and seeing his friend Nash. “Oh, hey! Yeah, I’m dumb enough to think I could sight-read this without air violin,” he snorted, as he removed the violin from his shoulder. “My aunt challenged me to learn this piece, thinking I wouldn’t dare try yet…but here we are!”
He rolled his eyes at Nash’s comment about talent. “I don’t know, you could beat me in a sword fight any day. How’s your acting classes going?” Oliver had zero talent for the stage unless he was there in a tuxedo playing a solo. But being required to know lines and move his body in a way that expressed emotion, was a lot different. Yeah, there was emotion in music – but Oliver wasn’t exactly expected to keep his eyes open as he moved his hands and arms.
“You were really great as the ghost of Christmas Past!” Remembering Nash had partaken in the school Christmas Carol production.
”Always take on a dare!” Nash grinned and he didn’t know what it was but for some reason any challenge or dare was something he would take on. Why say no to something like that? Things like that usually turned out pretty fun and if they didn’t, it was a good learning experience. ”And dumb isn’t even a word that anyone would ever call you, man. Just look at what you are doing, it’s like higher mathematics wrapped up in sheet music. I’m rooting for ya.”
The teen rolled his eyes playfully at his friend, ”Mate, my sword fighting skills are nothing. Sure, I could pretend to excel at it on stage but nope, no talent here, that’s Mr. Gallagher’s expertise. Ninja style!” The Christmas play had been messed up as it was even if the people in the audience hadn’t had a clue. Some of his brothers had shown up to see him, dad certainly hadn’t. December had been rough on them all since the festive month had only brought on more grief and sorrow. Nash had done his best in the production only for the sole purpose of it being one of his mum’s favorites. Okay and maybe to feel a sense of accomplishment again?
”The past is always better isn’t it?” he said, pushing away the thoughts and feelings that came with it, he had been able to bluff his way through the play but he would’ve loved a peek into his own past these days. ”Next year I’ll try and get the lead” he smirked, thinking maybe there was a reason he hadn’t gotten that this past Christmas with his entire life taking a tumble. ”Any big concerts coming up for you?”
“Yeah, I saw one of his classes once while I was passing the auditorium. I don’t know how many of you don’t go home and take a mean nap after that.” Oliver hadn’t had any classes with Mr. Gallagher, but from what he noticed – he was a chill type. Kind of like Mr. Stonehouse, but different in a sense. The teachers at the secondary school weren’t too terrible. Or maybe Oliver just didn’t pay attention enough to his peers’ complaints.
“They would have to make you really old looking if you took Scrooge on,” Oliver teased, gingerly placing his violin in its case. He was too wrapped up in the conversation to continue. Plus, it sounded like Nash needed to talk a bit anyway. “We have the spring concert, then I have a coemption coming up in a month and a half. I’m a bit nervous about it since there’s a lot of people. London has a lot of talented people. I think I’m more nervous about my violin concerts than my diving competition!”
Nash laughed, ”If i start napping after class I’ll be a right Scrooge” Too much energy filled up his body each and every day and if there was a break in the fast and steady pace of the teen’s daily rhythm, things would be completely out of whack. ”Besides, I’m sure you are dead tired after all the mental and physical energy you put into your skill”
”Theatrical makeup is awesome these days” he winked, ”Damn, that sounds like a hell of a schedule, mate and I get being nervous but if you could hear yourself play you would know you wouldn’t need to worry.” DId it make sense? Nope but he was sure his friend understood and that he was being supportive, ”That’s because in diving you will make it down into the water either way, that violin needs a lot of work to get to the end of its piece”
Oliver snorted. “Sleep the right way, the wrinkles from the pillows will give you some lines to follow!” Nahs was right though. There was a lot of good makeup out nowadays. He did joke with Janie when he saw her outside of Nutcracker. Her ballet makeup was so jarring up close. But when he had seen her on stage, it was perfectly normal looking. “Would they make you wear a bald cap with sie straggles?” Or was that a too-specific kind of Scrooge?
“Thanks! It’s just a long mental game you know. I’m sure it’s the same for when you get ready for an audition. Well, less chance of me breaking something on Violin. A teammate showed me this death-diving thing, where people purposely dive in terrible form. I couldn’t stomach it! But I guess those people all end up okay somehow,” he laughed. “Though videos like that are always a good distraction from the crazy prep the teachers are putting on us for the spring.”
