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!.
Taylor was a bit surprised, more than she probably needed to be. She actually had a full class this semester, a whole class of ten students. She usually had half of that. Honestly, Taylor didn't know what she was expecting. Maybe social media made it happen. All the students wanted to learn how to tapestry weave. But she liked teaching. It probably was one of the constant things in life that made her happy.
When class ended, Taylor let out a massive breath. She didn't know why she was holding it in like that, but she was.
Her students gingerly locked up their looms and projects and Taylor lay on the floor. It was probably quite a sight to see a professor on the ground, sprawled out on a rug with a few pillows - looking up at the ceiling. But she had hung some beautiful pieces up so it made sense right?
She had closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them to the sound of her classroom door opening. Taylor rolled her eyes back to see the body of someone either new or familiar.
"Yes?" She asked, not getting up. "How can I help you?
Every once in a while, Camilla Kensington found herself hiking across (or at least, it felt like a hike) from the history department to the art department. She heard through contacts at Sotherby's that they would be holding a private auction that nonetheless featured some rather valuable and old paintings that once thought were actually lost. Inspection showed that they were indeed the legit thing. Camilla thought this was rather interesting, giving that per historical records, those paintings in particular were thought to be lost at sea for good.
Naturally, the woman decided that she wanted to share this information with Aurelia Allen, the art history professor at Hickstead University. Camilla got along well with the other woman, but only in small doses and over tea (specifically herbal), simply because Aurellia was just so melancholic that it took away from everything else in the conversation and quite frankly, any sort of physical admiring. But this news was too big to be ignored, Camilla just had to discuss it with someone, and literally now.
As soon as she stepped into the art building, Camilla was met with the scent of wood, clay, oil paint, and just about everything else, "Yet another reason why I don't like to come here," the woman muttered to herself. She walked directly to Aurellia's office, only to not find her there. Odd. Maybe she's in one of the classrooms for whatever reason. So off she went, her heels echoing in the silent hallways. Picking a door, Camilla burst into the room and paused. There was a woman there, lying on the floor. The body ont eh floor shifted, dark eyes staring at her now, "Yes?" She asked, not getting up. "How can I help you?"
Camilla arched an eyebrow, staring at this woman like she was utterly mad, and was also rather insulted that she didn't bother to get up off of the ground, "I'm Camilla. I'm looking for Aurellia Allen. Who are you?" She didn't bother to keep the typical snobbery of her Belgravia London accent out as she addressed floor woman now. This woman didn't look like a hobo that just walked off the street and somehow made it into the art building, but one never knew. After all, Lorena simply broke into her office a mere month or two earlier, "Are you suppose to be here or do I need to call security?"
she was sweet like honey but all i can taste is the blood in my mouth and the bitterness in goodbye
thanks aofie!
THIRTY ONE . PROFESSOR & TOMB RAIDER . LBGTQ+ . In Denial over LORENA HENLEY REEVES
“Aurelia? Last time I checked she was on sabbatical. If she’s here, she’s staying home and teaching,” Taylor responded – sitting up. She stretched her arms, also as a barrier to hide her yawn. Taylor scooted herself around, still not standing up.
“Ah, Camilla.” Tayloe only knew her because a lot of their students cross-trained. Though, that didn’t mean that Camilla knew Taylor. She tended to keep herself under wraps, unlike Aurelia – who seemed to make it known that she was the art teacher. Not in a nasty way or anything. Just she was considered the cool one – who tended to bend the rules. Which irked Taylor, and she didn’t know why. Thankfully, Taylor’s students liked her enough. Plus, there was Alana Teal. She seemed to be around more than Aurelia at this point.
“Nope,” Taylor added, showing off her staff badge. “I was just relaxing after a class. Those large frames don’t move.” It was then that Taylor finally stood up. Her body looks like a student compared to Camilla’s more curvaceous look. “I can pass a message off to her if you need?” she offered. “Or you can call her, depending on how urgent it is.”
It would appear that Camilla was not the only one confused at this situation, as the woman on the ground informed her that Aurellia was simply not around. Dark brown eyes blinked, like a doe in the headlights, as if the woman's words did not fully register, "On sabbatical?" Perhaps it would seem that Aurellia Allen was not the only one out of touch with reality all of the sudden, "Well, this is embarrassing," Camilla groused now, mostly to herself as if she were not sharing the room with another being.
As the woman's next words caught her off guard: "Ah, Camilla." It was said in such a way that may have been familiar with each other, but that was hardly the case. She merely arched an eyebrow, "I take it you've heard of me?" Granted, if she did belong here in the Art Department, perhaps it wasn't such a surprise given that history and art often went hand and hand with each other, and could certainly take inspiration from one another.
From the ground, the woman waved her badge now, and Camilla narrowed her eyes to read the fine print: Taylor Way. Facility. She then picked herself up from the ground, and the woman just eyed this Taylor Way. Even standing up, Taylor Way looked like she might have belong amongst the students rather than the facility, but Camilla knew better than to judge a book by it's cover - that was often the quickest way to get in trouble at the University, "Ah, no. Nothing important enough to interrupt a Sabbatical over," she mused now, before turning the conversation, "Forgive me for the mistaken identity. I guess I don't socialize over here in the art department as I thought I did."
Glancing up at the ceiling now, to see some interesting pieces, she prompted, "So...what exactly do you teach then...Taylor, is it?"
she was sweet like honey but all i can taste is the blood in my mouth and the bitterness in goodbye
thanks aofie!
THIRTY ONE . PROFESSOR & TOMB RAIDER . LBGTQ+ . In Denial over LORENA HENLEY REEVES
“Sure, sure. She’ll be back I think next semester?” Taylor shrugged, stretching her arms and twisting her back. There were a few cracks here and there. “Well, you wouldn’t be the first time,” she snorted. Granted, there were a few teachers that made sure they did their best. But sometimes Taylor mainly knew the professors from her area. Art, or even the theater department. There were a lot of times that Taylor helped with props or even sets. Nothing too much, but enough to get a few more people interested in her craft.
“Weaving and textile art,” she responded, going and rearranging the pillows she had graciously used for herself. Taylor wasn’t one to stand there and chat. She was in her classroom after all, and Camilla had shown no interest in coming in any further, “I think we may have some shared students?”
She suppose it was hardly surprising that Taylor Way hardly had any idea of when Aurelia would be coming back - in fact, Camilla was willing to bet that no one in the art department would have. After all, the art history professor wasn't the best at keeping people in her loop, even when they had been friends, evidently, "There's clearly something in the water with the professors who go on sabbatical. I ran into an old colleague a few months ago, Talia Noctum, and the woman completely forgot who I was. And then, she just up and disappeared again." Something told her the same would likely happen with Aurelia Allen as well.
The snort that escaped Taylor's mouth caused her to roll her dark eyes, it had, after all, been rather unlady-like, and no doubt that snort had been due to Camilla's own words. She knew that she had been quite bad at socializing outside of her department, but it wasn't as if she needed actual confirmation from the likes of a woman who looked like a farm girl. Plus, her sass was a little aggravating, if for nothing more than it reminded Camilla of Rena Reeves - which was a dangerous knock against any woman.
With her gaze looking at the ceiling though, she supposed she could have guessed what Taylor taught. It was not an artform that Camilla would take much stock in, unless it dated a few countries old, "Ah." The woman said now, everything clicking in place as her gaze fell onto Taylor once more, rearranging her pillows without a car in the world, "You're the llama girl. Or, is it alpaca?" It was probably the latter, alpaca had the better fur for weaving into more. At the statement that they may share some students, Camilla finally crossed the threshold deeper into the classroom now, "I'm sure we do. Although, have you been having any issues with your introductory classes flooding with people who seem more interested in you rather than what you're saying?" Taylor must have, for even though she looked like a farm girl, she had that girl next door look, "I find it rather annoying."
she was sweet like honey but all i can taste is the blood in my mouth and the bitterness in goodbye
thanks aofie!
THIRTY ONE . PROFESSOR & TOMB RAIDER . LBGTQ+ . In Denial over LORENA HENLEY REEVES
“Eh, can be both. Mainly alpaca though. Can’t be having the dean calling me in because a llama spit on a student.” Taylor had to briefly think on the statements made by Camilla. Maybe it was because she didn’t have that kind of student coming in. People that were in her own class, were a specific few – as it wasn’t a requirement. Art history seemed to drag in most of the student body due to academic enforcement.
“Maybe once or twice. Moreso a few kids that think they know better than me until they come crying that they forgot how to count their strands.” It was kind of a funny thing, having a student try to tell Taylor how to do her job. It wasn’t a common occurrence, but it happened enough that it was strange. But Taylor took it with stride, letting the students make their own mistakes. She wasn’t a helicopter professor unless it came to the more expensive looms. But if it was the cheaper ones that students carried to and from, she didn’t care too much – as they were the student’s responsibility. They were adults now, not kids.
"Oh?" Camilla commented now, "I didn't know they spit...but no, I guess that would be problematic with the dean." Especially given she wasn't a full time professor - it's not like Taylor Way had tenure to protect her. Dark brown eyes watched the brunette woman mull over her statements now, as if giving it some rather good thought which surprised her. Truth be told, Camilla hardly thought she asked anything too personal, but then again, they did get off on the wrong foot only mere minutes earlier.
When Taylor did give her a response though, the woman merely chuckled, "Ah, yes. Can't suppose we can fault them completely. I know I certainly thought I was a bit of a know-it-all back in the day." It was probably one of the reason why she had more enemies than she did friends. But that was not a story for show and tell today. Still, there was one thing she was a bit envious about, "At least they're awake during your class. Unless I am with the history majors, most of my students are checked out." Most of them seem to fall asleep, and the others that were paying attention, well, Camilla doubted it was really her lectures that they were paying attention to.
"I suppose I have taken up much of your time though," she said now, dark brown eyes looking towards the looming clock on the wall, "But I'd be quite curious to get you more outside of these walls. What do you say to wine or high tea over the weekend?"
she was sweet like honey but all i can taste is the blood in my mouth and the bitterness in goodbye
thanks aofie!
THIRTY ONE . PROFESSOR & TOMB RAIDER . LBGTQ+ . In Denial over LORENA HENLEY REEVES
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