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!.
Tenaya let out a noticeable yawn, her long day of doing farrier work was finally coming to a close. There was only a few more local indoor rodeos before things started to speed up for the Ranch, though there was always work to do. Once the stable hand she was working with took her last freshly shod horse away, she started cleaning up her area - starting with sweeping the hoof clippings and dust into a pile. She then used the shovel as a dust pan and dumped the contents into a nearby muck bucket.
The blonde wiped her brow, wondering how much time she had until she had to get ready. Sam had agreed to have dinner with her before they had a bonfire and s'mores. She let out a sigh and hurried herself - always wanting to leave her area neat and tidy for the next day. Once her chores were all done, she headed to her room. After a quick shower, Tenaya got herself dressed, hoping she would be warm enough to be outside. Violet had convinced her to put some makeup on, so she did - something natural looking with a pink lip.
She checked herself in the mirror one last time before she slid her feet into her boots and headed to the dining hall. The familiar face of Sam came into view as she approached him. "Hello, Sam. I jokingly thought you were going to bail on me tonight. How are the calves doing?"
Sam Graves couldn't get over how two weeks had flown by so quickly, until now, as he finished up stacking hale bales for the evening. Blue green eyes glanced over his phone, clocking the time, and decided he had just enough time to head back to cabin to shower and change before he would meet Tenaya Holland. It suddenly occurred to him, by staring at his phone, what the actual date was for today: February 14th. Sam found himself staring at it an abnormally long time, a sense of dread starting to creep into his mind, how had he not known it was Valentine's Day when he proposed this hang out? No wonder Forrest Palmer and Violet Olson had been giving him such shit over this event. The soft moo of a cow broke his thoughts, causing Sam to shake his head, and head down to the main floor now, "Evening ladies."
One steamy hot shower later, Sam was toweling himself dry and pulling on new clothes. Nothing fancy, just stuff that was simple and warm for the evening. Once the bon fire started, the cold wouldn't bother him too much either. Instinctively, the man made sure to double layer jackets though, just incase Tenaya may end up needing one. Blue green eyes stared over himself in the mirror once more, his drying hair messy and his jaw line littered with scruff. He didn't want to risk shaving, not when he felt like a bundle of nerves. Sam knew he had to get a hold of himself, "It's not a date," he said to himself, staring at himself hard in the mirror - willing himself to calm down, "Don't let Forrest and Vi get to you." It is a hangout.
With that, Sam left his cabin and took the walk towards the dinning hall now, his hands shoved into his pockets. He was lucky the snow forecast had managed to hold off, meaning that setting the bon fire alight would be an easy task. He already had it set and ready to go in the designated spot, and made a note to the only hands and employees to not touch it. Coming to the dinning hall now, he lingered outside the doors when he caught that Tenaya wasn't inside. Although, it wasn't long before he heard her voice: "Hello, Sam. I jokingly thought you were going to bail on me tonight. How are the calves doing?" Blue green eyes glanced over to see the one and only Tenaya Holland now, looking beautiful as ever with her blonde hair tumbling out of a beanie, a stark contrast to the red and black plaid, "Hey," he offered, before adding a smile, "I think the cows and their calves can live without me for a night...they're doing good though."
He should probably ask her how her horses were, or say something more. Maybe talk about anything other than cows, "Uh, thanks for hanging out with me tonight, Tenaya." Smooth Sam, reallllll smooth.
thanks aofie!
Thirty . Ranch Hand . LGBTQ+ . It's Complicated - TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND (unrequited crush - 2 years)
She didn't know what Sam was going to wear to their hangout. It was still Winter time, which meant neither of them would be wearing t-shirts and shorts. The blonde took a moment to glance at his outfit, smiling back at him as he greeted her in return. "We can check on them when we are done with the bonfire if you are worried about them." The cloven hooved animals would be a welcoming distraction in case it got super awkward for either of them.
"I think I should be thanking you for hanging out with me! Should we go grab some food from the buffet and find a table?" She realized she was still wearing her beanie, though she didn't really want to risk having hat hair. Tenaya glanced around the food hall, seeing that there were a few two person tables available for them to sit down on. "How was your work day today? I honestly can't believe how fast the two weeks have flown by." She had to start the conversation somewhere, starting to head towards the lineup. Tenaya hoped that Violet wasn't around - she'd be spying on them having dinner together and that was the last thing she wanted.
It would appear that he might not be the only one a little uncertain about tonight, and while Tenaya Holland seemed to play herself off as calm and collected, her idea to check in on the cows may have given something away. He didn't mind though, truth be told, Sam was a bundle of nerves about tonight even though it wasn't a date. It was simply two adults hanging out, but Forrest and Violet with their talk had gotten to him. Still, Tenaya didn't seem to be acting any differently other than the cows comment, and maybe that was really more for him than for her, "I wouldn't mind. After the bonfire though." That way, if it got too awkward, they could go their separate ways.
Blue eyes blinked when the young woman informed him that she should be the one thanking him, "Yeah. Of course," he managed now, before nodding, "Sure. No dessert though. I managed to snag some marshmallows when I went into town to see my mum." Even though nobody was paying them any mind, the man couldn't help but to feel like they were. Those were probably his nerves talking though. As Tenaya lead them towards the standard buffet line, he couldn't help but to glance her over, really glance her over. It was probably a good thing that she was wearing a oversized flannel shirt because the tight fit of her jeans may have been distracting. As the thought entered his mind though, Sam was automatically annoyed with himself, acting like some dumb teenager.
He did, however, wonder, "Are you going to be warm enough for tonight?" Well, he suppose he could lend her his jacket, the bonfire would also do its job. Sam often didn't mind the cold, somehow, he appeared to run hot despite his stoic attitude. Also, maybe he should also pay attention to the conversation at hand, like his work day and how the weeks flew by, "Yeah...it did. How did the show conference go that you needed to get all the horses shoed and ready for?" As for his work day, he shrugged nonchallantly as he got in line now, grabbing himself a place and then handing one to Tenaya, "Work's been fine. I've been hearing rumors that the ranch might go up for sale though."
thanks aofie!
Thirty . Ranch Hand . LGBTQ+ . It's Complicated - TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND (unrequited crush - 2 years)
Tenaya nodded - she would want to check on Coltrane before she went to bed too. The roan gelding was doing great, though it was habit for the blonde to check on him and give him a treat before bed. "That's fine, we can do that." She smiled - the cows always fascinated her.
The blonde moved up in line, listening to Sam as she did so. "Ah dang. Does that mean I can't have any coconut cream pie?" She joked, reading the menu board which was in front of her. There seemed to be a variety of options - though Tenaya would choose something that wasn't messy.
As they approached the front of the line, Tenaya handed Sam a tray of his own. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I have thermals on underneath." Tenaya was always cold, though she assumed that most women were that way. "You have built a bonfire before, right?" If not, she had done a few herself. In that moment, she silently thanked her grandfather who had taught her camping skills. She picked up a small salad bowl, quickly talking to the employee in charge of the salad bar about what she wanted with her greens.
When Sam talked, she turned to face him, letting out an auditable sigh. "It was exhausting. I didn't think that many horses were going. 14 horses...14!" She was glad they all had their hooves trimmed and new shoes - though they would all be due in six to eight weeks again. "And that was on top of the regular horses plus my work at the Sales Yard." Plus riding Coltrane and attending her lessons - it was all a balancing act on her part.
The woman retrieved her salad and moved down to the main course area. "Wait, for sale? Where did you hear that?" It came as a shock to her - thinking that she better do some digging on the subject.
