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!.
Joel wasn't sure why he'd agreed to dinner with Lani. Well he did know why - because it was Lani, and the part in him that was still awake, alive and kicking wanted to see her, but it was more the 'going outside' and 'eating' parts that he didn't know why he'd say yes to. Actually another lie - he knew why he hadn't just asked her to come over too. There were other options he could have suggested instead of food, but none of them seemed more appealing anyway. Drinking was very appealing, but if she watched him throw back glass after glass of whiskey she'd probably think something was wrong, and then he'd begin to slur his words and then God knows what words would even come out. Words he probably didn't want her to hear. He could have suggested climbing, but his heart wasn't in it. He hadn't touched his ropes since he'd returned. Part of that was because they reminded him too much of being tied up, and he hated that. Despised how something he had loved now became a fear. Fear to touch the rope, God he was ridiculous.
Food was the easiest option, he just wasn't much up to eating and he knew he was going to waste whatever it was he ordered. Perhaps if he made sure it was something of a small portion, it wouldn't look so bad. He hated wasting things, especially now that he'd known what it was like to be truly hungry, but he had no appetite for it. It suddenly felt too lavish, too absurd, for there to be so much food here, for it to just be available when he had gone days without a scrap, days with having to portion control something that wasn't even a portion to begin with. He'd figure something out.
He'd tried to look presentable but it was hard to care. The only reason he'd tried was for Lani. She didn't deserve some pathetic loser who looked like he lived off the streets. He had managed to get in the shower today. The first time in some days. It had been painful and slow but he'd done it. He hadn't managed to shave, he couldn't stand to look in the mirror at what he'd become - still bruised and pale, his cheeks hollow and his eyes accompanied by bags. He shoved on a hoodie and joggers - he looked at his jeans but he couldn't bare to pick them up. He found himself a booth right at the back but sat facing the door, unable to help but watch the room warily as if someone was about to come steal his crutches.
Lani smiled as she danced around the dorm as she got ready to go out. She was probably a little more excited about going out than she should be, but she was going out with Joel, and she was happy to be seeing him.
She frowned as she looked at the limited choice of clothing she had, and her frown deepened as she tried to work out how to make anything she had look like she wasn't about to head out to the barn, or go running. "What to wear? What to wear?" She muttered as she pulled out something and quickly discarded it, the pile on her bed quickly grew, until she had to go through that pile until she had a tidy pair of skinny jeans and a red jersey. And then headed back to the bathroom to put on her makeup, enough to cover the scar above her eyebrow, and to add colour to her cheeks and lips, not so much to look like she was trying to hide something.
Arriving at the pizza place, she paused long enough to take in a deep breath, and try not to look like she'd been working since the sun had come up. Pushing the door open, she walked in, her eyes sweeping the place before they landed on Joel and with a smile approached the table he was sitting at. "Hey." She greeted. She knew that most people would inquire about how the other person was, but she knew from experience that the words 'how are you' got to be grating after a while.
He started to get a little fidgety as he waited - he was a little early, so it wasn't like Lani was late, but he felt twitchy being in public. Even if his back corner and able to see everyone, he couldn't help but keep looking from face to face, cataloguing their movements and whether they were a threat. No matter how many times he reminded himself that nobody was the enemy, he couldn't help but do it anyway. His hands curled into tight fists, fighting off the urge to get up and leave. It was a quieter time than others but it still felt busy - close and loud, the heat seemed intense and he started to sweat, beads trickling down the back of his neck.
"Hey." Finally, thank God. He let out a relieved breath to see her approach and stood up on instinct to greet her. "Hey," He said, the word a little croaky. Joel cleared his throat and indicated to the seat opposite, returning to his after a moment. He left his hood up, though in the back of his mind he knew that was impolite, but it felt like an extra layer of protection. Things seemed a little easier with Lani here though - like they were in their own bubble. It was still busy and loud, but just a bit dimmer, as if she drew his attention and helped him focus. "Thanks for meeting me," gross, how formal was that? He struggled to find something funny or witty to say, for once drawing a complete blank and floundering. In a panic, he grabbed the menu. "Uh, drinks? You want a drink?"
"Hey," Lani gave a warm smile as she slid into the seat he had indicated to, straightening out her top as he sat to make sure it was sitting properly. "Thanks for meeting me," She grinned. "Wild horses couldn't have kept me away." And she meant that too... or was that say too American? She didn't think this area was known for its wild horses. She gave herself a mental shake to get out of her own head. "Uh, drinks? You want a drink?" She pursed her lips in thought. "Can I get a sparkling water, please?"
She studied him for a moment. A lot had changed since he'd left and returned, even since his return he had changed, and it worried her. While she hadn't wanted the first thing she said to him when she arrive was to inquire about his health, but she really did want to know. "How are things?" She asked softly, deciding to make the question more open, rather than it just being about his well-being.
He couldn't lie, Lani's smile helped to warm something in him a little bit. He wished it could heal all the terrible things inside him, but it was going to take some time to do that. Perhaps if he saw Lani enough, she would warm all the cold and dark places he now had. He wasn't used to them, he'd never been someone to reflect enough on the shitty things in life to leave behind dark and scary corners, he'd always accepted the bad and moved on, but now he was stuck living in it, of groping his way through this gloomy swamp with no idea of how to get out before he drowned. "Wild horses couldn't have kept me away." He managed a ghost of a smile at that, "do we have many wild horses around here?" He asked, a little curiously. It was the kind of thing he used to go looking for when hiking, it was sort of how he'd found Cosmo, and then the horse had stuck with him like they were their own herd.
At least she didn't seem to mind his fumble, or comment on it. "Can I get a sparkling water, please?" He managed to pull a face at that in a joking manner. "You're a sparkling water drinker?" He asked, looking slightly horrified, "one of those people? I had no idea. Oh no, this is never going to work..." He teased, a sliver of his usual humour returning. "How are things?" Well that sobered him up pretty quick and he looked away from her, studying the room for a moment before he nodded, an unusually fake expression sliding into place. "I'm fine," He lied. It felt almost too easy, sliding off his tongue like tar. The thing was, Joel didn't do lying. He might have played around a lot, and said stupid things but he was generally a truth teller, and he wore his heart and his emotions on his sleeve, so rarely hiding them away. "But we don't want to talk about me, very boring same old same old... how are you?"
