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!.
Christian had booked the afternoon off of work in advance. He was planning on proposing to Ama sometime soon, even though he knew she had an idea that it was happening. After he caught her looking at engagement rings, he knew the idea was already in her head. They had been together for a few years and were even living with each other - so he felt it was time.
He booked himself an appointment with the local jeweler, wanting to see if something custom could be made for the woman he cared for so much.
After working in the morning, he clocked out and headed to his car. It wasn't too far of a drive, so he was parked in front of the jewelry shop in no time. He entered the store and walked towards an employee who seemed to be waiting for someone. "Hi there, I'm looking for Gideon? I made an appointment to discuss getting an engagement ring made?" He couldn't believe it was happening, but Chris couldn't see himself marrying anyone else.
"I think you'd rather see my dad side than my worst." He didn't have to get angry often, but people would flee if he was. Being tough was something he had to learn from being in the Navy, and something he had to learn quickly. There were times where there wasn't any time to be nice or polite. "But really though, is something bothering you? Is that why your being a grouch?"
He knew that men talking about their feelings was still considered taboo but, he wanted to make sure his coworkers were feeling alright. Christian raised his eyebrow at the fake smile. "Uh, no offence but that's a little too Hollywood cheese. Do you not smile usually?" He didn't recall ever seeing Perry smile. Everyone tended to keep to themselves though, as they all had their individual tasks and boats to work on.
"Clearly, I spend too much of my free time with women because I'm asking about your feelings. I just want to make sure you're alright." Christopher could sometimes come off as cold to his coworkers but he tried his best to be kind and respectful towards others around him.
The triplets were busy chatting away and started eating their portion of the snack. "True, I don't need to get them used to food bribes though." He didn't need to teach his kids to be dependent on food or rewards. The two parents were trying to raise the triplets the right way - but like anything it was difficult.
"I really hope they are comfortable enough to tell either of us to say if they weren't." The three of them were stuck in a sort of shy shell when they first started living with their new family. "I can imagine, is she at home with the rest of the family?" The only time he was without the kids was when he was at work, or if either of their parents agreed to look after the kids to give them a few hours off.
Christian smiled, glad that the woman took it lightly. "I know but I do try and be nice to people my children try and run over." It was a nice teaching opportunity for the triplets to learn their manners. They could be a handful, but at least they respected others around them.
"Wow! That's a really long time. Where did you live before then? I've been here a few years now, just before the triplets arrived."
Christian smiled, glancing at the triplets. It was obvious they didn’t hear the advice he was given as they were distracted by something else in line. “Thank goodness. I’ll use it against them next time.”
He put his card back in his wallet and placed it in his pocket. “Good to know. I was maybe hoping they’d grow out of it. But they aren’t too terrible, just need some extra encouragement.” His daughters liked to keep their rooms clean, but it was his son that needed a push or two to tidy up after himself. It seemed even though they were triplets, their personalities were all different.
“I’m glad they seem to enjoy it. I think I’d be worried about how to manage giving each child enough attention. Though, I feel I have that problem now.” It was a challenge having three kids that were the same age. He tried his best to divide his time away from work between the three kiddos. “I can imagine. I’m sure your eldest will have your first grandchild before you know it.” Christian didn’t really want to think about being a grandfather quite yet, as the triplets were just seven years old. “That must have been an odd feeling though.”
Christian picked up two of the hot chocolates from the counter. “Yes, you’d be surprised how many times I have to call them.” He often got odd looks when he called his kids over as their names weren’t exactly common.
“Not a problem, it’s the least I can do after my children nearly ran you over.” He nodded and followed behind the woman, setting the two mugs down on the table before heading back to get his own Mocha and the other hot chocolate. Once everything was brought over, he sat down.
“Have you been in Hickstead long?” He asked, once his children were settled at the table and ready to eat their snack.
Christian could tell that he startled her. "Don't apologize, clearly I interrupted something." It wasn't like he gave her a call when he left the marina. He was more focused on getting home and enjoying the rest of the day off with his family.
He sat down on the couch next to her and gave her a gentle forehead kiss. Christian tilted his head as he noticed a blush come to her cheeks. When his partner admitted what she was looking at he was a bit surprised. "For yourself? Or helping someone propose?" He was sure she was looking for herself - but it was something he needed to hear - just in case.
"I'll have to see about that one, but I know I'll at least get the couple hours pay. It was one of the coast guard's boats that needed fixing, and they almost needed a wholenew engine." It was annoying, but they needed all hands-on deck as the boat couldn't be out of commission for long.
Christian hated being dragged to the Marnina on his day off, but the Boss needed him. One of the Coast guard boats needed repairs and they needed to be done quickly.
It had taken longer than he thought as he kept finding more and more problems with the engine. After a few hours of work, he was finally done. Not long after receiving payment and a thousand thanks from the guards, he was on his way home again.
Thoughts of asking Ama to marry him had crossed his mind for about a year now but things kept coming up. He wanted to find the right time, but it never came. It wasn't long before he found himself at home again, opening the front door with his keys before sliding off his shoes.
Usually, Ama could hear him come through the front door but when he didn't get a greeting, he tilted his head. "Honey? I'm home!" he called as he walked further into the house.
It didn't take him long to figure out that she was sitting on their couch in the living room. "There you are..." his voice was soft as he sat down beside her. "What are you looking at?" He couldn't see the screen from where he was sitting.
It was difficult being a first-time dad to three kids at once. At first, it was a learning curve for the two of them, but they were handling it well. “I hope my kids didn’t hear that or else I’ll have to reverse the reverse psychology.” Christian smiled. He didn’t often get the chance to chat with other parents, so he was enjoying the rare opportunity.
“Anything to get them to clean their rooms. Why does that seem to be the bane of their existence?” Granted, he didn’t exactly like cleaning his room either, but it was something that needed to be done and he would hate to allow Ama to do it all on her own.
Christian smiled; it was always much easier if the other kids helped out. “I’m glad. Is it too early to tell if the older kids enjoy having a baby around yet?” He was the oldest sibling and had heard mixed feelings about older children learning that they were going to have siblings. He himself remembered being very excited about becoming a big brother.
“Glad you are able to. Ah, talking about grandchildren already? Isn’t it a bit early for that?” Christian wasn’t ready to talk about being a grandfather yet, the triplets were much too young to even think about dating let alone marriage. “Thanks. I know they are unique, but it makes it easier calling them in a crowd somewhere.” He didn’t want to say that they came with that name - even though their father was his best friend, and he practically was their father since their biological father died when they were young.
Christian nodded, it was easy to convince the three kids to share a snack with him. He allowed Marnie to order before he asked each child what they wanted. Once he reached the front of the queue, he ordered three hot chocolates, his Mocha and a strawberry shortcake to share. Christian paid, making sure Marnie’s order was on his bill as well.
Christian crossed his arms and looked at Perry sternly. He knew he wasn't the boss, but Cal trusted him enough to help out with as much as he could.
He knew he could come off as scary but as long as he was respected. "Right but he clearly didn't see Tim and wanted to get some help from you." He raised his eyebrow. "I know it's difficult to be approachable but it's part of working here."
The man didn't know if Perry had a bad day or not, but he wasn't one to get his coworkers to talk about his feelings. It was something he only talked to a few people about. "I know we can all have off days and that you aren't a robot but...you do need to help customers." Christian was a pretty chatty person but dealing with people was part of his job after all.
"Do you think you could put some sort of effort in?"
"I really hope so. I hate hearing them cry, it just breaks my heart." Knowing that there wasn't really anything he or Ama could do to help made it worse. "I'll have to try that with them. Maybe there are ones that are considered cool for kids that are a bit older." As they weren't babies anymore, the triplets were only interested in things that were cool. "Thanks for the advice."
Christian laughed. The triplets tended to listen pretty well, but they had their rebellious periods. "I'll have to try that one on them. I assume it worked on your three?" It was always an enjoyable experience chatting with other parents, as most of his friends hadn't had children of their own yet.
"Ah yes. The difference in sleep schedule must be rough." He was almost out of the woods with the triplets, and he couldn't wait to be able to sleep in. "I'm sure it's much easier knowing the older three get along with her."
"I'm sure despite the age difference they will want to come see their little sister." He was the oldest in his family and always made time for his siblings - even if they weren't in the same country. He was a family-oriented person.
Christian nodded. "That's many years away, just enjoy the baby phase for now." So many people wished for their children to get older and then wanted to turn back the clocks. "Though that must be odd to think about. Maybe she will never leave." He laughed.
He moved up in the queue as people were being served at the beginning and moving off to the side. "It's helpful for sure. Though one of them is very shy and tends to keep to herself." The other two were rambunctious and tended to spend so much time together that the shy one got her alone time. "Their names are Juniper, Aspen and Logan." He pointed to each child as he said their names.
"Both of those sound lovely. I think I'll go with the Mocha. The kids will probably want hot cocoa and I could convince them to share a slice of cake with me."
“Yeah, they unfortunately had a nasty nightmare. It seems that even when they are older they have trouble sleeping through the night.” He sighed. It reminded him that the triplets missed their father and it bothered them from time to time. Christian carried the bag of fruit with him - not wanting his children to carry them.
The kids went back to chatting with each other, the oldest making sure that their dad wasn’t too far behind them. “Please teach me this reverse psychology.” He asked, wanting any advice on raising children. The circumstances were already difficult as Christian had been close friends with their father and when he died - he was devastated, which didn’t make raising the kids any easier.
“Is it difficult having them be born that far apart? I only have these three and they were born minutes apart.” Christian didn’t think he would want any more children but he would have to have that discussion with Ama eventually. “I don’t think I’ll want any more after these three.” He laughed.
Chris nodded, continuing to walk forward towards the coffee stand. “That must be hard on you but it’s what she will learn to know as she grows up.” He was sure his own siblings felt the same way as he was the oldest, having moved out before his siblings were old enough or even born. “You must live in a busy house then!” At least her kids were old enough to somewhat look after themselves if needed.
“These three just turned seven.” He couldn’t believe they were already growing up. “That’s a beautiful name.” The man smiled as he took a spot at the end of the queue.
“Hopefully it shouldn’t be too long of a wait. What have you had here before?”
“Perfect, lead the way. I could use a coffee after these three, waking me up at four in the morning.” Christian laughed. He was used to getting up early to help fix boats at the marina but the weekends were meant for sleeping. The triplets waved their father over as they had found some apples that looked good. Christian walked over to them and paid for the apples - knowing that it was on their list of things to buy.
He nodded as he put his wallet away. “I figured as much. But life would be boring without them. I’m so used to it now that it’s odd when my partner’s parents take them for the day.” Ama’s parents had taken the three kids to the beach a few weeks ago and Christian felt on edge all day - the silence of the house was all too weird for him. “Though it seems if you tell them to go to sleep they won’t.” It was Murphy’s law after all.
“Ah, yeah it wasn’t exactly planned but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them.” He gave a soft smile. The death of his best friend in the Navy took everyone by surprise - let alone the fact that the man had left all three children in his care according to his Will. “Sometimes I do wish they were spread out a bit in age.”
Christian kept walking towards the end of the aisle, glancing at each stand along the way to see if anything piqued his interest. “I’m sure you wish your older two were young again but last time I checked no one had found the youth fountain.” It would be odd if no one really grew up as it was part of life. “How old are they? If you don’t mind me asking.” He was always happy to find someone who the triplets could play with - it was always good to make new friends.
“Not all surprises are good but this one definitely sounds like it is. What did you decide to name her?”
Christian had finished dropping the kids off at school before he headed into work. He clocked in and greeted Cal - who was busy in the office doing paperwork. As he had worked there for a long time already, he knew what he needed to do. The dark haired man was assigned to fix the boat he had been working on for about a week now.
He chatted for a few minutes about the day before heading to the garage where his project boat was stored. On his way there, he stopped. There was a customer gave a disgruntled look before he left and a coworker of his just ignoring him.
After letting out a quiet sigh, he walked over to Perry and tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Excuse me, can I talk to you about the situation with the customer?" Christian raised his eyebrow and waited for the younger man to turn around. Someone had to teach this kid a lesson in manners - and not turning away a client.
"That wasn't exactly the right way to handle something like that. You just turned a customer away - a paying one too."
Not everyone understood that kids were busy so he was thankful. He wished he could steal some energy from them, but that’s what coffee was for right? “It’s the least I can do after the kids nearly barreled you over. Any particular place at the Market you enjoy to get tea from?” He usually wasn’t a tea drinker but he wasn’t going to say no. The kids could always get an Italian Soda at the place of her choosing.
“And these three are a prime example of that. Any tips on how to calm them down without harnessing their spirit?” He knew it was impossible and that thousands of parents would pay up for the knowledge. His kids were now busily chatting away to each other - glancing at the apples at the stand nearby.
Chrisitan began walking towards the triplets. “Exactly. Some people want their children to grow up too fast. Or expect their children to be mature at such a young age.” He was lucky that his parents allowed him to have a free spirit - even though he was the one standing up for his siblings when they were bullied.
“Oh congratulations on the newborn. Do you enjoy being a mother?”
Christian sighed in relief when he saw the woman didn’t fall. The triplets were now more interested in the fruit that was available for purchase. It didn’t take long for the large build man to catch up to them. “So glad you are alright. At least let me buy you a tea as an apology?” He swore that his children had too much energy - Ama had taken them to the park the night before and they slept the whole night through.
“Usually at least two of them are quiet and shy but sometimes they get energy off of each other.” Sometimes it was difficult to keep up with them and with the warm weather quickly approaching it was difficult to keep the kids in one area. “I appreciate that you are understanding. Most adults don’t tend to know what it’s like.” The harder part for strangers to understand was that the kids weren’t biologically his but he treated them no differently.
“Dad? Can we get some apples?” Juniper asked. Christian was always happy that his kids didn’t tend to lean towards sweets when they wanted a snack. “Sure, I think ten should be good.” He replied and soon after his daughter was close by putting in the order with the stall owner. The man turned to the woman and smiled. “Do you have children too?”