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!.
Othello grinned as it seemed that his earthquake suggestion was the one they were going to go with, even if there hadn't been one, and he nodded to her sorting idea and began to help place things into the appropriate box. Part of him wished he paid more attention to who owned what around here, or made a decent attempt to make friends around the barn, and then he might have some idea of if the items they were sorting out were barn owned or personally owned. "We could also say nothing and hope that everyone else will think that this is another one of Leo's pranks." He quite liked the man, and had been here enough to know all the barn gossip.
He nodded, it was easy enough to adapt to new places, and the hospital here was really no different from any other, they all had that same antiseptic clean smell, but he wasn't about to speak that comparison out loud. "The town here is small enough that everyone seems to know everyone else, but I don't feel afraid that the lady in the grocer is going to tell my aunt that I was hanging out with the bad-kids by the basketball court." He grinned and shrugged. "Also, being a new kid, also means that teachers have to take me as I am, rather than someone who has taught another family member and thinks they already know who I am." Being an only child, he was lucky that he'd never had to worry about that, but he'd had classmates who were being taught by someone who had taught their parent, and the child was treated as though they were their parent.
He chuckled. "I shall be that angel on your shoulder, reminding you that your horse only needs a light rug." He lifted his hands to straighten his imaginary halo with a grin. He laughed as he thought about his Horse. "Harry is more Suffolk Punch than he is Arabian, so other than his slightly dished nose, he's like any other cold blooded horse." He felt that the liver chestnut was very intelligent, as he tended to pick things up pretty quickly, but he also knew that he was biased. "The only time I see his hyper side, is when he's out in the pasture." He returned her grin as she accepted his offer for a trail ride and nodded. "That's actually probably a good idea. Learning the trails before you go out there on your horse." He never had to worry when he was riding Harry, but he knew that some horses didn't like new places and it would make a horse more comfortable if their rider already knew where they were going, and if his horse wasn't so laid-back, about everything, he'd have wanted to ride a horse who knew the trails the first time he headed out.
Othello bowed and grinned, tidying up was an easy enough job, and it was a gentle job. His brows rose at the question, as he wasn't too sure about the answer. "Uh..? I'm sure that if we put like with like, tidy should be tidy enough?" He offered with a shrug. He did his best to keep his stuff in his locker or the trunk outside his horse's stall. "Or, we could pretend that a really big quake just happened and this stuff fell down on top of us?" He chuckled at his idea.
He pulled a face when thinking of the town he had grown up in. Compared to Hickstead, Exeter would be closer in description to London, just with a little less smog and not so many ravens. My grandparents have a really nice farm on the outskirts of the town though. Their village-thing, is a lot like here." He liked it better here, he was creating a new life for himself, and it didn't seem like everyone here knew everything about him.
He winced in empathy about being separated from her horse. "Hopefully the time passes quickly." He had no idea about how different the winter temperatures would be compared to where she had come from. "Even if it's really cold outside, it's always warm in here, and if he still feels the cold, put a stable sheet over him and he'll acclimatise quickly enough." Olympic horses often went to the event a few months before the Games started so that they would be used to the summer temperatures, altitude and whatever before they needed to compete, so he was sure that a horse getting used to the cold would be the same. "I own a dark liver chestnut, Suffolk Punch, Arabian gelding." He said, his face warming with a soft smile as he thought of his horse. He walked over and started helping to gather things together and then sorting them out into where he was sure they would belong, making sure to keep anything that had too much of a scent at arm's length. The tack room could be so much fun to be in at times. "We could ride out together sometime when your horse gets out of quarantine of you would like? Harry's a schoolmaster, so even if your horse is wigging out, he'll remain rock steady."
Othello shrugged at the only child question. "Sometimes I think it would be fun to have siblings, but then now that I live away from home, I'd have more people to miss." He shrugged again, not quite sure. He also wondered if his parents had sent him away because his mum was pregnant and she didn't want him around the new baby, in case he got the baby sick - because leukaemia was so contagious - but he knew he was being an idiot, so pushed those thoughts away.
He laughed at horse riding not being the safest sport. "I think my dad finds riding much safer than me climbing up rock walls, and not the indoor kind, though he's a shrink. Mum's just... smothering?" He shrugged, instantly feeling guilty, as he knew why his mother was like she was. "I think she's coming to realise that I wouldn't do anything that would put me in anymore danger than I'm in when I cross the road." He laughed and shrugged as he patted Harry on the neck.
He shrugged, as he didn't think he wanted to go through the whole thing of creating earbuds for horses. He grinned, he knew that he had a weird taste of music. "No Ma'am, I haven't tried to work out a dressage test to music yet. I'd need to so a little more research on the whole dressage to music thing first, and maybe try and copy a test, with classical music, before I think about inventing my own." Sure, he was creative, but he was also still learning about horses, and he wasn't ready to start being too creative on the horse front, as he didn't want to do something that might end up hurting Harry.
Othello continued to chuckle as he regained his composure, afterall, he had to keep his heart rate down, and cracking up laughing would only lead to him throwing up, and he didn't feel the need to add to the chaos already in front of him.
He grinned and applauded when it seemed that she had found what she was looking for, even if it did look like a Mack Truck had been through the tack room in the process! "Would you like some assistance?" He asked with a smile as he straightened up. His smile deepened as she introduced herself. "I'm Othello. Moved here about a year ago, from Exeter." He dreamed of travelling, but he had a feeling that the only travelling he'd ever do was when he visited other realms and countries when he was lost in a book. "Is you horse settling in well?" Sure, he could have asked if she was settling in well, not that he even knew if she had her own horse, but horses was an easy topic, and seemed less intrusive.
Othello's brows shot up, his mouth opening and closing - probably making him look like a fish - as he tried to work out what he'd said that had put the woman on the defensive. "No, Ma'am!" He replied with a shake of his head. "What I was trying to say was that my witty comebacks and grandiose ideas come from the books I've read, not because I have a high level of intelligence." Probably being homeschool for a year and a bit didn't help either. "No brothers or sisters, and not a lot of close friends of either gender, so probably not surprising I don't have a vast range of book genres." Being an only child sucked, but at least it meant that he wasn't taking the attention away from siblings while his parents were always at the hospital with him.
He shrugged again, not sure he wanted to rock the boat too much when it came to horses. The last thing he wanted was for his riding privileges to be completely removed. "I'll have a talk to the Whites and see if they can point me in the right direction. And yeah, the bubble wrap has always been a little tight." He grinned. "Mum almost has an Apoplexy when Gram started me riding."
He pressed his lips together in thought as he pretended to give her question serious consideration. "I don't know if they do, but it would be a pretty cool project to patent, and it couldn't be that hard to sew some into a set of bonnets." Okay, maybe the idea wasn't that stupid, now that he'd voiced it, and he wondered if they did exist - they'd be great for horses that could do with soothing music playing at all times. "I quite like hip-hop." He rubbed Harry's neck, the gelding quite liked hip-hop too. "Not the modern... uh, stuff that objectifies women, but the ones from the 90's. Like Vanilla Ice." He shrugged, not sure where he was going with this, so decided he'd probably said too much.
Othello sighed as he rested his forehead against his horse's. Things had just seemed to have gone from bad to worse since he'd arrived in Hickstead, and to at a thunderhead to the storm cloud already hovering over his dismal existance, his doctor has now said that he was to refrain from physical activity - anything that would get his heartrate up - which included handwalking Harry. "I'm not even supposed to groom you!" He muttered.
He stepped back as the Suffolk Punch's head flew up at the loud noise. "Easy, boy." He soothed. "I'm going to go check that out." He could have ignored it, but he also couldn't have it on his conscience if someone had broken their neck.
Walking to the door of the feed and tack room, his brows shot up at what he encountered. "You alright down there?" He asked, trying his best to hold back a smile. "Did you find what you were looking for?" A laugh escaped, and he pressed his lips together to hold back the guffaw that wanted to escape He did his best to look sympathetic, albeit slightly amused.
Othello grinned and laughed. "Book smart, but not that intelligent." He said with a shrug. "I like the classic adventure fiction. Science fiction tends to need a little more brain power than I have at times." He shrugged again, knowing that he'd just insulted himself and not caring.
He laughed as Harry snorted, seemingly in reply to the woman's comment about the attitudes of chestnut horses. "Not so much the permission. More the convincing them that... Um, yeah, I guess it would be getting their permission." His mum was freaked out that he wouldn't be able to mentally handle the physical sport, and he knew that she was having imaged of him falling off his horse in the middle of the cross country phase, but he was stronger than that, and he felt that he could do it.
He took up his gelding's reins, as the horse took interest in the departing insect, though did nothing more than blow out his breath before lowering his head. The boy listened as the woman spoke about dressage. He grinned. "I like listening to music while riding too, but then Harry here gets jealous that I'm listening to music and he isn't, and I still need to find headphones in his size." Music helped him forget about the world for a while, and when out on horseback, it helped even more.
Othello pressed his lips together and probably put more effort into making sure Harry's mane was lying flat on the correct side of his neck than he should. Yes, he enjoyed adventure books, but he'd grown to love them because they allowed him to go on adventures when he wasn't able to go anywhere. "I don't read books to get smart. I read to escape reality." He said with a grin. "No, I don't actually own a metal detector." He said with a laugh and a shake of his head. He pulled a face at her question, knowing that once more he'd said too much. "Something like that." Was the best he could come up with.
He nodded as she spoke, thinking that this woman would get along well with his grandmother. "Harry and I just plod along." He said with a smile and a shrug. "I want to get into eventing, but... things are a little in the air at the moment, and we're happy just plodding along when we can." To get lessons, he needed parental permission, and there was no way that way happening, as he'd also need to get his doctor to sign off on that one. Life sucked big time! "Do you do all that dressage to music stuff too? With the top hat and tails?" He had a few more questions, if her answer was yes.
Othello grinned and nodded. "It was a great book! Especially when you think of how long ago it was written. The modern day image of pirates, are actually based off Long John Silver." These days books inspired movies to be made, or remade, back when Treasure Island had been written, it had inspired so many things other than movies, though Long John Silver inspired many characters in a number of movies, both modern and not so modern. He pouted and snapped his fingers. "And on the day I didn't pack the metal detector in my saddle bag." He grinned again, dropping his reins and giving Harry his head as they walked along, using his legs to guide the horse. The only treasure I'm here to find is a little room to breathe, that's not inside."
He bowed his head as the woman returned the introductions. "That I do, Ma'am." He replied with another grin. "The other barn seems a little uppity, so I picked this one when I moved to town." Well, it was the cross country course at Blue Acres that had raised a few red flags with his mother, so Seven Oaks was the preferred barn, even if his grandmother had suggested the other. "Do you specialise in dressage, or are you an eventer?"
Othello's brows flew up at the sound of another voice, though he shouldn't have been too surprised, as Harry had slowed to almost a halt and his ears were pointed toward the other person and horse, though the fact that she was in a dressage saddle on the beach trail was intriguing, though each to their own.
He flashed the woman a grin. "We just finished reading Treasure Island in English class, and Long John Silver left a mark." He laughed and shrugged. "I don't think there are any pieces of eight hiding around here." He flashed another grin. "You're more than welcome to join us though. He jiggled his reins as his large liver chestnut seemed to be eying up the mare, releasing a small come-hither huff in the mare's direction. The horse was a gelding, a complete gelding, there were just times that he liked to pretend he wasn't. "I'm Othello and this is Harry."
It had been the best of days, it had been the worst of days, but Othello was getting used to them, and right now, he was feeling okay. "Hey dude!" He said with a grin as he walked up to his gelding's stall. "Shall we go for a ride?" His plans had been to go rock climbing, but it seemed that those plans were trashed when he couldn't find his gear.
After giving the liver chestnut a thorough groom, he tacked the Stuffolk Punch cross up and headed outside before mounting up. "I know buddy, I know." He soothed as the gelding pranced on the spot, eager to get going. Which the teenager didn't blame the gelding for, as the horse wasn't ridden, properly ridden, as often as he was used to, maybe Othello needed to talk to the Whites and see if he could add exercising into the horse's management plan.
"Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!" He said with a grin as they made their way through the forest and then guided the gelding to turn down the path that led to the beach. He knew that the beach was quite popular with other riders, but he had come out for a ride to escape the four walls of his room, not for privacy.
full name • Othello Julius Buskirk nicknames • Puck, Leo age • fourteen birthday • 2nd September occupation • Student gender • Male sexuality • Heterosexual
the appearance
face claim• Denzel Whitaker
identifying features• Othello is tall (yes and dark), towering at a little over six feet and as skinny as a pole. He has been told that it's his caring eyes and charming smile that attract most people to him. He is most often found in jeans and a checked t-shirt, though he is known to dress up for class. Due to his illness (and the treatments), his hair is kept very short (so if he needs to completely shave it off it won't be too much of a shock to his peers and they will be less likely to ask too many questions that he doesn't want to answer.
the personality
likes • Rock Climbing, Animals, Marvel Comics, Manga, Drawing (Manga) dislikes • Musicals, Chicken Coops (the jumps), Pink (the colour, not the musician), Snobs (male or female), Boring teachers (school is for learning, not sleeping) strengths • Good with animals. Disciplined weaknesses • Not knowing his limits. Too detail orientated dreams • To attend a university with a good veterinary programme. To be a vet at the Olympics fears • Clowns, Public speaking overall personality • Even though his name may suggest another image, Othello is not a fan of Shakespeare, though he does enjoy attending the odd play (if it's a musical though, warn him first). He enjoys spending time either climbing rocks in the outdoors or climbing walls in an indoor facility (though if given the choice, he would be outdoors). He isn't often seen without his notebook where he is forever inventing his own Manga characters (as he hopes to eventually get a comic published).
Othello can come off as bubbly and friendly, but he prefers to remain in the background.
the history
father • Cameron Buskirk, 34, Psychiatrist mother • Jamial Buskirk, 32, housewife siblings • Nada important people • Aisha – his grandmother hometown • Exeter overall history • Othello is the only child to Cameron and Jamial Buskirk. He was born into a well-to-do family and never had to ask for anything as he grew up in Exeter.
Other than the common childhood illnesses, Othello was a healthy child who loved being outdoors and mucking around with the family pets; cats, dogs and the farm animals at his grandparent's. And he loved to climb things, so his parents signed him up to rock climbing classes.
Everything went well until a climbing accident when he was 12. But things had started to change before then too, when his parents really thought about it, the lack of energy, the bruises that were just passed off as being from their son’s adventurous spirit. It was when he was at the hospital having a broken arm and ankle treated that his blood tests came back, and it was revealed that he had a form of leukemia and began treatments. After some IV chemo, a couple of lumber punctures and other treatments, his condition seemed to go into remission.
After his diagnosis, Othello's lifestyle changed. He stopped rock climbing (he'd go to the indoor walls every now and then) and began to find less extensive activities. He had always ridden horses and went to stay with his grandparents, while he was recovering (since the doctors were certain that he had indeed gone into remission).
During his stay, he also found an eagle with a broken wing. Taking the bird back to the farm, he jumped online and read through everything he could find on broken wings and bandaged the eagle's wing before he asked his grandmother to take him into town to the vet (as they would know how to care for the bird). It was after he helped the bird that he decided that he wanted to become a vet.
After returning to school, for half days anyway, there was an incident with the lab rats (a senior prank gone wrong, and all the rats got loose). Othello, the animal rights activist and new kid in school, was blamed for it and was expelled - the principal played judge, jury and executioner. Not knowing what else to do, his parents didn't argue it and began to look around for another school for their son, while he returned to his grandparents in the interim to stop him from turning to self-harm - as the teen was showing the tell-tale signs of depression.
Having friends in Hickstead, Jamial and Cameron decided that this was the best move for their son, as not only were there horses there, but a great school he can attend and hopefully follow his dreams.
the role player
alias • Cara age • Older than I'd like to be? other characters • Do you really want to know?
