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!.
"I feel the same, I never.. expected to get this.. in my life. I always... knew I would have my life.. arranged for me."
He tilted his head, not quite sure what to make her comment about her life, but he didn't like it.
"No one should ever arrange the life of someone else," he said quietly, "Not unless they are prepared to deal with the repercussions of those arrangements."
"P-please, will you.. c-come here."
He saw the change, it was immediate and watching her cry was something so utterly unforgivable. He wanted to hurt Rhett more for the pain he caused. Accident or not, he was the one at fault.
"Of course," he said, carefully shucking off the heavy coat he was wearing, "Just give me a moment and I'll lay right with you. I'll be gentle, I promise."
He let his coat slump into his chair, followed promptly by slipping out of his boots and took care to move wires and lines so he didn't hurt her or ruin the doctor's work, eventually finding a narrow space to lay. He immediately cradled her head with one arm, the other laced in her hand, rubbing his thumb over her fingers.
As if his heart wasn't already shredded, hearing those words was someone was walking on what remained and reducing the pieces more. He held her hand and shook his head.
"More like I don't know what I did to have someone like you in my life," he said gently, his tone soft, "But I feel like I was given something incredibly special with you Cora. I do."
He saw her moving about trying to move the covers but he didn't act on it or try to stop her. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling, or what she was thinking, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her. He knew that no matter how things went, he couldn't leave her now. He wasn't heartless, and whilst he was usually the sort to bite off heads of the romantics, he was far too in love with her to want to leave. Sure their future was uncertain, and that in itself was scary, but he had faced down the barrel of guns before and this was just another big scary double-barrel that he had to face with her.
"It's not 100% that it will never happen, but the chances are low that you will be able to conceive. You can try but it may not happen. We will know more once the damage has had a proper chance to heal. We'd like to book you in for an appointment further down the line to monitor the damage."
Grey somehow kept his face set in stone, the glare and open distaste for the doctor radiating off him. The news was a shock to a future he'd never really though about. The fact the doctor was so calm about it only irritated him but he kept it together enough so he wasn't dragged out by the police for violent behavior.
"I'm...sorry."
That caused him to turn and look at her, his expression softened in confusion, "What- Cora-"
"I... this is ... quite a premature conversation I know but.. I love you, and I thought one day... maybe... I didn't know if I would but.. I am expected to, and maybe.. it would have been nice with you but.. I'm sorry. I said.. not life.. altering."
He listened to her, he had to - he knew enough to be kind and nice, and hearing her talk was always worth his time. But she was apologizing again for something that wasn't her fault! He knew that Rhett would get his dues ten times over, he ruined things.
"I love you too, from here to the far reaches of time," he said gently, "And no matter what, I am here. I know, I know - however, we'll have to work with what fate has given us. I'm going nowhere, ok?"
He didn't care if she thought he was bluffing, he meant it. He was not going to leave her.
"I'm okay," She promised, and though she hurt, and though she didn't like being here, she was alive at least. "Nothing.. life altering..."
"I would hope not. But even if it was, I'm here."
"It might..help..if I remember.."
"Maybe, but that's a later thing, we can piece it together when you're out of here."
"He wouldn't.. do something on purpose."
Grey made a face but let it be, deciding against getting into an argument with her over it.
"He came... I'm glad."
"No, I don't want you to go anywhere. Please, tell me.. what's going on.. you can say anything, in front of my boyfriend."
Grey couldn't help looking at her with softer eyes, the first true affirmation of what they were and it was under this circumstance. Gods he wished it were different.
"You have a moderately severe laceration to your forehead, and serious concussion, which may cause you to experience some memory loss at this moment, but the wound looks good and should heal with minimal scaring. The most cause for concern was that you were impaled by a piece of metal in the accident. It pierced several of your internal organs, but we were able to remove all the fragments and repair most of the damage. Unfortunately, a fragment of metal caused some severe damage to your womb. We have done what we can to fix the damage, however we weren't able to repair it all."
Grey listened to the doctor, feeling as thought one bad thing was being traded in for another bad thing that was worse than the last. Each little bit made his stomach roil in annoyance at Rhett, still certain he was the reason shit went down hill.
"So... what are you.. saying?"
"Due to the permanent damage, you may never be able to conceive a child."
That hit harder than he thought it might've, the glare coming to his face faster than he could blink. He had never thought to be a father in his life, but it was never off the cards with the right person and now this was being taken away. He felt more for Cora, he didn't know what she wanted on the front of children... He looked at her, his expression mellowed out. It was a lot to be told.
He shook his head, "I worry on the regular, so this is nothing overly new."
He smiled, trying to crack a joke and lighten things up a touch but he wasn't sure that that was a good enough joke to be fair. He needed to work on that.
"I... I just don't ...remember. We were at his house.. I remember... talking about Dei... and my shoes.."
He reached up with his free hand and gently caressed her cheek, "Don't strain to remember, ok? It might take a little bit to recover some memory, but let's not dwell on that right now."
"He didn't.. do this to me. Accidents happen. Is he okay?"
"He was behind the wheel of the car doing gods knows what," he muttered, "I would have at a guess he is, I saw the boy in the waiting room, but I haven't seen him nor asked. I wanted to be here."
"Hi there Cora, I'm glad to see you're awake. My name is Izzie, I'm your doctor." Cora managed a small nod, unable to stop herself looking wary. "Can I suggest that your friend wait outside whilst I speak to you about the accident and your injuries."
Grey looked up and his whole body language shifted in an instant, going from calm to hostile in the blink of an eye. He was not about to just leave her, he promised.
"Like hell am I leaving," he growled lowly, before looking back at Cora, "Unless you want me to, otherwise I am staying right put."
He didn't like to hear her apologize to him for this. She wasn't in the wrong.
"I don't...remember... I was...driving?"
He shook his head, "No, no you weren't driving. Rhett was driving Cora. I heard you telling him to slow down."
"I'm sor..ry. Please ...stay. Don't leave..."
"I'm not going anywhere. The security staff will have to drag me out if I'm going anywhere," he said softly, brushing her knuckles again before he kissed them, "Hell better have the biggest army, cause nothing and no one is budging me unless you say to go."
"What's wrong with..me."
"I don't know. I mean, I can see the cuts and bruises, but that's all I can see. They won't tell me anything."
"What... why would you ..say that?"
"Because he did this to you," he said, biting back his anger. "You wouldn't be in this state if he'd just used his head..."
Her voice, how sore and broken it sounded, it stabbed him harder than he could've thought it. It only served to make him bow his head and try his best not to lose his shit again for the hundredth time already.
"I thought I had."
"Hurts."
"What.. happened... why am I ... here."
He looked at her and took a moment to clear his throat and figure out how to put it to her whilst she was not completely there.
His voice shook. "You're in the hospital Cora, you were in a pretty serious f- a real serious car." It took all his strength not to get angry and upset. "That's why you are hurting, even with all the stuff they are giving you. You were raced off into surgery at one point apparent before I got here..."
He cleared his throat, "I was beyond afraid Cora, beyond it. I was anxious I had to be taken out of the building. Every little movement I thought was going to be the moment I was going to be told you weren't with me anymore. I was on the phone with you when it happened... the noises."
He shuddered involuntarily, "Rhett will get his due from me soon enough..."
When the phone had rung hours after that sickening call he'd had with Cora, he could finally put the pieces together when he was told she'd been in a serious crash and was in hospital. But just like that, it was another kick in the guts. His whole world had dropped out from under him just like that, and he didn't even remember the bike ride over to the hospital.
He'd had to sit for ages before he was allowed anywhere near her, and seeing her in such a state... He'd fallen into a seat by the bed and once the nurses were gone, he just cried quietly. He was afraid for her and just a smidge afraid for himself. He stayed put, eventually mustering energy at some points for the bathroom and to message his boss about not being available to work for a few days to some serious issues that had arisen and said nothing more.
He sat beside her, holding a hand and lightly ran his thumb over her knuckles, whispering sweet nothing to her, trying to distract himself from thinking too much about the injuries and what would follow on from here.
"Grey."
His head turned immediately to her, wondering if he'd actually heard her.
"I'm here Pigeon, I'm here," he said softly, "I thought I lost you."
Grey was mostly on time. He wasn't one to flop about, but sometimes things took more time than he'd have liked. Like the horses that fussed when it came to getting their feet trimmed. It seemed that those horses were the longest takers, shaving his usually early record to a barely getting onto the next one.
But he was managing, just. He'd gotten a text about getting in a trim and he'd figured he'd have plenty of time to get it done, provided an early start was given. Of course it turned into more of a mad rush, but he made it. Thankfully this was not a call to a different yard on the outside of town. Picking up his tools and stand, he walked down to the barn he was meant to be in for his next trim. He was sweaty, his hair falling out of place, his shirt long since gone to try and cool off quickly, and to stop his shoulder stitches from being more irritated.
Moving down the isle, he went towards the only person and horse - had to be the client he was working for.
"So, this must be Capulet," he said, looking the horse over for a moment, "And you my dear, must be his owner. My name is Grey, the farrier for Blue Acres."
He figured it would be best to introduce himself before he just launched himself at the horse and began working. As much as he wanted to be done for the day, he still had to smile and be polite to keep business returning to him. He carefully combed back some of his hair so it wasn't in his face as he began to assess the horse's posture and hooves.
full name • Grey Irah Vaughn nicknames • Tatts, Twenty-One age • Thirty-One birthday • October 31st occupation • Farrier at Blue Acres gender • Male sexuality • Bisexual
the appearance
face claim• Stephen James
identifying features• Exceptionally detailed tattoos litter almost every available surface of his lightly tanned skin, coupled with piercings, a face that is almost always kept in a frown and a well toned body. Another thing to note about Grey; he does have a hearing aid in his left ear - he got that whilst in prison; a fight with older men resulted in a punch up and a busted ear-drum leaving him about 90% deaf in that ear.
the personality
likes • Heavy Metal / Rock Music Rainy Days Working Out Working on Cars / Motorcycle Being able to complete his work in peace Reading in his spare time Helping Horses Playing his guitar
dislikes • People making assumptions about him Idiotic / reckless people who endanger others, including animals Police and other ‘authority figures’ who get up in his business High pitched noises Spring strengths • Incredibly observant Quick to put names to faces and such Has a half way decent singing voice weaknesses • Lacking decent social skills, very blunt Smart Mouth Quick to judge others dreams • To improve his motorbike and be the best he can be. fears • Not being good enough Cattle overall personality • Grey is neither inherently good nor inherently bad, straddling a fine middle ground that seems to fall one way or the other on his whims. His quick judgments of others makes him relatively prickly to deal with at times, however find the right words and you will have a loyal friend. Grey is easy to annoy, but it’s hard to get him to rise and fight without sufficient merit. Added to that, his smart-ass attitude can get him into a spot of bother. His loner like tendencies when out and about also land the eyes of the law on him, which can set his temper on edge. Over all if he had to choose between helping a person or an animal, the animal comes first.
the history
father • James Aiden Vaughn, Fifty-Five, Unemployed mother • Lianne May Vaughn [Maybridge],Fifty-One, Receptionist siblings • Sarah Louise Vaugh, Twenty-Nine, Unknown important people • None Currently hometown • London, England overall history • Raised in London, Grey’s life started off relatively average. He went to school, had decent grades, was polite, all the hallmarks of being a decent boy. He even got along with his sister. But around the age of eleven, his father lost his job which brought strain into the family home. It started with light arguing over dinner to full blown fights after he and his sister went to bed. The sour mood in the household likewise took its toll on him, and his attitude began to steadily shift. His parents soon enough divorced, but the tension never ended. By sixteen he was trying to help out by doing paper deliveries before and after school, but it barely scratched the surface. Determined to help his mother, who worked two separate jobs to pay rent, Grey looked into the less legal methods of procuring money to feed his mother and sister. Dropping out of school, he began to hang with a bad crowd. It was small things at first - shoplifting and pick-pocketing small items that could be easily pawned off for change.
By the age of twenty one, Grey’s life reached a new unruly point. His mother had finally begun to catch onto his nightly activities and began to ask questions. Fighting followed and that evening, he would be betrayed by the very woman he was desperately trying to help. A simple robbery of the local petrol station, the first and only Grey would go out on. It started off as a standard hold up, but the energy amongst seven young men was on a hair trigger, anything could go wrong. One of the attendants decided to be a hero and set loose a chain of events. Gun fire, police, a hostage situation - everything happened so very fast, Grey couldn’t react to it. Slapped with various charges, Grey was informed that his mother had made the call to the police over the robbery. Ever since, Grey has held a shockingly bitter resentment for his mother, deciding it was best if he wiped his hands of his family.
Grey served his time and underwent a training course to become a certified Farrier, which cut his sentence time down significantly. Upon getting out, he lived in and out of safe houses until he got on his feet again.
To date, Grey continues a nomadic life, traveling from one stable to another in search of permanent work, which has brought him to Hickstead, sleeping in his car.
