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!.
The question alone was enough to make her lookup from what she was doing, only to realise it was the younger man across from her. She looked back at her hands and realised that most people didn't do what she did on a routine basis.
She shook her head as she popped the last knuckle back into place, carefully flexing her hands, "No. Though I can understand why you ask, most people don't have hands as messed up as mine."
“That’s fair. It has been a bit busy, especially with the last-minute pieces coming up. Has your schedule been busy?”
Hayes wasn't even sure why this woman was bothering to talk to her, they didn't know each other. Sure, Hayes was aware of June, been in the shop when she was interviewed and seen her around, but as always, she was busy. If it wasn't ink, it was some body part that people wanted done and that was the most of it.
"It's a mixed board, leaning mostly on the fuller side, but its hand it moments of quite which allows me to do other things," she shrugged, pinning up her hair as she sat at her station, "And you?"
Sleep was proving to be a bastard to obtain, so instead of laying there in her bed, she decided to get an early start on work. Not that there was anything pressing to do. Pushing through the staff door, she frowned when the alarm didn't go off - hadn't it been locked?
“Ah, another early bird too?”
That also made sense - someone else beat her in.
"Not necessarily," she replied, stepping out into the parlor, "Couldn't sleep."
It wasn't a lie. She couldn't sleep. Hayes went over to her own work station and sat in the chair, dropping her bag at her feet before dragging her hair up into a bun. She had nowhere else to be, she couldn't go to the gym - not with her hand so bruised, so working out was not an option before work.
She noticed him almost instantly, assessing him from the corner of her eye and she worked over the bag. Young, fit, but altogether too... stiff? He had a frown like someone shit on his breakfast and kicked his dog all in the same hour. She wasn't into that as such, but hell, it had been a while since she'd teased a guy a little bit. Maybe once she was done she could try play around.
She kept working the bag, changing up sets as if her coach was there yelling at her. Her thoughts walked off on her, dredging up memories, bringing out a sudden anger that boiled up out of nowhere, throwing punches harder and harder. She knew anger wouldn't get her far, that she had to have skill enough to keep going, had to fight to hope and move on through each day.
Something cracked and popped loudly, causing her to yelp, the white wraps turning pink. Growling, she moved back and felt her knuckles, sighing when she found them in the wrong spot. Unwrapping everything revealed the mess that was her hands - her knuckles re-split and a couple of joints dislocated. As much as it hurt, Hayes still stood there and slowly popped the pieces back into place. Her doctor had said her hands were getting weak because she wasn't letting herself recover enough, but the fact that she'd done this for so short a period of time was a little more alarming. Perhaps she did need more than a few days to recover.
”No need to filter yourself around me. I’m all for knocking out creeps. It does and I like what I see. I think you’ll be a good fit here.”
Hayes couldn't help the smile that took over her face but she quickly tried to school that back into submission so it was little more of smirk and even then, that felt like a little too much.
”The jobs yours Hayes, if you want it.”
She raised a brow - simple as that? She was almost expecting to get the gentle dismissal that she'd get a call that would never come.
"Yeah, I would really like the job," she said, careful not to just burst with joy over the fact she had a job now outside of the MMA, "Just tell me when you want me to start, I'll be sure to put in any notices when my other job comes into play. My coach manages my fights, so there might be the odd day or two where I am absent, but I always have ample notice on that."
Mentally she shrugged, may as well be honest to an extent - guy was taking her at her word after all and it wouldn't go over well if she just didn't show up after getting her ass kicked.
”Moving between both roles would be preferable. .saves me having to find another person to fill the position. Your work looked good, your style seems like it would fit in well here.” He said, glancing back down to the resume, his eyes resting on the references for a moment. ”So your first reference sang your praises but I’m still waiting to hear back from the second.”
"Works by me," she nodded before letting out a soft sigh, "Yeah, I know exactly who you are waiting on. He was an asshole to me constantly, and a pig at that. I'm not sure if you'll get a return call from him if I'm honest."
She crossed her legs and fiddled with her bracelet, "If it was legal, I would've knocked him out personally. He was a creeper - shit; ignore that. My filter stopped working for a moment there. I guess that tells you a little bit more about me then."
It had been a long day, and despite work not needing her for the whole shift, she'd gone home and done her best to organize her flat. If she was being honest, she would've preferred to have stayed at the shop and just chatted with the guys - as much as they were both a pair of grumps, they were entertaining, distracting. Going home meant being alone with her thoughts and the stark reminder that she still had boxes to unpack and laundry to do.
Of course that was not going to fly, because after a single box, she was frustrated and immediately gathered up her stuff for the gym. It wasn't that the flat was bad, it was just a reminder of her upside down life that she was trying to put back together. But she was getting there, even if it was slow going. But that frustration bubbled under the surface and she was sure she would've broken something if she kept going. So the next best option that could tire her out and get her to settle was hitting the gym.
Hopefully there was a line up of guys waiting to get their heads kicked in. She could hope so. Prayed for it. She did enjoy beating down the boys that thought they would get an easy beat down on her. It was thrilling as much as it was dangerous. She was a lithe build, next to no padding against her body, so sometimes the kicks and punches hurt more than she expected.
Even still, she was going to get her kicks, even if that meant nursing her own injuries for a week or two until the bruises and tightness faded to invisibility. Then she'd go right back at it and hope that the pain after that would be less. She walked into the gym, tying her hair back before searching out the next available punching bag for her to warm up on.
Hayes sat down in an available seat, crossing her arms across her body to help ease her flighty stomach.
”So Hayes, are you applying for the tattooist position or the body piercer position?” He asked.
"I have no real preference," she said calmly, "I can move between them as needed, depending on the traffic you get through here, and if my tattooing style is what you are after in this establishment. Either way, I'm flexible."
She was at least being honest, and she knew that her style was generally a lot more tribal-esk than it was stupid hello-kitty knock-offs. She'd given him examples of her work, verified by previous employers, her authenticity of her training as a body piercer. Even if he didn't want her to tattoo people and stick to piercings when the bookings came in, then that was fine. She was even willing to accept that the job was probably out of her reach too, but the interview had only just begun so she brushed off her thoughts and focused on what he asked.
He stood up as she approached and gave a somewhat friendly smile – for him. ”Hayes?”
It didn't take long for her name to be called and she turned, briefly eyeing him up and down before nodding, offering her own mild smile.
"That's me," she nodded, "You must be the boss."
She moved a little bit closer to where he was and offered a hand to shake, mentally reminding herself not to get smart. She needed the job if she wanted to stay in town and keep her career going. She took stock of him. Not a huge talker, which was fine by her - idle chatter was not her strong point either. Not to mention he was tatted - she expected that in a parlor such as this. And fit - maybe a fitness freak or just that genetically lucky to be an effortless tank. Either way, it was fine. She wanted to say something, but she bit her tongue. She wasn't going to sink herself and her chances in case she came across as rude or immediately harsh and smart. At least he didn't like like he didn't belong here.
Hayes approached Hollow Ink with confidence in her step, it was the same sort of confidence she felt when she entered the boxing ring - she was comfortable with what she was doing and what she was going to see, as if her own ink wasn't proof enough of the fact. She'd gotten the call to come down after she'd dropped off her resume a few days prior for an interview. She was fairly certain she'd land the job, but who knew - she could be going to the shop to be told she shouldn't have bothered because they had some higher standard.
Either way, she walked straight on into the building and went up to the counter and tapped the bell to let whomever was in know that she was at least at the counter. She had wondered briefly if her white tank top and ripped black skinny jeans were too much for the interview, but she quickly dismissed it. If they didn't like it, tough luck. She would rather be comfortable than look like something out of a Project Runway magazine.
Fixing her hair slightly so that it wasn't all over the place, Hayes took more of a look about the shop, getting an ink for the layout and how busy it was at that time of day. She didn't imagine that a little town like this was crawling with people that wanted to get tattooed or have their ears or other body parts pierced. Either way, it was something she could do.
full name • Hayes Bently Jordan nicknames • Hay, Jordan age • Twenty-Four birthday • October 3rd occupation • Aspiring Fighter [MMA / UFC], Tattoo Artist and Body Piercer. gender • Female sexuality • Straight
the appearance
face claim• Zoe Cristofoli
identifying features• Plenty of tattoos and her almost innocent appearance.
the personality
likes • The Outdoors, Fast Cars/Bikes, Fighting, Alcohol, Getting Ink, Music, Playing Instruments, Art dislikes • Bitchy girls, Cheap Beer, Techno-music, Sappy Guys, The Rich strengths • Quick witted, Always up for a Challenge, weaknesses • Dangerous, Inked Guys and the threat of a good time. dreams • Become a full time professional Fighter fears • Needles, Losing another child, Rats overall personality • Hayes is a no-bullshit, no prisoners sort of gal. She stands firm in her beliefs and will come to the defense of others should it be required. She's usually reserved in public settings, but she is very much capable of having a laugh, pulling a prank and getting into trouble with those that are prepared to do the same. And she can be a flirt with the guys, though it's rare that she will act on her flirting to take a guy home.
the history
father • Sebastian Lucas Jordan, 44 mother • Selena Abigail Jordan, Deceased siblings • None important people • Christopher Greenway, 25 [ex] hometown • London, England overall history •
Hayes was born an only child and had an early struggle in life after her mother passed from complications shortly after her delivery.
She lived an easy life, given everything her father could give her, encouraging school and other activities outside of that to make her happy. But Hayes was never content for long. She had few friends, and what friends she had were out for status of being friends with the rich kid in school. She didn't care about them, or their wealth or what she could've gained. And upon going to highschool, she began to rebel, wanting more than what her father was willing to give. Her father had a very idealistic mentality for how a young girl should behave and do with her time, but Hayes rebuked it all - small things at first, refusing to curtsy and play with dolls. As she moved into her teenage years, she got worse.
The clothes went from frilly lace skirts and blouses to hard metal band t-shirts and ripped denim jeans, from ballet flats to combat boots, from long braided hair with bows to short and brushed back loose with the rainbow peering through. Her grades dipped, and her father tried to rein her in only to have her grow more frustrated. She needed her father around more, not being shuttled off to her grandparents on weekends and boarding schools the rest of the time. She was angry with him for not being there when she wished he could've been - winning her first soccer game, getting awards at school, coming first in her classes. He was never present, so she rebelled for attention.
Fast forward she graduated high school with solid grades after coming to the conclusion that her father didn't actually care and that she needed to take care of herself instead and forget about pleasing him. She started an apprenticeship with a tattoo parlor, started kick boxing and got into it more seriously, and worked as a part-time parcel clerk at the local post office. It was hard going, with scarcely any down time, but at twenty years old, in walked Christopher Greenway. He was charming and effortlessly wormed his way under her skin and into her life. They got on great and began to date more seriously after six months, but their relationship began to burn when Hayes found out she was pregnant.
What she had thought would be a happy moment for them both only served to make Christopher more angry and controlling. She was prepared to give up everything - her dreams, her job - for the baby, but Christopher wanted the baby gone, unnerved by sudden change. Shortly after the announcement, Hayes kicked Christopher out after he back handed her in a blind rage. For the remaining six months, Hayes continued on and forward, finally having her little baby boy - Cooper. He was beautiful in Hayes' eyes, and stupidly, she rang Christopher to tell him that his son was healthy and doing well.
She took a nap once her baby was settled, and at some point Christopher came to see his son before vanishing with him. When Hayes woke, it was with an absolute shriek of fear as the cot by her bedside was empty. Police and other emergency services were notified of the missing baby. Alas, nothing was discovered, and ultimately Christopher and Cooper were presumed dead after five weeks of searching. Hayes grew cold over the weeks, growing numb to a point where she got snappish towards those who tried to comfort her.
She spent months in her apartment, not going out before she pulled herself out of her slump and went back to work and picked up another course to pierce people's bodies. It took time, but she managed. She threw herself back into training for a while before she ended up moving to Hickstead at age twenty-two. Since then she's continued to train for MMA and worked for a small business until recently where the business went bust. Now she has to resume picking up the pieces and move onto the next chapter.
the role player
alias • BlackJack, Jac age • Mid 20s other characters • Too Many to LIst