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!.
he didn't think there was a point in trying to argue that he wasn't going to run away. derek had caught him with his back to the door and it was hard to argue with that point. but running away had seemed an easier than choice than asking his brother the question he wanted to ask him. he really hadn't had a plan when he had taken off from home, he'd just come to the one place he knew that the door would open for him, he hadn't thought about what was going to happen once the door opened. he scrubbed one of his hands across his face and shook his head in response to his brother. the words weren't working for him at the moment, his usually reliable to the end voice was letting him down, the lump in his throat thick and his heart was trying to pound out of his chest, that was all he could think about, let alone form words to come out of his mouth.
he stepped into his brothers apartment and the warm air inside made goosebumps jump on his arms and he only just realized how cold he'd really been feeling. he shivered slightly and rubbed his bare arms lightly. he might not have found the words to say yet, but his brain had rationalized that it was somewhere safe and the pounding in his chest started to slow, the world not as scary to him as it had been a moment ago. it was because he was with his big brother, no one had ever made him feel safer in his life, apart from his mother and he probably needed that right now. especially after what nash had told him.
all he could do was shake his head when derek asked if he was hungry, but he followed him into the kitchen, slipping into one of the chairs at the table. he still couldn't find the words to say, couldn't make his mouth or his brain work together and he knew that it was going to worry derek. crev had never had a day in his life since he'd started to talking that he'd been silent, he could talk the ears off anyone and he usually did unless he was asleep. he sat there without a word as his brother made them drinks, wrapping his cold hands around the warmth of the cup when it was put in front of him and he stared at the swirling milk and chocolate for a moment before his brain seemed to jump start and without lifting his eyes from the cup. "do you hate the fact i look like mum too?" he was unable to help the tears that sprung into his eyes as he asked.
he hadn't been quick enough, the door had opened as he had turned to run away from the door and he froze on the spot, his eyes wide as he looked at his brother. it took him a second before he looked away, turning his face from derek as he stood there on the spot, his finger nails picking at his arm nervously. what did he say? how could he say it? he didn't even know how to start because he hadn't been thinking when he'd rocked up on derek's doorstep. he should have gone elsewhere, anywhere that meant someone from his family wasn't waiting on the other side of the door. someone that wasn't going to have to open the door to see a reminder of their mother's face. "nothing." he managed to breath out through a tense jaw. it wasn't nothing, he knew that derak would see that it wasn't nothing, but crev didn't know how to tell him. he knew he was still breathing fast, he could feel his hear pounding in his chest so hard and fast he felt that it was about to burst out of his chest. he had to leave, he had to get out of there in case derek thought the same way as link. if link hated him, that meant everyone else might to. "i'm sorry." he said as he kept picking at his arm, his nails sharp enough to start causing grazes on his arm that were slowly starting to bleed but he didn't notice it. "i didn't know .." he kept looking away from his brother, his gaze on the floor or the wall next to his brother. "there was nowhere else to go."
he glanced down at his hands as people pointed out that he was bleeding. he scrubbed them on his jeans again and he just shook his head a little. "they're fine." he tried to brush it off as his father told him to run his hands under the water. he did as he was told to rinse them but it was a half arsed job because he didn't care about them at the moment. he cared about what was going on in their house, with their family and what was going to be done to fix it.
he listened to his dad's explanation and he couldn't quite believe it. they'd been trying to help jace, they'd all been trying to help him in their own way. at least he thought they were. "you mean keith can keep us away from him?" he asked his dad as he ruffled his hair. he knew that the rest of his brothers would probably fight their dad with fire, their reaction would be to fight him on it and this time creven was starting to feel that same fire. "he can't do that, he doesn't even know jace!" he said as he frowned as maverick's voice drowned his out and he looked at the faces of his other brothers, wanting to gauge their reactions in the moment.
creven wasn't like his brothers. he wasn't quick to anger, he was friendly and the opposite of what most people equated being a son of shaun breckah to be, but today, today he was mad. mad that his family was being put through what they were being put through because keith had a bee in his bonnet. he'd gotten up before anyone else in the house that morning, or if they were awake he hadn't seen any of them as he'd been walking out. he'd left a note on the table saying he was getting in an early practice and that he'd get himself to school. of course, that had been a lie.
he'd walked to the bus stop and caught the first bus that would take him into willowbridge city. he needed to see keith. he wanted to see jace and he wasn't going to leave keith alone until he got to see him. as he found his spot at the back of the bus, he shoved his duffell bag, that was usually filled with his hockey gear and his soccer gear, into the seat next to him and he stared out the window. he'd grabbed whatever he could think of in jace's room that his brother might need, wherever keith had decided to stash him. his pillow, his blanket and someo of his clothes and stuff like that. he'd even thrown in a photo he'd taken out of a frame just because it felt like the right thing to do.
before too long he was walking into the hospital keith worked at with the duffel slung over his shoulder. he hated the smell of hospitals, the scent was enough to turn his stomach and make him feel sick. he shook it off as he walked through to the front desk and he smiled at the lady behind the reception desk. "i need to see keith breckah, it's about an urgent family matter." he was told to take a seat as they found keith to let him know and he dropped into the seats near the doors, the duffel at his feet. he bounced his leg a little a he waited, watching the corridor in front of him closely in case his brother walked down it. he wondered if keith would even know what he looked like now ... since he hadn't seen him, at least in person, since creven was about five.
crev couldn't help but laugh a little at the thought of his parents being caught by the local catholic priest while they were on the roof of the church. though he had to admit that a catholic priest not being happy about two teenagers being in love was ironic. he had heard all the jokes before about catholics and large families. "and i'm sure mum gave him what for." he said with a grin as he thought about his strong willed mum. she'd been able to keep him and his brothers mostly in line, and he knew she'd needed to learn how to do that from somewhere, while he hadn't heard too many stories from his grandparents about what she'd been like as a kid, he figure it had had to be something she was born with.
he frowned just slightly when his dad spoke his next words. he shook his head a little and he turned to face him a little. "you're not poison dad." he said it with as much conviction as a fourteen year old could muster. he'd never believe that about his dad, regardless of what shaun and his brothers thought. the thought was enough to distract him from the other tidbit his father had dropped on him, at least for the moment. he knew he was the youngest brother, the baby of the family and the one that his parents had probably made less mistakes on, purely because they'd had so much practice by the time he'd come along, but he didn't think that made his opinions about his dad wrong.
"how about we go together?" he offered, it would be nice to spend some time with his dad outside of the house, away from what had been and focusing on something in the moment. he thought it might be good for shaun. he chuckled a little as his dad tried to guess what sport he played. any of his brothers might have cared a little more but he didn't, he'd been blessed with a brain that usually understood that there were a lot of kids in the family, his dad couldn't have known all of it. "close, you got the ball part right." he teased gently. "hockey and soccer." he corrected his dad. "we have a game next weekend, you can come if you want?" he offered before he looked back at the yard and over at danny. it was then that his father's words from earlier hit him and it was like a light went off in his head.
as his brothers words reached his ears, crev physically flinched. his brother could have said anything else to him and it would have rolled off his back like water. he wasn't much for losing his temper like his brothers were. his mother had always said he was a lover and not a fighter but things had changed since her death. he'd been trying so hard to keep up appearances, to make everyone think he was fine so they didn't worry about him. if he could make them smile it was like he was helping their mum in some small way, even though she wasn't around anymore. she'd been the one who could make any of them smile on a bad day, someone still needed to do that in the family.
he took in a sharp breath and gripped his hand into his blanket. "mum didn't think so." he said as he pushed the blankets off and he sat up, running his hand through his hair quickly, not sure what to do with the feelings that were rushing over him. it was like that one comment about the stars had unraveled whatever think hold crev had been holding on his grief and it was pushing against his chest like a wave. he heard his brother ask if he was worried about his game. "don't pretend to care." he snapped as he shifted again in the bed, not sure what to do right now. normally he'd lay down and do what he'd been doing before but he couldn't bring himself to do it ... not now.
there was a guilty feeling pulsing through his heart as he pedaled his bike home as fast as he could. he hadn't much time at home since his and nash's fight. he'd been staying at friends, getting home as late as he could and doing his best to stay out of everyone's way. he could feel his hockey stick tapping against the wheel, it was almost falling out of the bag but he didn't care. there had been trouble at the house and he needed to get home. as he rounded the corner of the driveway, the stick finally slipped from where it had been hanging on for dear life but the problem was it caught the back tire on it's way down and sent him skittering to the gravel.
as soon as he hit the ground he was up though, his sneakers sending gravel flying as he got to his feet and ran the rest of the way to the door, ignoring the stinging in his now grazed up hands as he pushed his way through it and almost ran into the room where the rest of his family were. he didn't know the full story, just what he'd read from the messages from nash and then his dad telling everyone to come home. that's what had scared him, the last time they'd all rushed together like this was when their mum had died. no one had died this time but one of them was gone and that needed to change. he heard link and mav but he ran past them and went straight over to his dad.
he was breathless from his ride across town and his dash across the yard but he let the words just tumble out of his mouth as he stood before his father, his hands bleeding, everything disheveled and more than a little wide eyed. "so jace is gone? where did they take him? was it keith!?" he managed to take someone of a breath. "can we go get him? they can't stop us right .. i mean we're his family and this is his home .. they can't just take him! they have to let us bring him back"
his bike dropped to the ground beneath him with a clatter as he jumped off it, leaving it where it was on the pavement outside the building as he ran barefoot through the doors. his mind was going a million miles an hour, not stopping or letting him form a solid thought beyond the fact that nash couldn't stand to look at him. it kept going around and around in his head. why do you have to look so much like her? stop being like her. did it make sense? not really but it was what his mind was stuck on. it had hurt when his brother had said it but his mind was making it worse. if nash felt that way did every one else? did his brothers hate looking at his face? did his father? did they resent having to look at him day in and day out when they didn't have their mother? was it a constant reminder of her? it had to be. they had to hate him. they just had to. he'd never felt this kind of panic before, that he could be the cause of pain for his brothers and it had sent him spiraling.
he'd ran from the house in what he'd been sleeping in, shorts and a shirt and he hadn't thought about shoes or anything before he'd grabbed his bike from the front lawn and started riding away from the house he'd once felt so safe in. as he reached derek's door he lifted a hand up and he thumped his fist against it loudly, not even thinking once that it was late at night and derek and the people that lived next to him were probably asleep. he ran his hands through his hair as he waited, his eyes trained on the door handle to see if it would start turning when he had a sudden thought, or fresh fear flash through his head. derek would feel the same. he'd just run from home so he couldn't hurt his family anymore and here he was waiting for derek to open the door to a face that looked just like their mothers. he won't want to see you. you heard nash, it hurts to look at you the voice inside his head screamed and he backed away from the door, turning to run away from it just as the handle turned.
well that was something. he hadn't been serious when he'd asked his brother if he wanted him to stop breathing but there was that small part of his mind that had worried the answer would have been yes. he shifted slightly, rolling onto his back and stared at the ceiling, almost narrowing his eyes at it as he tried to picture the sky above it. it was something his mother had taught him, when he'd woken from bad dreams when he'd been younger. she'd have laid next to him with her arms hugged tightly around him and told him to look through the ceiling and to count the stars in the sky. it had always worked a treat when he'd been younger and he'd always fallen back to sleep within moments but tonight he couldn't picture it. he couldn't form the images in his head, there was just a darkness that seemed to grow by the second.
"you'd have to ask someone else that question .." he said as he shifted restlessly in his bed. the longer he was awake the less tired he was feeling and it frustrated him just a little. he had a game in the morning, decent night sleeps were key for playing well. he knew that. he rubbed his fingers into his eyes slightly and couldn't help letting out a sigh as he dropped his hands beside his head, glancing over towards his brother's bed as he asked why he was awake. "because i'm not asleep." he couldn't help but say, his inner breckah coming out for a second before he caught himself and he chewed his lip a little. "no reason."
mom... why was she walking away from him? she'd been right there when he'd walked out of the school doors, like she had always been when he'd been younger. this smiling face ready to greet him after the school day, patient enough to listen to his constant chatter and nonsense stories. she'd been there when he'd opened the doors but now, she was turning away from him. he tried to follow her but the steps he took, got him no closer. he quickened his step as he chased after her though she just kept getting further and further away. eventually he broke out into an all-out sprint as he tried to catch up to her, but she kept walking away from him, getting smaller and smaller in the distance until he could only see her as a speck. he tried to call out to her, to yell at her to get her to come back, to turn around but she didn't. he couldn't breathe anymore, he had to stop running. he hunched over on the footpath, his eyes still glued on the spot his mother was disappearing into and then just like that she was gone. the world around him turned dark, the wind started whipping around him and then suddenly...
his eyes flew open, and he felt his breath hitch as he found himself staring at his bedroom wall. the room was dark except for whatever moonlight streamed in through the window that was between his and his brother's beds. he brought his hand up to his chest and he could feel his heart pounding under his fingertips. he closed his eyes and did his best to keep his breathing slow, but he could feel the tears welling in the corners of his eyes. he squeezed his eyes closed as he buried his face into his pillow and all he could think about was going back to sleep, going back to sleep so he could see her face again. and then his brother's words broke the silence in the room, and he couldn't help the sting they had, the hurt they caused when it sunk in what his brother had said. "you want me to stop breathing?" he said back, trying his best to keep his voice as light as it always was but he couldn't deny that had hurt. "i can't exactly turn it off."
he smiled a little and leaned his head into his father's hand slightly as his hair was ruffled. he used to love hearing how much like his mother he was, that he was her mini in every way. now it just made him ache and start to miss her all over again. to know that he'd never see her face again but have to see it every time he looked in the mirror. "she snuck me onto our roof once or twice." he said as he thought back on the mornings he'd been up early with her, sometimes just the two of them up before the whole house. "i think i got everything from her." he said with a small smile as he thought about the few times she'd taken him up onto the roof so they could watch the sunrise together, him sitting in her lap with her arms around him, just the two of them in a world full of people. other mornings he'd helped her with breakfast and even some he'd fallen back to sleep at the kitchen table. the thought that he'd never walk down into the kitchen again to spend time with her in the morning made him swallow slightly, before he mentally shook himself so he didn't let it show. his dad didn't need to see that, to see him sad about it. his dad needed to see his smile.
"if you're still hungry after half, i'll make you another one." he said as he picked up half of the sandwich. it wasn't ideal but as long as he got his dad to eat something this morning, he'd consider it a win. he pulled at the crust of the sandwich lightly, taking it off bit by bit and eating it while he held the bulk of his sandwich. it's how he'd always eaten them, from the outside in, because the middle was the best part. his theory was he ate the worst part first and saved the best for last. "well we need food." he said with a slight grin as he looked at the filling of the sandwich, thank god for derek. "we're out of nearly everything and i don't think mavs feeling up to leaving the house today so i thought what the heck, i'd be nice and go." at least that's what he thought based on the noises he'd heard coming out of the bathroom earlier that morning, after mav had stumbled home at about 3 am and half fallen into the door, it had woken crev up. "but after that, i was going to head to the field and practice." because when he was out on the field he could leave it all at the line, he could focus on shooting goals and tune the rest of the world out.
