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!.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
H
e was respectable, and I like that they both agreed not to waste each other’s time.” It was a lesson Bryne thought everyone would learn at some point. He learned it as well, and he was sure Jeremy did too. Sometimes life deals with those kinds of lessons, and it is up to the person to learn from it. Jaana did have a conversation with him about it, and while it hurt – she seemed to be okay with it too. Not everyone was that lucky.
“Yeah, they all met at university. But I think they don’t run into each other enough for it to be an issue. If there were issues, I don’t think I’ve heard about it,” Bryne shrugged. He wondered what secrets Jaana held close to her – but he knew better than to pry. She was still at a tender part of her life, readjusting once more. Hickstead was new. It was freedom, in some sort of way.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
S
ometimes it nice to see the most stubborn man fall to his knees.” Bryne was tempted to see it in action himself. Even his aunt had trouble getting her husband to bend the knee. At least, she seemed to have control of their home appearances. Which was better than nothing, Bryne supposed. He took a sip of his water, not surprised that Jeremey had confirmed his suspicions.
“What’s holding you back, then? It sounds like you both have hung around each other enough to know something is bound to happen.” Granted, it was just as hard as adults to ask someone out. There was always that lingering fear of rejection. Same with folks who were friends and possibly ended that friendship because they were rejected.
Bryne couldn’t help but toll his eyes when Jaana and dating were brought up. “She’s been talking to two boys. Well, one she had a date with – and that seemed to not go well. But she’s been chatting up some kid named Landon.” Well, he wasn’t a kid. He and Jaana were both adults, but they were still kind of kids in his eyes. There appeared to be some kind of connection, but he didn’t know if it was past the friendship stage or not.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
A
h yes, customs will always be a chore for that. Might as well ship things at the start of the month to get a leg up.” He looked at another sweater and found one that looked like a mountain scene, with its tall peaks in the triangle design – with some dots carefully placed. That would have to do. There was no point in dragging the process in any longer. There was a reason for gift recipes, after all. Plus, his father liked this store. So Bryne was sure he would find something else, too.
“Oh, nice. Yeah, it’s different. But quaint,” Bryne commented. He wasn’t in town too much, other than to help his parents and make sure Jaana was doing alright. The city felt safer almost.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
H
e couldn’t help but offer a gentle smile, something Jaana picked up on and kind of gave her uncle a look. “Well, I don’t want them possibly barreling over the kids that could show up,” he answered, with a bit of tease. The man offered a hand to the dogs in front of him, and once consent was given – gave them a pet.
“Ah! Helena, this is my daughter, Jaana,” Bryne introduced, gesturing to the redheaded teen next to him. Jaana gave the woman a look as she bit into her ice cream. She wiped her mouth before giving a smile.
“Nice to meet you. I didn’t realize my father knew such a beautiful woman. A pleasure to meet you, and your pups.” Bryne wanted to nudge Jaana for that comment, but it was a truthful comment. Helena was indeed quite beautiful.
“Are you just making your way through here?” he asked, thinking the question of if she lived here was a bit too odd.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
O
h?” Well, fixing a tire was a better meeting than exchanging letters. Bryne only met her through the pen pal system, and he didn’t know if that was the best thing to say. “I met her through work. A regular I guess you could say. She knows her shelves, that’s for sure.” There was some weird aura, but Bryne didn’t know why. The thought of interrogation was there, and he tried to suppress it...but goddamn was he curious.
“Have you known her long?” So much for letting the man go. Not that she was a prize, of course. But he felt a bit protective since Bryne considered her as a friend.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
T
he goal post keeps moving then,” he chuckled. He was thankful that his own parents weren’t as pushy. They had Jaana as a grandchild, and they were quite happy about that. After the shit show their life way, it appeared that everyone being happy and healthy, was the most preferred. “I never got it, the whole continuing the lineage thing. I guess people don’t like the idea of their name becoming dead.”
Like Jeremy, he thanked the wait staff before taking another drink from his glass. “Maybe? I just know your dad complains about her sometimes from the phone calls he has with my dad. Says she has a strong personality, but I think he means it as a challenge. Which sounds like someone you want around all the time. Just friends? Are you sure about that?” Bryne wasn’t one to pry, but after years of reading faces – he had a hard time thinking Jeremey just wanted a friendship with this Dahlia person. “No, no one for me. I have a teenage daughter that I’m still guiding through life, so I doubt finding someone to help do that is on the top of my mind.”
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
O
h yes, he loves sweaters. Anything with the more fancy pattern, the better. It’s more of..does he have enough reindeer, or does he need a few more stars?” Fair Isle sweaters always blew Bryne’s mind. There was something about the patterns people could knit by hand, that made Bryne wonder how much patience it took for all that to happen.
“I’m Bryne, nice to meet you,” Bryne greeted, not quite sure what to share else. But names seemed okay enough. “Yeah, he lives quite close. Thankfully, no leg or arm for shipping. I’m convinced the postal service racks up the rates for the holidays.” Granted, Bryne did feel a bit sad for the postal workers. The holidays brought out the worst in people.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
W
hat was the luring feeling that was bringing him to town more? Was it the chance or purposely running into her again? Bryne almost laughed at the thought, of him going into town to see a woman he barely knew. He told himself to slow down. He had a past after all and had to make sure his group of people were still small. But sometimes, someone other than the client or family was welcomed for a conversation.
His parent’s home was a decent home, and since Jaana was living with them for the summer – Bryne found himself on Oldaker. Their home was nice but not out there. It fit but wasn’t one of those massive ones with all the floors and turrets.
The summer air was warm, and the sun passed its highest point. Jaana had insisted on ice cream cones, so here he was – sitting at the small park and playground in the neighborhood. Thankfully, there were plenty of people out that didn’t make them look odd.
As Jaana began licking the drips on her cone, her eyes landed on two mastiffs. Familiar ones to Bryne. He watched as his daughter piped up, a big smile on her face. “Beautiful dogs, can I pet them?” At least Bryne got that kind of etiquette into her.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
B
ryne would’ve happily ended the conversation and let the man go on his way, but the name of familiarity seemed to trigger a reaction. Not a bad one, either. More of the dogs the man was holding. A faint smile crossed his lips. “Ah, it sounds like you know of her then.” Bryne wasn’t that surprised by it, really. While Aofie came off as a shy individual, there was something about her that made everyone know of her or about her. She always claimed that people didn’t pay attention to her, especially in the letters she wrote. But when Byrne first met her in person, he witnessed many people catching a glance.
“Well, you boys are quite lucky to know someone so ethereal. Do you know her through work?” He was curious now. It seemed this woman had an interesting circle of men around her. Maybe it was from the prison letters. For someone that appeared as fragile as she did, she wrote to some…interesting folks.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
H
ave they been asking you about settling down yet?” Bryne hadn’t been thankfully asked about it. He honestly didn’t know what he would act like if he was asked. Sure, there had been thoughts – but Bryne didn’t think he could see himself with someone. He wouldn’t lie though, he loved the idea of it. Coming home to someone that missed him. Yes, Janna missed him – but she was a teen now. She didn’t need her dad.
“What’s her name…Dahlia? Is she still in contact with you?” Bryne didn’t know too much about this person, other than that she was a college friend. But from their contact during that time – she appeared as someone special.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
S
ame,” Bryne responded. He knew his father loved his sweaters, especially vests. Maybe he was about to be like him, as he got to that age. Bryne already had a crazy furniture obsession. Fingers gently rubbed against one of the sweaters in front of him, feeling the softness and immediate cost of the piece in front of him. Price wasn’t an issue, of course.
“Is there a color palette and lifestyle your dad follows?” Maybe it wasn’t the best question, but that was a good start. If anything, Bryne seemed to be better at asking questions than answering them, probably from asking his clients the same questions.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
M
ost definitely. Rich people will come up with the craziest ideas, and they will throw money at it to get it the way they want. There is time I make some design liberties, so it doesn’t you know – look like a hot mess. But sometimes they want something that looks like vomit and they’re the customer. It’ll hurt my soul, but I can’t risk losing the money either.” There were times that Bryne really did wonder if someone had an eye for design, or if it was old age. But he didn’t have the ability to be stingy now. Sure, he was making a name – but it wasn’t something where he could be picky about. Maybe in a year or two?
“It would cut down her commute a lot. The city is further from her job and classes, so it makes sense for her – as she doesn’t like the idea of living on campus.” It probably stemmed from the fact Jaana never had her own space. Since living with her cousin or her grandparents, she had her own room and space to do things. There was the safety issue of course, but so far – Bryne had avoided a lot of his past.
“Oh, I have no idea – but I imagine she’s been eyeing a few people. As teenagers do!” he had already talked to her about safe sex and saying no, when she didn’t want. Bryne had even given her a box of rubbers so no male had an excuse to not use one.
Bryne quirked an eyebrow when gardening was brought up. It meant Dahlia Baker was most definitely involved. He was tempted to ask, but that could be a spot that wasn’t ready to be poked at. “That man won’t stop until he dies,” Bryne chuckled. “Sounds like your mom has been able to keep him away, even for a smidge.”
Eyes looked at the waitress and nodded. “I’ll have the charbroiled salmon with mushroom risotto with a side salad. I’ll just keep with water, thank you.”
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
H
aving to Christmas shop this time of year was a bit harder than Bryne had already thought. There was something to worry about. As to what to get his nice that had a fashion sense of someone that belonged in Vogue? It would be their first somewhat normal Christmas in forever, so there was a lot of learning to do. Did he put out the cookies?
Bryne was locking eyes on this argyle sweater with blues and greys. That could fit his father, maybe? As he was deep in thought – he heard someone call out to him and he looked up. It was another gentleman, probably also looking for something for his father or someone else.
He gave a slight smile. “Yeah, always a struggle to get something for someone that kind of has..everything.” That wasn’t exactly true. His father was a humble man, there wasn’t much he asked for. But he hadn’t had a nice piece of clothing for a long time now, so Bryne was hoping to change that.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
O
h absolutely. I think most of my clientele is from the people that live in the same apartment complex.” Granted, Bryne did kind of life in a ritzy, gated community. He didn’t have to, but it made him feel safer. While his parents insisted on a house on Oldaker – Bryne liked a bit more of a controlled environment. “And how are your parents?”
“She’s been getting a bit busy now, so she’s been talking about living with her grandparents during the school week – and with me on the weekends. I don’t know how I feel about it, but I also don’t want to have her feel held back either.” He thought the city was the best for both, but it ultimately was his paranoia. Bryne wanted Jaana to feel safe and grow up normal in a sense. Norway didn’t allow any of that for her. Now that she had the feeling of being able to get out and stretch – she wanted to go everywhere. “She’s even brought up dating and dances!”
“Mmm, that does seem to be a trait in our family. Hopefully, your dad hasn’t been hovering too much?” Bryne couldn’t remember too much about his uncle, but if it was the classic family traits – there was a lot of self-proving.