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!.
Brown eyes watched the girl look up at her now - it occurred to Molly now as she stared at her face, she did not know her. She did not know her from Willow Brooke and while she did not go to Hickstead, thanks to Janie and Oliver, Molly had attended plenty of events there to know the students. This adorable girl surrounded by books and bean bag chairs was not one of their students - at least, she wasn't social enough to attend one of their dances or carnivals.
She supposed it didn't matter though, because the girl gave her permission to seat amongst the bean bags, "Great! Thank you." Molly said with a grin, throwing her bag into one of the bean bags as she dramatically curtsied her greeting before sitting down. The bean bag tried to swallow her whole as she listened to the stranger continue, introducing herself as Azura, stating she did not have a horse nor was interested in them. Laughter bubbled out from Molly now, "Man, you are quite forward. I'm Molly, and I have no horse but I do ride. But thanks for the deets - I'll make sure to not annoy you with that."
Reaching to the next bean bag over, Molly pulled out her mac book, "Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you, Azura! And you're right, I don't go to Hickstead, but my friends Janie O'Hara and Oliver Deak do if you've met them. I go to Willow Brooke Academy. It's a prep school. So, where did you move from then?" She had quite the accent, Molly was willing to bet London, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. The girl seemed posh but in a nerdy book worm sort of way.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Molly couldn't help but to laugh at Cara's words about the French, "It's probably because they have a reputation for being snobs." Granted, it would be mean of her to just lump them all together. She knew that there were crass stereotypes about Scots also that didn't fit her or her family at all. Besides, she certainly knew about one Frenchman who didn't seem like a snob, "Then again, I do love me some Amaury Guichon and he seems as sweet as his creations."
The idea of Luna surprising her in a positive manner seemed like a foreign concept to Molly, mainly because she was quite certain she knew the school horse quite well by now. Like all horses, Luna had good days and bad days, although lately, the fleabitten mare seemed a bit more sour as of late, "I guess I never thought about that. It must also be exhausting being a school horse with all of those riding classes." While Luna was a bit more advanced and probably had less classes, the teenager's mind went to Major who was pretty much an old school master at this point, "I'll try and listen to them more though - sometimes I think I should just sit around with them and drink my coffee one morning verses taking them out for a ride."
While silly, the teenager couldn't help but ot beam at the older woman's approval. Molly always loved when her work with her favorite school horses did not go unnoticed - while she didn't own or lease either of them, she certainly acted like she did. Despite getting older each year, Molly still had that horse girl bug through and through. As both ponies said their good byes and walked off, brown eyes watched them for a moment before returning to Cara, "Oh, I wouldn't imagine riding by myself. Quite frankly, I don't even like doing it with Luna or Major and I trust them."
She knew it was probably getting late now, and she was going to have to get back to Willow Brooke and her dorm room as dusk seemed to finally be setting on the yard. Plus, she didn't entirely want to keep Cara from her daughter or the Campbell's. Still, Molly couldn't help but to ask, "Need help with anything else before I head out?"
Even in the chaos that was their imaginations, Molly definingly picked up on Maeve's unease all of the sudden and it had nothing to do what was currently going on. Her words all but sealed the deal, and while they had left the sixteen year old curious, she knew better than to prod someone's secrets. While she and Maeve were good friends, Molly still had boundaries when it came to the older girl unlike Janie and Oliver, "No problem."
In hindsight though, none of that seemed to matter as the current events unfolded with Ghost Horse stepping out from the shadows combined with Molly's scream, Maeve's whimper, and Ghost Horse rearing up and emitting it's own shriek. Shakey camera footage was defilingly going to be a thing on her phone cut of tonight's events. Brown eyes stared at the horse, and somewhere, some shred of logic in the back of Molly Mac'Intosh's mind, there was a thought: Ghost Horse looked awfully familiar to her, as in, she had seen him around the barn.
Sure enough, there were the sounds of footsteps and soon, Cara Kitchi was standing there now, calm and collected as ever as she laid her hand on the shoulder of Ghost Horse and opted to give her own advice: "Breathing would be the best option." Well, now Molly felt rather foolish - at least she wasn't alone. Out of the corner of her eye, Maeve looked like...well, like she had seen a ghost. After a moment or two, the teenager finally got her wits about her and cut her phone, "Sorry Cara," she managed with a laugh, "We were ghost hunting and thought...well, we thought we just met Ghost Horse."
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
The idea of asking Mik for help made her laugh, "I'm not sure if Mik would like to help me after my barn sleep over with Maeve." Although, she liked to believe that they had not entirely been at fault for the shenanigan's that had accidently happened during the sleepover. Molly did know though, that the girls had been rather guilty of letting their imaginations get the best of them, "But I can certainly ask him and see what happens." Given Luna was the Blue Arce's horse, there was no doubt in her mind that the stablehand had a few tricks up his sleeve as well.
Serenity seemed very paitent as she listened to Molly ramble about her ghost horse legend. Sometimes, Molly had forgotten how nice it was to talk to adults - they tended to judge less compared to her Willow Brooke classmates. Even if Serenity were judging her, the older woman didn't show it and merely offered one insight: "Depending on how long ago it happened, the horse was probably a stallion." Huh, Molly hadn't thought of that. Come to think of it, she couldn't quite remember how she stumbled across the legend either, "I think I found the story on the web, so it has to be in some old newspaper archives."
They turned down the hallway and she placed Luna into a free grooming stall now, hooking up the cross ties, "I honestly picked them up from a book I read, so probably not as much as you do." Molly replied earnestly now, "Admittingly, I'm got into ghosts and stuff because of the show Supernatural and ghosthunters." There was always new ways to improve though, "I have to say, fairy circles sound quite dangerous." She said with a laugh, "Have you had experiences here?" Molly asked now, as she pulled out the curry comb and went to work.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Clothes were strum everywhere - the bed, the floor, draped over chairs and a desk, as Molly Mac'Intosh finally stepped into an outfit that she felt was appropriate for baking this afternoon with her best friend, Janie O'Hara. She looked cute, sporty even with her shorts, silk bomber jacket, and t-shirt, and it was an outfit that she didn't care about getting dirty. Yet, Molly felt certain that there was something missing. After a moment, her hands reached for the shirt and bunched it up, tying it in a knot to expose her mid drift. Dark brown eyes looked herself over in the mirror, posing and twisting, "Perfect."
And not a moment's too soon, for she heard her mother yelling up at her in that dangerous Scottish brogue that her friend was here and she better not keep her waiting. Molly was undecided about her hair, but given she really had to head downstairs now, she opted for leaving it down and grabbing a silk scrunchie from her desk on her way out. The teenager pounded down stairs now, skipping the last three in dramatic fashion as she landed on the ground. Goodness, how Molly had forgotten how much fun it had been to live at home compared to living at Willow Brooke during the school year.
Given Janie was not in the hallway, she figured that meant that she was already in the kitchen. Molly headed to her now, her socks barely masking her footsteps as she slid in, arms striking a pose, "Why hello there, Birthday Girl!" Well, apparently she had missed the star wars memo, but in her defense, she was more of a trekkie. With that, she walked right up to Janie and threw her arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Molly Mac'Intosh made it o the barn just in time - she had thirty minutes to catch Luna and get her ready for her group lesson with Stephanie King and Angel Petit. Hopefully, the mare wasn't feeling salty, at least, for the teenager to catch her. Running to her locker, she ditched her backpack, and then hopped over to Luna's assigned tack box to grab the halter, lead, and grooming supplies before heading out. Dropping off the tax box, she made a beeline for the pasture, and soon enough, the fleabitten mare was there to greet her.
Soon they were back in the barn, Luna loving the attention as Molly worked viciously at getting rid of dirt and mud that the mare had managed to get into her fur, "So, I take it you wanted to have a spa day." She gritted through her teeth as she curry combed with an extreme passion. Clearly, it was always something with the mare, but Molly wouldn't have her any other way. Once stepping back, she looked over the Luna, pleased with her work. Ten minutes left before she had to be in the arena.
She hurried along, tacking up Luna now, and grabbed her helmet, putting it on before finishing up with Luna's bridle. With that, the pair headed to the outdoor arena now. Angel had beaten her there first, and as Molly walked up to be near here, she heard a familiar voice: Stephanie King. Check girth, mount up, and start walking. She did her business, and as Angel was using the mounting block, Molly lowered her stirrup one or two holes before placing her foot in the stirrup iron and swung up from the ground. Quickly, she readjusted her stirrup as Luna already began to walk and Molly steered her towards the wall of the fence.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Her teachers were really starting to up the ante at Willow Brooke although Molly Mac'Intosh supposed she shouldn't be so surprised given that there were maybe three months of school left. She couldn't get any studying done in her dorm room at her prestigious school, so the seventeen year old opted for a change of pace and settled for one of the oldest buildings in Willow Bridge City - The Public Library. Molly was feeling pretty good about her chore between the mood lighting, the walls and rows of books, and the smell of old pages. It was just the thing to get herself in the mood of finishing an English assignment on the book Breakfast at Tiffany's.
It was a Saturday morning, so the library was still fairly quiet. There wasn't so much of a peep out of any one, and that was one of the things that made it so nice compared to her dorm room. Molly knew she should remain within the adult area, full with books, newspapers, and other such important things. But her heart yearned for the teen section - after all, they had bean bag chairs! The best kind of chair to type on your laptop with. The teenager stood there for a moment in the grand hall, a battle between an angel and a devil sat on her shoulders. In the end though, the bean bag chairs won out, and Molly made her way.
The teen section was more brightly lit than the main library, but Molly didn't mind that too much. It would also be less occupied too, given that it's target audience was still recovering from a Friday night. She moved along, and soon, made her way over to the bean bag corner and discovered that, well, she wasn't the only teenager in the library. Brown eyes stared, nearly gawking, before shaking her head to recover, "Hi there!" Molly started, "I hope you don't mind, would I be disturbing you if I sat here in the bean bags with you and finished a paper?" Although with company, this might prove to be harder than she thought, but dangit, she wanted her bean bag chair.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Brown eyes looked over at her friend now, "Skeletons in your closet? I feel like there's a lot to unpack there with that statement," Molly said jokingly. Or maybe Maeve O'Doyle was serious. Either way, now was probably not the time to dwell on such a subject. Someone was afoot! Or something...or something floating. Too many thoughts were racing through the teenager's mind on how they should go about their situation. Never before in a million years when Molly had arranged a barn sleepover with Maeve did she think that something would actually happen. Janie and Oliver were not going to believe her tomorrow when she told them her tale, "Change names?! This might actually go straight to my blog...shit, I've been forgetting to record this whole entire time."
The teenager fumbled for her phone - thank goodness she actually remembered to put it into her sweat pants. There was a lot of sound now. Besides her, the older teenager might have been on sensory overload. Not Molly though. Not yet at least. Finally, her hand wrapped around her phone as Maeve spoke besides her: "Is it time to call the Ghostbusters? M...Molly?" The teenager thought that was an awfully silly question of her friend to ask her, "Maeve. We are the Ghost-" But the sound of shod hooves echoing in the darkness cut her off because not only was there the sound of shod hooves, they were growing incredibly close.
Like the professional that Molly E. Mac'Intosh was, she whipped out her phone and hit record: "Fellow hunters, it is me! Molly again along with my friend Maeve," she turned the phone quickly to get a shot of her wide eyed friend, "We are here, at Blue Arces, and are just about to come face to face with Ghost-" and just like that, out of the darkness and into the dim light of the stables - stepped a white, or maybe grey, horse. It caught Molly off guard, causing her to shriek and her phone hit the ground as she just about Scooby-Doo'd it right into Maeve, "Maeve! It's Ghost Horse! ITS GHOST HORSE!"
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Molly jumped at the macaroon comments now, thrilled to grasp at something that she could handle in conversation verses stumbling around and making dumb assumptions about Cara's home life. It couldn't quite be helped. It was so odd, given Cara physically appeared no more than a few years older than Molly herself yet acted eons mature. Granted, the woman before her was rather private, and perhaps there was a good reason for that, "Ughs, I know. Only the French could come up with something that you can ruin so easily...or break so easily...or both. It's like they wanted to weed us out from baking against them."
Brown eyes watched as the little girl ran away, following her path towards the arms of Naomi Clarke. Besides her, Cara appeared to be watching closely as well - their conversation taking a pause, until Kyoto was secure. Then it became all about horses again, which of course, was nothing to complain about, "Huh. That is a curious way to think about it. I'll have to try it some time though when I'm not in a rush." The teenager thought over her two favorite school horses, figuring perhaps one of them would be the best test subject over a random school horse she hardly knew, "I'll try on Major over the weekend. I think if I tried that with Luna, I'd go bonkers." A lesson in patience when it came to horses was always one she needed, they somehow always knew how to push her buttons just right when on the ground.
Her hands rested on Mist, who seemed perfectly content and happy with this situation - a pet was always a good pet after all. Molly listened intently to what Cara was saying now, given this was about training her pony verses Molly just joking around with her favorite Blue Arces horses, "Ah well, I will do my best not to let you down. I do 85 cm with Luna and Major so hopefully, Mist and I will be a good fit. But perhaps, we need to bond first on the ground and some walk, trot, canter before we talk about any jumping." She said with a grin now, watching Twist bend his head into his human now, impressed that Cara still remained up right, "I got mid-fall exams coming up next week, but the following week, I will be good to start with you and Mist."
Molly was a little surprised to hear the older woman's words of wisdom, "Really?" she asked now, "No wonder mares are a piece of work." She muttered under her breath, and just like that, a snort escaped Luna who through her head into the teenager to rub her. Thankfully, the move hardly phased her now, Molly had gotten used to this by now with the school horse - but it was always funny to see her do it to unsuspecting students. Bringing Luna to the cross ties stall now, she set her up. Grabbing the bucket that she had left behind earlier, she held it up to Serenity, "Want to help me groom?" It wasn't that Molly didn't know how to groom her own horse, but more of an extension of continuing the conversation, merely because she assumed Serenity had much bigger things on her plate that conversing with her. But still, it never hurt to ask.
Luna was already preening in her cross ties, pawing at the ground to demand her brush time, so Molly went to work as she listened to Serenity talk now, "How curious. I didn't know that's how horse riding worked back then." But maybe that should have made sense, the man did everything and the horses need miles for the ladies to be ridden. Naturally, it was a little different nowadays. The teenager knew though that she could chalk it up to her interests more being in science and the supernatural (a contradictory, she knew) rather than history, "But you make a good point. I should see what Ms. Clarke knows about the old lands and owners before she came into the deed."
Fishing around in the bucket, she grabbed the rubber curry comb and went to work. The second the pines of the comb touched Luna's fur and skin, the fleabitten grey settled down instantly - happy to be pampered now. Molly just grinned at Serenity's words, "That's what I hope. I'm an oddball, I always find research fun and exciting." Truthfully, that felt like the best part about any project - mainly because it felt like she was making groundbreaking discoveries. Her brush paused at the last of the older woman's words, and Luna huffed loudly, signalling that she detected a pause in her pampering. But Luna could wait, Molly's head turned so her brown eyes could get a good look at the brunette now, "Are you saying...people have disappeared into another realm looking for leylines?"
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Molly inwardly cringed when the woman informed her that she did most of her baking while the rest of the house was asleep - meaning Cara did not often receive help in the way that she had thought. Well, this was awkward. The teenager really needed to remember that it was rude to make assumptions, even more to babble away without much thought to it. She blamed her personality for the latter though, sometimes it was hard to be serious outside of a classroom or the bakery. Cara's follow up made her feel a little bit better though, "Ah! Well, that's good about the little ones. I feel like baking was always my favorite thing," and she couldn't even say growing up since, well, she was still doing that, "Do Casey and Emma help out too?" Maybe that was a silly question as well. The cute teenage boy always seemed rather aloof when she caught him around the barn, and the other teenage girl appeared to live at the barn - hardly any time for baking, "Hm? Me?" Molly did quite the rolladex now, "Basic me does like doing cupcakes because they're so versatile, but my mom and I always love making scottish macaroons. I like to think we blow the French out of the water."
It felt a little silly now admitting to the young child that she had a horse friend whom didn't listen to her, but it was too late now. Molly figured it was good to include Kyoto in their conversation anyways, given how exuberant the little girl seemed to be about answering her questions. Brown eyes watched as the little girl gave thought before presenting her with a sage answer. If it wasn't for her getting distracted by the sight of Ms. Naomi off in the distance, Molly would have thought that Kyoto was older than she seemed. The teenager was left pondering as the girl ran off, and thankfully, Cara took over the conversation, "Ah! I think I understand. Although I am not sure how to ask small questions," at least, outside of a riding lesson. Ground work always seemed the bane of her existence even though it was just as good of a bonding experience as riding lessons were. She didn't have much time to ponder as another large pony came up to them now, and the young woman gave introductions, "Hello Mist! It's nice to meet you," she said now, holding her hand out to allow the mare to sniff, "I think you and I are going to become good friends soon enough."
It wasn't long before Maeve was on the ground with her now, and the pair of them were sneaking off through the barn. Funnily enough, the teenager had never thought that the barn could be so creepy given it was ultimately one of her favorite places in the world, but now? Well, she found herself finding it beyond creepy. The lack of chatter, the muted lights, and some hallways were actually cast in complete darkness. It certainly added to the jumpiness she was beginning to feel. Behind her, Maeve whispered: "What happens in the barn, stays in the barn?" The teenager glanced over her, grinning, "I like the way you think Maeve," she stopped hold out her pinkie now, "I swear whatever happens tonight stays between us."
Some of the horses appeared in different to them, but some others certainly kept a watchful on them as they silently stalked by. Maeve talking about ghost hunting kits almost made Molly stop dead in her tracks, thank goodness she didn't though, since that could have been a hallway accident waiting to happen, "Uh, actually, I didn't think of that...which, is silly of me." A ghost hunting kit would have made a big difference tonight, rather than her clutching a cannister of salt from the kitchenette, her brows furrowed though, "Crucifixes' are needed for ghosts? I though that was a vamp-" and then there was a large knock right next to her. Molly pratically jumped out of her skin, startling and nearly screaming while throwing salt before she realized who's stall they were next to, "Luna! How dare-" But she cut herself off when she heard what sounded like footsteps above them. What the?
And then, a different sound, another loud crash. If this had been a scooby doo episode, Molly might have jumped into the older teenager's arms by now. Thankfully, she managed to hold herself back, there was muffled sound and all what Molly could make out was 'im going to kill you' before a shadow bounced along the hallway. Chocolate brown eyes about bugged out of her skull as she stared down the hallway, "Did you see that? More importantly, did you hear that muffled threat? Maeve...we must be onto something." Holy shit. Blue Arces really was haunted.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Molly about smacked her for forehead when the other woman pointed out just one difficult aspect of lunging Luna - it was catching the mare. Given the scene that Serenity had witnessed a mere ten minutes earlier though, the teenager could not blame her for pointing that out, "Oh...true." Her face scrunched at the suggestion which hardly meant that Molly was displeased with it, more than she didn't quite understand, "But...I wouldn't think it's safe to lunge her in the field? Not with the other horses around..." Unless there was something her scientific brain was missing, which quite frankly, was a possibility. As much as Molly loved to ride and thought she knew most things, she was always learning in the horse world.
"You know, I'm not sure on when the story takes place," Molly mused outloud now, but it was a valid point. Depending on the era, historically speaking, that had just as much to say about the story as it did the horse, "I bet it is a stallion considering how I have yet to find it." Although, as sneaky as the ghost had been, she had almost thought it was a mare given how Luna appeared to be a professional at hiding from her when she wanted to. Luna herself thought best to remind her of this notion as well, as the mare bopped the the teenager's arm now as they walked, "I'm not sure Luna agrees," Molly commented with a laugh, "But on top of finding Ghost Horse, I do admit I always pictured this story taking place long before Hickstead was built up. Its not like there's any mention of Seven Oaks - and I know that property is fairly old."
Serenity's question prompted a mild blush from her, given that Molly was about to admit something, "Um, honestly, I don't really know anything about them. I was going to do more heavy research this summer before I go though!" And then, she gave the older woman a curious look over the mare's neck now as they finally stepped into the threshold of the warm barn, "Fairies? Uh, forgive my ignorence, but what do they have to do with leylines?" They clearly had something to do with it, or else Serenity wouldn't have brought them up. Molly wasn't sure how she felt about the notion of tiny beings with wings though - Molly's logic always leaned towards ghosts and the afterlife rather than the mystical world of fairies, unicorns, or even her home grown beasts of kelpies, seelies, and other fanastical beasts.
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice with a Dash of Sass
thanks aofie!
SEVENTEEN . STUDENT . RIDER AT BA STABLES . LGBTQ+
Molly almost laughed at the question: You bake? But thankfully, the teenager managed to hold it in and keep it to herself. After all, it was an innocent question from Cara, but it was still funny to her that such a statement had needed clarification and reconfirmation, "Yup! I bake. Cakes. Cupcakes. Rolls. I don't like pies though, which is kinda bad considering I grew up on an orchard." Well, she still lived on a orchard during the summer when Willow Brooke sent her back home. Either way, fruit pies had never been her thing, much to her mother's dismay, "I'm sure you and Kyoto like to bake together." Okay, well, that was an assumption, but if they liked to do horse and pony stuff together, perhaps they liked to bake together as well. Molly heard that it could be an excellent teaching method for young minds, at least, per the French.
She listened closely as Cara explained exactly the thoughts and methods behind natural horsemanship, or perhaps, Cara's version of it. Molly had heard of it before, and knew that there were several people who taught it in the world, but each person had their own variation of it. It all came down to the same boiling point though, asking the horse and the horse agreeing, "Ah, okay! That's pretty cool that you are able to pass that knowledge onto your daughter. I can see just from her joining us that Twist already seemed to be in sync."
Speaking of the little girl and her pony, chocolate brown eyes looked to the pair now who appeared to be in their own little world. It was cute to watch, especially when the pony decided that Kyoto's face may need a bath. Okay, he was probably looking for treats, but it was still fun to watch. After that minor distraction though, the pair seemed to get in a groove and put on a small display of exactly what Cara had been discussing earlier: words and hands. And with each word, Twist moved and waited patiently for the next que, "Wow Kyoto! That's pretty awesome. I know for a fact my own horsey friends won't listen to me like the way Twist listens to you." Major maybe, but certainly not Luna, not without some convincing that always felt like a discussion. Although, Molly liked to believe that the mare still loved her in her own way, just like the gelding did.
