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!.
"You know, I never thought there was something as too much food until that restaurant," Stephen Breckah joked, glancing over at his girlfriend, Maelle Orchidaceae, "Although I don't think I can eat bacon wrapped fillet minot anywhere else ever again." It had been a date night long overdue, but he had finally got his act together to take her somewhere decent. Truth be told, the young man wasn't sure how he scored her. Pretty. Smart. Understanding. And here had been all over the fucking place between school, his home life, and other shit. Stephen still wasn't great about sharing his feelings with her, but Maelle seemed to get him all the same - even now.
It had been a harsh six months now - the family still felt up-ended by all that shit that Keith had pulled, between Jace and outing all of the family secrets. Stephen had lessen his need to go out to fights, to get money after that. The only good thing about all of it was that their father seemed to finally stop drinking, or at least, limit it. But enough about that, this evening wasn't about dwelling on his family, it was about having fun with his girlfriend. Green eyes glanced back over her now as he held the door open for her, attempting to be a gentleman as they left the fancy restaurant behind, "Where do you want to go for the rest of the evening?"
Little did they know that trouble was just lurking around, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Save your lovin' arms for a rainy day and i'll find comfort in my pain
thanks aofie!
TWENTY ONE . JOURNALISM STUDENT . CRUSHING ON VIOLET YIEL OLSON CLAN BRECKAH ☠︎
He watched as Derek arched an eyebrow at him - clearly questioning his tastes, "What?" Stephen asked with a grin before his brother interjected: "Come on at least give me a bit of credit - I'm somewhat of an asshole." Okay, he actually chuckled at that one. It was a good laugh too before everything came crashing down with the harsh reality. That seemed to be a theme in their lives as of late. Derek must have felt a tad guilty over his words, since he slightly made up for it, "I've always been proud of you for going to uni, you were making something of yourself, doing something for you, something important. Mum wouldn't have wanted you to quit that." Those words really hit, hit enough where Stephen actually pulled his hat off his head and ran a hand through his dark hair, mulling it over.
"Well, I can't argue with you on that," the young man finally replied, giving a weak smile, "And you're right about Dad too. Just...just hard to see." Stephen had never been particularly close to their father growing up, but at the end of the day, Shaun was still his dad. It was hard to see him be a shell of his former self with all the angst, rage, and depression rolled up inot one. As Derek pointed out though, it wasn't up to them to fix him, and perhaps that would be the hardest thing to not do. Home life clearly hadn't been better, as his older brother brushed that under the rug for a later conversation and offered up drinks tonight instead. Probably a lot to talk about, and quite frankly, Derek probably needed to get back to work, "Yeah. Of course. Just text me the details and I'll show up. I better let you get back to work then."
Stephen, distracted by his currently reality of driving his father to the hospital, hadn't fully realized how harsh his words had sounded until his father spoke besides him: "Perhaps he does," he huffed, "Anyone that isn't a fucking Breckah..." Well shit. The young man thought back on his words, and then realized what he thought was helpful really had been the opposite. A frown rested on his lips, his father's words a reminder how out of touch he was with his family, that maybe Derek had been right, he should have stayed in Oxford and let it all go to shit.
So he remained quiet, parking the car. Besides him, his father was already fumbling with the seat, "Dad, let me-" but it was a lost cause, Shaun Breckah was already lurching out the door. Stephen got out now, green eyes watching his father move like he was drunk even though he wasn't. Hopefully the staff would believe him. He wanted to just let his dad lean on him to the door of the hospital now, but something told him he might have a more stubborn man now than he did back in the house when defeat still hung in the air, "Dad...I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything back there about Jace and our family."
Stephen just laughed at his brother's joke, knowing fully well that the discount certainly did not end after today, "Well, shit." He left it at that, figuring he wouldn't bother Derek about any tattoo until he had one in mind anyways, and it's not like he was looking to get new ink added right away, only if the inspiration came to him. Besides, Stephen figured that his older brother got asked for discounts all the time. His old artist back in Oxford used to bitch about how once people realized he was a tattoo artist, people would just suddenly come out of the woodwork or attract a crowd he didn't care about. Stephen wondered if the same thing often happened to Derek, granted, his brother was no push over, their childhood made certain of that.
It was almost uncomfortable how Derek's green eyes were watching him as he mulled over his thoughts, like they were back to being stupid tweens and teenagers looking to get out of trouble...or start trouble for that matter. As he delivered his answer though, Stephen knew immediately that it had been the 'wrong' one so to speak, as a mildly dramatic sigh escaped the older man. Yup. Right back to childhood, complete with a lecture that sounded like a chew out even though that was just how Derek was, complete with the RBF, "You're not an asshole." Even though Derek had just landed himself a pretty good verbal sucker punch that even made the young man cringe, "And I guess you're right. I did fuck off before for university, but...mom was alive and dad wasn't a drunk then." Felt easier to leave when his parents were managing, verses now.
God, his dad. It had looked like a sad environment when he came home, which couldn't help but to wonder how bad it actually was if Derek just wanted him to pack up, leave, and go back to Oxford to finish his schooling. Was he missing something? Did something extended beyond that of their father, "What am I missing, Derek?" Stephen dared to ask now, green eyes staring at his brother, "Is it more than Dad? Is home just really that awful now that I'm better off leaving again? Fancy schooling aside."
Stephen had been hanging out in Oldaker with his friend, Gwyn Knight, and a few of her friends for the evening. The young man hadn't wanted to spend time in the Breckah household, and Violet Olson had informed him that she was busy. Her tone had been a little odd, but Stephen had brushed it off, figuring she had been distracted by her work. Luckily, Gwyn had been happy to take him under her wing of a night of d'oeuvres and wine, which the latter was politely refused and stuck to sparkling water. Laughter erupted from the crew after a rather dirty play of cards against humanity when he had gotten the call. Stephen hadn't even gotten to get a hello in before he heard a familiar yet drunk voice over the line: "Steppphen! I missss you! I broke my bike, can you come pick me up at Tom’s? Oh! And do you want to get some food with me? I’m sooooo hungry, all I had was like seven christmas cookies, they didn’t even get me a cheese sandwich…"
It took everything in his power to not dramatically sigh, "Stay tight, I'll be there in twenty." Shit. Tom was over in Willow Bridge, which made this endevor even more annoying. When he hung up, all eyes seemed to be on him, Gwyn's blue eyes staring at him questioningly, "One of my little brothers got drunk. I have to go bail him out." Thankfully, everyone, including Gwyn, was nice about it. And after smiles and looks of sympathies and apologies, the young man was out of the house and on his way to go pick up Nash. Truth be told, Stephen was rather frustrated. Not that Nash had picked him to call, that was fine, but the fact that his younger brother had gotten drunk. Considering how their dad had been, and Maverick's own path of destruction, he had been hoping the other young ones would have knocked it off. Guess Nash felt like proving him wrong though.
Fifteen minutes later, Stephen was driving over the bridge into Willow Bridge City, and another five to ten minutes later, he was pulling up outside of Tom's house. Sure enough, there was Nash sitting outside on his ass, his bicycle right next to him. Both of them looked rather questionable. At least the car and windows were dark, so nobody could witness him shaking his head before he got out now, "Nash!" He called out now, heading to the back of the car to pop the trunk, "Bring your bike over, we'll stuff it in the trunk." While it was tempting to lecture him, Stephen figured it was best safe for privacy, not to mention, he wanted to know just how far Nash was gone and see if he could even handle a beeline to the car without stumbling or falling over.
Save your lovin' arms for a rainy day and i'll find comfort in my pain
thanks aofie!
TWENTY ONE . JOURNALISM STUDENT . CRUSHING ON VIOLET YIEL OLSON CLAN BRECKAH ☠︎
It did not go unnoticed how quick Nash was to counter him, and he certainly had delivered it with some attitude. But Stephen let it go, after all, the kid was fifteen. The attitude was expected, and given it was approaching 12:30 am now, his need to argue was slowly drying up. Stephen also didn't care for where this conversation was going - his own dating life. He supposed he had been asking for it though given that he had been prodding his younger brother about his own, "Since moving back? I met a guy at Maverick's barn. It was just a date or two though. Didn't go anywhere." Probably just as well, the young man knew that he was too distracted by his family life and Dublin Bruin appeared to have his own life distractions, "Didn't know my dating life was important to you." He added on in a teasing tone.
A snort of laughter escaped him when Nash proclaimed that West End was simply waiting for him, like this shiny beacon of hope, "Yeah. I'm sure they are." At least theater didn't seem to judge about university degrees given that there were children in theater productions. Green eyes did roll though when his younger brother informed him that Broadway was too idyllic for him, and that he was not that, "I know you're not idyllic. Creven and I are probably the closest ones. Although I'm not sure how you can consider Broadway idyllic. It's New York City. I feel like it rivals London in toughness."
Stephen couldn't help but to sigh at the tease but a grin remained plastered on his face, "Write a book about it? Come on, Nash. I thought you had better digs than that. Something with more quip." No doubt that would certainly rile up the fifteen year old. While Stephen had felt his need to tease and argue wain earlier, perhaps it was simply the topic at hand that had muted him. But brotherly antics always got the best of him in the end. He did hold up his hands in defeat when Nash informed him he was hiding no girl, and while Stephen didn't believe him because teenage hormones, there was no point in beating a dead horse. Green eyes watched as the teenager pulled out a container now with pasta, and when the lid popped open, Stephen it smelled heavenly, even when cold. He couldn't help but to wonder who made it, "It really is. I would know as an adult," the young man joked, "And clearly, you pass with flying colors."
This really was nice, despite being past midnight, just talking with Nash like everything was normal. Stephen could only hope that it would last beyond the morning.
Save your lovin' arms for a rainy day and i'll find comfort in my pain
thanks aofie!
TWENTY ONE . JOURNALISM STUDENT . CRUSHING ON VIOLET YIEL OLSON CLAN BRECKAH ☠︎
At the mention of a discount, Stephen couldn't help but to laugh, "Are you saying I'm worthy of the family discount? I may just have to make an appointment then for you to add to my back." The young man felt like there was enough room there for Derek to explore without fringing on his current tattoo. What he didn't appreciate though was his older brother leaning in a bit too much, but in true little brother fashion, Stephen stubbornly stayed put. He wasn't going to let Derek get the last laugh - not for the sarcasm that came with having to talk to people at least. Granted, he supposed that more often than thought, his brooding brother felt the same way.
At least he had been quippy enough to educe a dramatic eyeroll, and Stephen could not help but to feel proud. Even a bookmark kid could get away with being annoying, "Me? Blackmail you? Never. I am not sure as to what made you think I would do that." Getting into arguments with his brothers were not his cup of tea, it was always a loosing battle to whomever was more obnoxious - however, being declared a favorite brother might be enough ammo for Stephen to consider being annoying. Perhaps that was exactly what he should have done since the conversation went from light and happy to dark real quick, although considering that the two of them were top tier Breckah brooders, maybe Stephen shouldn't have been so surprised.
"You don't come back when you've gotten out. It's not as if we've always all been in it together." He had to mull that one over, his green eyes looking to his feet now, pondering it, "I guess. But it's not like the younger ones asked for this." Like Link, Nash, and Crev. Heck, even Jace and Mav probably didn't deserve a checked out dad. Granted, maybe Stephen didn't know the full story. It wouldn't surprise him if he didn't, even when Shaun was sober, he was oddly good at dodging questions. Unlike Derek, who proved to be a fucking freight train. His gaze went up to his brother now, who looked like he was loading him with a stubborn scowl, "I'm not being a deadbeat Derek. Hickstead University is...good." Okay, so maybe that didn't really put a lot of good faith in his older brother's court, "Man. You really think I don't belong here? Doesn't seem right to just...fuck off and leave people. I dont want to be like Keith."
Huh...I wonder who he was then. I'm going to have to do some digging around then. Where was this again?
Eh...thanks Vi. I wouldn't want to bore you with my family drama. Family meeting is happening soon, and I can't even imagine what will go down in that.
thanks aofie!
TWENTY ONE . JOURNALISM STUDENT . CRUSHING ON VIOLET YIEL OLSON CLAN BRECKAH ☠︎
Today almost didn't seem real - that literally hours earlier they had the police department and some medical profession facility storm their house like a castle and drag his seventeen year old brother out. What was even more heartbreaking was that there was nothing he could do about it, and Stephen Breckah had been so shellshocked by it all, it more or less had rendered him useless. But what was done was done, and the day had to move on. The family meeting was scheduled, and truth be told, the young man wasn't looking forward to it. Having to rehash this all would suck, and he had no doubt that emotions were going to be running high. He would just have to take his lead from his dad.
Stephen had been a little annoyed with Shaun, maybe if he had understood the severity of getting Jace to these doctors appointments, he would have tried harder to reason with Jace after whatever weapon of choice was thrown at him. The young man knew that Jace wasn't bad all the time, even when he was having issues, that night in the graveyard proved that. Deep down, Stephen knew to a degree that his seventeen year old brother needed help, significant help, that went beyond what this family could offer him. What he didn't appreciate though, was how it went down. Keith had handled that like shit, there was no sugar coating it. Jace was probably going to be afraid of cops for the rest of his life now.
And Keith, well, that was a topic that Stephen wasn't even sure on how to handle either. At a certain point during his blow up at their dad, he found himself who this situation boiled down to - was it really about getting Jace the help he had needed, or was it about Keith's need to air out dirty laundry and hidden feelings. His older brother had been so robotic when he had met him at the diner in Willow Bridge, Stephen realized that maybe he should have seen something like this coming. Didn't matter though. He had to keep his head on straight for the next few hours, he was even ignoring his phone. At least he had gotten the place cleaned up, and his father functioning again - best yet, no beer or liquor had been brought out.
Soon, one by one, he heard the door to the house open and slam as each younger brother came home. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, Stephen went to join them. They were already talking and yammering away, demanding answers. Holy shit, he hopped Derek would come so that he wouldn't be the oldest one here besides their dad, "Just let dad speak." He said flatly, loud enough to be heard over everyone as his green eyes fell to Shaun Breckah.
Save your lovin' arms for a rainy day and i'll find comfort in my pain
thanks aofie!
TWENTY ONE . JOURNALISM STUDENT . CRUSHING ON VIOLET YIEL OLSON CLAN BRECKAH ☠︎
Even though Jace wasn't around to hear that insult, Stephen couldn't help but to grimace at his little brother's blow. The ugly reality about Nash's statement was it was the truth to a degree, and while the young man found his seventeen year old brother difficult and, quite frankly, a ticking timebomb, he didn't think that Jace was entirely to blame. The words seem to hang in the air for a moment, even the fifteen year old seemed to have known that he might have gone too far, "You know, with Jace...I think he's scared of himself too. I think he needs to talk to someone." Someone that was not a Breckah. Getting him to said individual though was another complication entirely, something that their father didn't want anyone else's help from yet as far as getting Jace from point A to point B. But he also knew that Nash didn't want to discuss something serious like that, so when he lapsed to a different topic, Stephen didn't blink an eye.
A snort escaped him, "What's wrong with my bat? And for the record, I can get a date just fine. I just don't want to rush anybody's feelings." Stephen couldn't even sort out his own feelings anyways, he was sorta just cruising along, bouncing between Dublin de Brun and Maelle Orchidaeceae, and yet, he also had some nagging feelings about Vi Olson also. Why? He wasn't sure, she was just some sort of rough and tumble friend. Nothing more than what Gwyn Knight was to him as well. And yet, it was Vi he kept on buying stupid three wicked candles for, not Gwyn. He shrugged it off though, his dating life and feelings outside of his family could still be on hold, and none of those people in his life were saying anything differently.
While the topic went a little defensive on Stephen's end as to why he had been gone, at least he had been able to make up to Nash by bringing up London. That smirk said it all, "Will West End be able to handle you? Or will they send you across the pond to Broadway?" He joked, not even being able to imagine his kid brother over in the United States. London seemed big enough for the kid, both his height and his ego. The young man frowned at the pun, and just rolled his green eyes, "You're never going to let me live down this bat incident, are you?" It wouldn't surprise Stephen if the jokes didn't spread like wildfire by the morning, or maybe early afternoon depending on how late Nash decided to sleep in after this midnight feast.
Even though Nash was being a little defensive about the girls, Stephen couldn't help but to shrug and say, "How am I suppose to know? For all I know, you could be hiding a girl from us." Now he was just being a dick on pushing the matter, but he had given Nash plenty of time to be a prick, now it was his turn. Granted, if he was hiding a girl from the Breckahs, Stephen could hardly blame the kid. If Stephen himself ever ended up with a significant other - no matter the gender - he wouldn't be bringing them around his family either. A grin pulled at his lips as Nash bit back about him over the microwave, ah, he still had it in his power to annoy his baby brother. He held up his hands in mild defeat, "Fine. Fine. You prove your a grown boy to me and work that microwave."
Save your lovin' arms for a rainy day and i'll find comfort in my pain
thanks aofie!
TWENTY ONE . JOURNALISM STUDENT . CRUSHING ON VIOLET YIEL OLSON CLAN BRECKAH ☠︎
Man, what was this family coming to now if his own dad was asking him to keep secrets from his brothers? Stephen supposed that didn't matter, given that he had his own secrets as well now that he held onto tight for safe keeping. If anyone in this family found out how he was earning money now after throwing away his education to support his family, well, that would be a sit down and an earful that the young man wouldn't even wish upon the worst of his enemies. So he let it go, and just nodded to Shaun's words about Derek Breckah.
They were finally at the car, something that had taken longer that his father had cared to admit. Stephen wasn't going to say anything though, his helping him out said enough as it is. He opened the car door now, helping Shaun into the passenger's seat. It looked like he had folded into it nicely despite his height. He held the door open still though as Shaun sighed, and Stephen lingered, knowing that something was on his mind. The young man probably hadn't done his father any favors by pointing out that times no longer believed that concussions didn't exist, "If anybody said that, it wasn't me." Stephen reassured him, before closing the door and getting into the driver's side, "And nobody's doubting that you're not trying to get Jace to the doctors," well that, he wasn't sure, but his father didn't need it from him, "Maybe I can help out next time you want to take him."
It was easier said than done, but Stephen knew that prior to leaving for college, he had been about the only Breckah brother to remotely come close to tolerating Jace. Something was up, he was certain even Jace knew something was up, but it was like another side seemed to take old of him maybe? Stephen didn't know, maybe he'd figure it out after the ER. Since, wherever Jace was, they couldn't just leave him out there. Speaking of harm's way, Stephen popped the seatbelt on and turned on the car, "Dad, you're in no condition to find Jace. If he knocked you out earlier over something, well, I don't think he wants to see you. And maybe...he just needs somebody different to talk to." While the delivery was soft, the words still came out a little harder than he wanted to. Yeah, he had been frustrated with how his dad had been since...well, forever, their mom's death made it even worse, but he also knew that berating someone over it didn't do them any good either.
And quite frankly, he feared that his father was another emotional gut punch away from going over the edge again. Stephen drove them in silence to Hickstead Hospital now, and parked outside of the ER. Even from the glass doors, he could see that it didn't look so bad, "Huh, we may be in luck and they can see you right away. Looks like its a quiet nice so far." With that, he cut the engine, and got out, shutting the door before heading over to the other side to open the passenger's side door for his dad. Stephen waited, uncertain how his dad wanted him to help him out.