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!.
"Nosey little thing aren't you?" So he had enough of a bite to be interesting - you generally did need a quick wit and dry sense of humour to survive on the streets but there were those that never did develop one - they often didn't last long. "What's wrong with my nose?" She turned the conversation on it's head, aiming to confuse him a little. It helped to confuse your mark with odd questions and twists to the conversation, it distracted them. She was very aware that there was nothing wrong with her nose, it was perfectly adorable.
She let the slip of his hand happen. As if she hadn't met enough people who would try to out-do her. Very boring and a little disappointing of him. Shame, he had such potential. Raven didn't keep personal effects on her, it saved for awkward moments like this when you'd have to ask for them back - or she'd have had to stop him in the first place and embarrass him. "Guess we'll see won't we." She quirked a brow and let him go this time, but made it through the crowd in a slippery manner that allowed her to see his exit and his mode of transport without much bother. "Yeah, we will." She muttered to herself, looking down as the cluster of real and fake notes in her hand and rolling her eyes.
She was pretty sure she'd startled him a little, he clearly hadn't anticipated someone keeping up with him. He really did have a lot to learn. If you were quick and smart about it, it wasn't too hard to make a clean get away, but if you were facing off with someone who at least had a bit of a clue, then you had better be extra quick and extra smart. She didn't blame him for being suspicious and she gave him the moment be needed to look her over, to test if she was someone he had wronged or not. There was always that little jerk in the pit of your stomach when someone caught you red handed, she'd been there before, but each time she'd learnt from her mistakes and rarely made them twice. Making them twice was both foolish and dangerous.
She followed him, not letting him get more than a couple of paces ahead of her. Didn't want him thinking he could make a quick escape. ”I have somewhere to be. .another time maybe. .next show will be in a few days. .” Raven raised an unimpressed eyebrow, continuing to follow him all the same. "Why such a hurry?" She queried, knowing he was unlikely to answer her. She met his gaze straight on when be smirked at her. Well damn he was one cocky little shit. ”Well we’ll see in a few days then won’t we.” Raven snorted at that, using his rushing and distraction to slip a hand into his pocket, where she'd watched him stash his winnings. "I think you'll find you might need to go again a little sooner than that." Her own expression turned to a smirk, one of triumph. Poor lost boy, he had no idea who he was dealing with.
It didn't take long for something else to grab her attention. Her mark wasn't being very helpful for the moment, they were in the wrong position and someone they knew had appeared and sat down with them. She couldn't make an attempt at the con with the friend there, it was too risky and Raven was nothing if not meticulous - well, not all the time, even she had her messy days, but there was some improvement from her sloppy first times. Instead, the showmanship of the stranger with his cards intrigued her instead. It wasn't often she fell into sight of another con artist - and even disguised in the way that he was, the guy was still a straight up con artist, the same that she was. The people just didn't realise it. It was a simple but effective con, and she sat and observed him for some time, sipping her coffee and deciding whether or not the join and play the game.
She was disapointed when he packed up, and she made her decision. Ditching her empty cup on her way out, she following the guy for a moment, but was quick to catch up, not wanting him to get too far ahead so it wouldn't be odd she had caught him. "Hey," Her call was soft but not angry, not wanting him to think he'd suddenly been caught out and to try and run. "I want to play your card game!" She added, trying to reach to take his arm before he could vanish. She knew from example that people of her calibre were downright slippery at best and liable to vanishing in a moment's notice. Even if you were someone that generally knew where to look. "Come on, give me a chance - I think I can beat you." She taunted, a friendly smile playing at her lips. And beat him she would. At his own damn game.
It had been a relatively slow day so far for Raven, though a productive week. The city had yielded her some pretty decent results, with a steady influx of newcomers and visitors, it was easy to pass through and lift a few wallets, or the occasional phone and then move on before they even noticed. They were through the city and moving on to their destination within a few days or a week and she never saw them again. Locals was a little bit different, and you had to be careful and choose your mark within the right criteria - or be more clever with your cons. So they never saw it coming. She preferred the fun and thrill of a con, the adrenaline as she had to put on the risk mask, and play the play just right - a true performance. If you were good at it, it took them time to realise what had happened, and some of them never even figured it out. It didn't always go to plan, naturally, but she was yet to get caught in this neck of the woods and she was keen to keep it that way.
Short cons were easier, they only involved a good lie and a pretty face most of the time, the men flocked to a sweet, innocent young woman crying or in need of help, and were happy to part with a few hundred pounds in cash if they thought it would get them a peak beneath the hood. Funnily enough, it never worked - Raven was not a woman who could be brought. She had taken her time this morning to look for a new mark, in the mood for a short con over a quick steal but unable to find one that would suit. She sat at one of the many coffee shops, sipping from her steaming to go cup as she surveyed the people passing by. She had foregone a wig today, preferring her natural dark hair, though she had put in some contacts, turning her eyes a muddy brown instead of the bright blue they normally were. She tried to change her appearance in some way when she was out to make her money, it made a difference. She raised the cup to her lips again and took another long sip, letting the heat of the fresh coffee warm her chilled bones.
full name • Raven Danica Rhodes Given name: Rachel Danella Rhodes nicknames • Rae, Rhodes age • twenty-three birthday • 19th March occupation • Con-Artist, Magician, picks up odd jobs for spare cash gender • female sexuality • straight but has dabbled in same sex flings
the appearance
face claim• Anna Christine Speckhart
identifying features• Jet black hair, from which she was given the name 'Raven', her grey/blue eyes are somewhat a stark contrast with her dark hair - also has a smattering of freckles that present more in the summer than the colder months.
the personality
likes • getting away with cons , making up new tricks and cons , pushing boundaries , being surprised; particularly by other people , living on the edge , a challenge - especially being challenged by someone else , being one step ahead , being in the moment - doesn't worry about the future , gimmicks and stupid dad jokes , flirting and witty banter , winding people up and then has a talent for disappearing and someone else getting the wrath , pineapple on pizza , dramatic soaps and silly romance films - finds them entertaining and takes the piss out of them. dislikes • people with no sense of humour , dropping the ball , staying in one place; enjoys variety and moving around , beating around the bush, has a terrible habit of speaking before thinking , long films - get's bored and loses interest , pompous people , small spaces; claustrophic , reading - gets bored easily , technology - spent more time practicing card tricks than working mobiles , being quiet , authority , mansplaining , dares; she can't say no to them and often gets her in trouble strengths • sleigh of hand , street smart , quick on her feet , charming and good at talking herself out of situations weaknesses • clutzy and not very graceful , no brain to mouth filter , a pretty face , not very patient; likes instant gratification dreams • joining the high ranks of well known magicians and con-artists fears • having to go straight - she likes her life and what she does
overall personality • a bit of a clutz but often puts it on a little to aid in her performance, street smart, not good at sitting still and gets restless, troublemaker without meaning to, no filter - says what she thinks, pretty easy going, highly spirited, charming, funny, quick thinking, good at getting herself out of sticky situations, fast on her feet, owns up to her mistakes, competitive, surprisingly expressive given her occupation, likes to live life to the full and take every opportunity, has a dark sense of humour
the history
father • Unknown mother • Yvette Louise Rhodes - deceased aged 43, cancer siblings • Unknown important people • None hometown • London, England overall history • Raven never knew her father, but she never much felt she needed him. Her mother was poor - dirt poor - and spent her evenings catching the eyes of bald middle aged men with deep pockets and boring wives in order to make enough penny to put some kind of food on the table and a roof over their heads. They shared a squalid, cramped little flat with several of Yvette's fellow escort friends, and to some it may have seemed a sad childhood, but Raven surprisingly didn't feel depressed by her. Her mother's friends were like her aunt's, they all took turns in taking care of her when her mother was out 'entertaining', they all taught her how to do her make up, how to walk in heels, how to take look after herself. They hid the darkness of their lives from her, the drunken fools they took on as clients, the one's that hit them, the one's that wouldn't pay up, the one's that came to their doors with threatening behaviour. Raven didn't see it, not for a long while, to her they were just one big happy make shift family. When she grew older, she assumed her father was one of the many her mother took to bed to make her money, either unknown which one, or one that her mother or the guy was unwilling to confirm.
She was a surprisingly happy child, always laughing, always smiling, quick to make one of the other women brighten up if they were upset. As she headed toward double digits, a few of the women left and new one's arrived, she would never know what happened to them - her mother made up stories of them finding a better place, a love of their life, but Raven was not naive, and knew that it was likely they'd died - of overdose, or a client gone wrong. It happened more frequently than they liked to admit. She was always sad to see them go, the women that were her family, but another would come and take their place. A new skill to teach Raven. It was one of these women that got Raven into sleight of hand. She used to take as much as she could from her clients - to wallets and watches, to belts and car keys. Raven became obsessed with tricks, spending long nights practicing her skills and honing them, moving onto pick pocketing and little cons that involved crocodile tears and clumsiness - something that came naturally to her ungraceful self. Her mother did not encourage it, but the others did. In the end, the woman's comeuppance came for her; she stole one too many times, and she became one of the many sent to a jail cell.
It wasn't long after this, that Raven noticed a change in her mother. She had become more tired and thinner than usual, more irritable. It took some encouragement to get her mother to a doctor, and at twelve, Raven had to practically drag her to the consultation, hanging onto her hand to keep her from running. She'd thought it would be something simple. It wasn't. They insisted on more tests, the doctor's expression grave. She didn't understand all of it, the doctor talk, but she knew enough. Cancer. Advanced already to stage four and not much to be done but aggressive chemotherapy and a hope and a pray to God. Her mother refused, she hated hospitals anyway, and she didn't want to spend her last months withering in them. Much to Raven's anger and upset, despite her pleading and cajoling, her mother would not return to a Doctor. She continued to work, though the men soon began to dry up as her ribs began to stand out, as her hair dried out, as the hollows of her eyes became deeper. The other women stood firm and tried to help where they could, but they had barely enough to get by themselves. Raven took to the streets. At first, she tried to take her mother's place on the corners, not knowing anything else on how to survive but what her mother had done, but the other women wouldn't let her. Even those she didn't live with shooed her away, told her to go, took the potential customers. No place for a young girl like that, and rightly so. Undeterred, Raven turned to the streets with her skills instead, pickpocket-ting and conning her way towards and income. She was caught multiple times, and narrowly avoid a jail cell by slipping her jacket or the police's hold and running. It took a great deal of time before she was accomplished at her skill.
She had just turned fourteen when her mother passed. It was a long, arduous battle with the cancer, but in the end cancer won, and her mother's brittle and undernourished body gave up. The funeral was meager, a scrapped together pittance of what she could afford for the woman who had loved her. Once it was over, Raven had nothing. Another woman came to take her mother's place in the flat, and despite the years she had lived there, despite it being her home and where she had grown up, Raven couldn't cover the rent, and the women couldn't help her forever. It wasn't until then that she realised someone else had been pulling the strings - call them what you like, a pimp, a boss, the man that owned the flat, the entire apartment building actually, who decided who stayed and who left. It was somewhat a miracle that Raven and her mother hadn't been kicked out sooner, considering how long her mother had been unable to work - the other women had been covering for them, hiding it from their 'boss'. No longer, once the death certificate was signed, there was nothing could be done. Raven would not be replacing her mother, and the room needed a working occupant. She left. The women were her only family, but it was some bitterness that all they could do was shove a wad of cash in her hand that they had saved and send her off with a hug and promise she would find a better life.
Raven moved on. She stayed in London for some time, and as she grew older she made her way through the ranks of magicians. She spent some time flitting between casino's, learning how to deal cards from some of the best, picking up new tricks, learning tells and how to watch people. It was the best way to pick up people watching, to brainstorm new cons or sleight's of hand. She lasted a couple of years hopping from one to another, but was unable to settle for long; either she got bored, or they began to pick up that she wasn't quite straight enough for the job and was going to get the casino in trouble - time to shimmy along. She's been that way ever since, working on her con's and soaking up knowledge and new skills as she goes, hooking up with other magicians and con artists when possible in order to absorb as much as she can. She enjoys her solitude life and moving from place to place, never settling down roots or connections.
the role player
alias • The Lord almighty age • many moons other characters • I... don't remember...
