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!.
We had started a thread, prior to the person leaving and I'd like to continue, or even restart it if possible.
With his sister being deaf, he would know sign language, and also has an affinity for motorcycles, previous person had him opening a custom motorcycle shop in town, and that'd be cool if someone wants to keep it!
Previous person used Jorge Del Rio as a face claim, but it could be changed, completely up to the person!
Emilie only kept her eyes on his lips, and was purposefully avoiding eye contact as she wasn't sure how she would be able to handle him looking at her. She knew that eventually she would have to deal with these kinds of things from when she left last time, but she honestly wasn't prepared, not sure how you could fully prepare for things like that either. She nodded when he said that it was a mess. That was one way to explain it for sure. She almost wished that she could hear so she didn't have to look at him at all. She was nervously playing with the ends of her shirt before he started talking again.
She bit her lip when she realized that it wasn't going to just be fixed. She didn't expect it to, but she also didn't expect him to be so mad at her still. She figured that at least explaining would help, but she wasn't sure how she expected it to just be fine. "I understand, I hope that you're happy now? That maybe eventually, we can be friends?" she asked quietly. She hoped that he wouldn't hold it against her forever.
Emilie smiled and nodded. "It's a good change for sure, I always hated the big buildings and feeling surrounded. It's so much more peaceful in smaller cities and towns." she said simply. She couldn't help but keep her eyes on him in worry that she'd miss something again.
"Glad I'm not the only one, it's hard to get into a routine again after a while, but I'll get there. It'll take me about a week or two, but as soon as I get my bearing, we will be all set and good for a while. But by then, I'm sure some horses will change out, and thus I'll be confused on those ones, it's like a never ending cycle." she said with a laugh. "Cupid seems to be the most behaved, but I'm quite partial to Sky, she's beautiful" she said with a smile.
She always enjoyed the more colorful paints, than the normal bay's and chestnuts, but of course, horses only come in so many colors. "Sometimes I believe that we think that animals are less intelligent than they really are. They always do something to surprise us" she said smiling. She couldn't help but smile and nod as he said that he worked summer camps. She had truly enjoyed the one she went to, and it was probably because the horse didn't rely on her voice to communicate with her, and thus it seemed like she just got along better with animals than humans. They didn't expect much from her, and thus she felt more comfortable around them.
When he seemed surprised about the motorcycles she laughed. "My brother he has always owned them, and thus got me into riding, first as backpack, then I wanted one of my own. Of course he always hated that idea. Took him a while to allow me to ride alone, and now there's nothing like it. I'm actually planning on buying a new bike soon, hopefully I get one that I like, and won't struggle to touch the ground with at stops." she said with a laugh. It was always a struggle of hers at time, especially with bikes that were designed to be ridden by men.
Emilie pat Cupid's neck as he went into a trot and she followed alongside Chris before shaking her head no when he asked if she learned to ride around here. "I uh actually learned back home in London. I moved here to get away from the city" she said simply. She hated the busy city life and the constant buildings surrounding her. She much preferred the quieter smaller cities, and country life. She very much enjoyed riding along the country roads, whether on horseback or her motorcycle.
Emilie laughed and nodded "If it wasn't for the name plates on the stalls I wouldn't be able to find some of the horses that I was supposed to exercise. I'm still learning everything though so it'll happen eventually that I won't need them" she said with a smile.
She couldn't help but laugh at Duchess basically acknowledging her name. "Every horse has a personality, her's is just more prominent" she said with another small laugh. "I uh learned at a summer camp one year, and then came back home and begged my parents to let me ride. Eventually they gave in and let me ride, and since then, it's either been horses or motorcycles" she said with a smile. Of course she wasn't saying that it was a summer camp for deaf kids, but it was still a summer camp.
Emilie smiled as she had her horse following his slightly off to the side. She had missed this while she was gone. She absolutely loved being on horseback and it helped her forget about everything for a bit.
She caught the end of his sentence this time and nodded "A few years..... well really since I was a teenager, so more than a few" she said with a laugh.
She leaned down and pat the horse's neck that she was riding before looking back at Chris. "Oh uh this is Cupid, he's just a horse on my list to exercise." she said simply before moving to the other side of his horse. She nudged her heels into Cupid to get him to start into trot and started to move in a few different patterns before looking back over at the other rider in the ring.
Emilie leaned down and pat the geldings neck before whispering to him that it was ok. She was probably more nervous that he was, but she hoped that it would make her feel more confident. She wasn't normally this nervous, but she was sure with everyone starting to prank her, that she was almost expecting the worst.
"Ah so we're both new here then!" she said with a smile after catching what he said barely. She almost wondered when he would move far enough away that she would lose what he was saying, and now she was starting to worry about that.
As he moved his horse down the quarter line, she tried staying in line, but started to fall a little bit behind and missed anything that he was saying and she started doing some simple ground work before looking back towards the other rider in order to see what he was doing.
Emilie shook her head when he said that he was sorry that it even happened to her. "I don't think I regret helping the horses... I just regret the aftermath more. My parents freaking out wasn't in my to do list. I truly am afraid that they'll try it again. They're not wanting me to be independent again after that." she said simply before looking down at his hands as he took them away.
She looked back up as soon as she asked the question. She was hoping that he wasn't, and that her explanation was good, but she was almost afraid that he would be mad still. When he said that he didn't know what he was she nodded. "I'm sorry. By the time I healed enough to use my phone in their eyes, I didn't know what to say." she said quietly. What do you say after disappearing for about 6 months? Oh Hi! How have you been? and acting like nothing is wrong? Even then her family was up her ass the entire time and she couldn't do anything alone.
Emilie smiled and nodded when he said that she wouldn't be in the way. "That's a long time between riding" she said simply while settling herself onto the saddle. She kept her eyes trained on him as he moved around the horse, hoping not to miss anything.
"I uh recently started here. I took some personal time away from Hickstead and came back to work here instead of at my old work." she said simply with a shrug. She wasn't sure who all knew what, and she wasn't about to make it worse for herself now.
She smiled as he moved into his saddle, before moving her horse slightly to the side and glancing down at her hands when he asked if she wanted to attempt some jumps. "Uh if you're wanting to jump go ahead, I'll just do some flatwork and maybe some jumps towards the end. It's been a while since I jumped" she said simply.
Emilie finally looked up and caught him asking about her hands. She nodded and turned her hands over on the middle of the table before shrugging. "Took a bit of time to be able to sign again. The burn on my arm is still rather tight at times, and I sometimes struggle with it, but I've dealt with it for a while." she said simply.
She took a deep breath and sighed before quietly asking "Are you still mad at me?". She truly hoped that he understood, but she completely got it if he didn't. She wasn't sure how she could explain how suffocating it felt, and how she felt like even after healed she couldn't leave. They had told her time and time again that she couldn't do anything on her own.
Emilie sighed and nodded her head when he said that he didn't, and he hadn't found a way to contact her. That was probably her parents fault at that time. She looked down, not wanting to see or hear his reaction, and kept playing with the strap on her bag. "Somehow my parents found out about the fire, sent my brother here to bring me back home. Since according to them I obviously couldn't handle living on my own." she said softly.
She shook her head before continuing. "For the first few months I wasn't allowed to do anything because of my hands, and then essentially I was a child to them again. I couldn't do anything, or go anywhere for the first year or so. Because of my injuries they didn't let me sign, didn't let me do anything on my own, and honestly it was the worst. I've never hated being deaf so much than I have the last few years. Up until last year I wasn't able to go anywhere alone, and I finally said enough. I opted to leave, without fully telling them again, and I hope they don't suspect Hickstead again. I've never considered getting a cochlear implant before these past few years, never felt so useless than these last few years" she rambled on before finally stopping. She didn't want to look up and see how he was handling it. Sure it was probably not that bad in his eyes, but she wasn't sure if she could handle him thinking it wasn't that bad.
Emilie nodded when he said that he couldn't see her just walk off again. She wasn't sure how it would all go, she wasn't even sure how he would handle it, but it wasn't going well for her. When he asked if he did something wrong it broke her heart. He was absolutely perfect, she was the broken one. She couldn't help herself, and moved forward before wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head onto his chest. She closed her eyes and just took a deep breath and this was absolutely what she needed right about now. His constant support is what helped her through the beginning part, and she hoped that he didn't absolutely hate her enough that he pulled her off of him and yelled at her. Honestly that was probably her biggest fear at this point.
Finally she moved back and looked up at him before sighing. "Should we sit down?" she asked simply before gesturing towards the tables. She moved to sit before putting her purse on the table in front of her and fiddling with the straps. "Well, I kind of have a question to ask you before I start.... Did you contact my family? About the fire?" she said softly. If he had told her parents she wasn't sure how she'd take it, seeing as how it ended up with her feeling like a prisoner and useless for years.
Emilie wasn't sure how to handle him just staring at her. She rubbed her hand against the burn scar on her arm and looked down before stating she was leaving and moving to leave before she felt him grab his hand and looked back at him. She knew that he'd be understanding if she explained it all, but how could she explain at the same time that she was back, but not in the same place. She wasn't even sure if it all made sense in her head. She was essentially starting over again. The only thing quite a few people remember of her is that she worked at Blue Acres, and in the eyes of some people at Seven Oaks, she was the enemy. It was hard on her to constantly be on edge and expecting the worst from everyone, so at the same time it was almost the same here. How would he handle knowing that she was ashamed of how she was dragged away and didn't feel like she could reach out?
When he asked what she was sorry for she shut her eyes, moved her other hand through her hair and sighed. "I don't know, everything, anything." she said quietly again before looking up to him again. She looked down before quietly saying "I don't even know where to start". She was almost hoping he would just let her leave, go back to whatever he was doing, as obviously he was doing much better than she had been. Being smothered by her family was one thing, but to have to then explain it to the person that she was closest to here, was going to be almost impossible. How could she explain that she felt like a scolded teenager when she was dragged home. They completely babied her because of her hearing loss, and then to top it off, when she finally moved out and away, the second the first thing bad that happens, she's dragged back and once again treated like a little kid, even though she had Luc at the time to help her and support her. The drastic differences between the two was almost too much. Luc at least brought her to the horses that she saved to help her, understood when it became too much to sign, and helped her at appointments, whereas her family didn't allow her to go anywhere alone because she couldn't sign, and thus in her eyes she was incompetent to be able to do anything on her own.
Emilie was shocked. This was definitely not what she was expecting, and to top it off his hand was still on her shoulder keeping her upright. When she read his lips just stating her name she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I um. I uh. I was just uh leaving. um Sorry again" she stuttered out before attempting to move.
He reminded her of before. Before the fire, the dancing, the flirting, even during the fire, helping her get out, the burns, the jacket, the checkups after. Everything. Before Blake forced her away. She wasn't sure who exactly called them of course, but she also hadn't had the guts to keep in contact with anyone from Hickstead. How could she explain that her parents freaked out, and demanded her back home. How could she explain that she couldn't just leave like she wanted to without feeling a bunch of guilt. Plus she was still healing at the time.
The burns were just slightly redder than her normal skin on her hands. She worked through not being able to sign, and even getting it back to the place it was with the movement of her hands. Her arm on the other hand had a much more aggressive scar. She tended to wear more long sleeves and things that would cover it, as it led to questions, and subjects that she didn't want to talk about. It was hard enough being back where it happened, although she hadn't gone back to Blue Acres. It was worse to have people look at her with pity upon seeing the scar and making assumptions. She ran into that barn, knowing full well what could happen, but she didn't expect the constant judgement.
"I'm sorry" she says again softly. Those simple two words had a load of meaning. Sorry for just disappearing. Sorry for not texting or getting ahold of him. Sorry for bumping into him.
As Emilie went to bring the gelding into the arena to exercise she saw another person starting to bring a mare that way as well. She saw him say something, but she missed it before fully focusing in on him talking.
"I don't mind company, but will it hinder you? I don't want to cause any issues" she said simply hoping that it wasn't another ruse for someone to mess with her.
She had also noticed that he was set up for jumping, whereas she was not. She hadn't tried jumping since her injuries, although she hadn't ridden all that much back in London. Her parents were too afraid of reinjuring her hands and arm to allow her to, and in turn smothered her to just simple farm work after she was deemed healed.
She was sure she could handle it, but she was almost weary that it would turn into a competition, and then be used against her. Somehow someway it seemed that some of the people here were bound and determined to get her fired.
Starting her first week back in Hickstead ending up at the bar, was probably not the best outcome, but it’s what she needed at this point. Of course, she didn’t fully realize where she was going, until she was already here, sitting at the bar. The Lounge, although it was her favorite place when she was here prior, it was for other reasons, now it was just a reminder of what she was torn from. She leaned against the bar and smiled at the bartender. ”Vodka Cranberry please” she said before pulling out some money. She handed it over and took the drink before turning and looking towards the dance floor.
She sighed before taking a drink. Being back in Hickstead was weird but being back here was even more awkward for her. How could she be stupid enough to come back to the place that she met him. It wasn’t like Hickstead was a big town, that’s why she loved it enough to come back, but at the same time, the memories, although good, were what she was almost avoiding. The dancing, the fire, the appointments after, and everything in between were almost too good to be true for her. Of course it also led to her brother dragging her back to London. She wasn’t even sure how her family had found out about her injuries as she had refused to tell them anything for fear of what they did. She saw a few couples dancing, and watched for just a minute before turning around and finishing her drink. Of course, she would basically torture herself by coming back, so she was adamant to leave.
She moved to the side and didn’t see the person in front of her before bumping into them. ”Oh I’m sorry” she said before looking at them.
