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!.
He flicked his wrist out, the closest she would get as a form of acknowledgement.
"Ah, he speaks!"
"'Cause you're stuck with me for the night? And I get enough silence in my life, might as well annoy you."
He raised a brow at that, "See how far that gets you."
"I'm Sabine," before following up, "Nice to meet you, Ilya. I have to say, I thought I was the only kid who caught onto these horse lofts for staying warm."
"Sabine..." he mumbled between chews on the apple, "Oh no. You're not the only one. There are a few of us kids that move into the lofts. I've met a couple in passing. Cameron's particularly skittish, weird really. Doesn't talk. The others, well, they tend to run away when they see me so I can't say I know them particularlly well."
He shrugged again. He figured he could part with that information.
The fact she hissed back at him was enough to briefly make wonder if she also liked cats - but then she made claws and decided that she was only mocking him. How unfortunate. But she sat and he figured he would have to show her some degree of respect in return - how rare it was for someone not to immediately start swinging at him when he generally appeared out of nowhere. She was perhaps too young to understand.
"Do you not talk?" she asked now, waving the apple a little trying to beckon him to come take it, "I'm Sabine."
Ilya was more than a little dumb-founded as she beckoned him with that apple, like he was some dumb mule. His eyes narrowed as he calmly closed the gap between them, not making much noise as he moved towards her, his eyes trained on her face in case she decided to change something up. Once close enough, he reached out and carefully plucked the apple from her grasp before turning his back to her - a sign of respect in his eyes - and walked back, glancing back at her.
"I do talk," he said, his voice rough in tone, "I just elect not to. Why fill the void with useless banter when silence is better."
He bit into the apple, the crunch loud in the loft as he moved towards his makeshift bed, "I'm Ilya."
Ilya turned over in the canvas rug, almost asleep despite the constant pain he was feeling. He was at least somewhat warm, dry and out of a draft. All good things, and better yet, he somehow managed to avoid Leo. He was hungry, his stomach cramping to attest to the fact that he had not yet located enough food to get him by and fuck was it hurting.
"You better not fucking shank me."
Faster than he should've been capable of, he was up, tense, standing to his full height, hissing at the speaker. It took his eyes several minutes to adjust to the low light level to spot them. A little girl. Well, not super little, but still, smaller than he was. He snarled at her but stayed put, not willing to budge over his turf.
He probably could've chased her off, but frankly he didn't care enough to do so. His arms started to shake at his sides, then his foot tapped a few times before he twisted his head to the side sharply, trying to regain his functions and stop all the movement. He went back to studying her, looking at her face, committing details to memory if ever she tried to threaten him.
I am opening up the Grave's family to claiming, thought there are some things that need to be noted / kept in play.
These siblings have no idea about their youngest sibling, Ilya, or what he has lived through.
Their mother raised them on their own, though a step-father is possible to have come into their lives. It is possible they have vague memories of their biological father - Shane, but visiting him or having anything to do with him in their lives was not on the cards.
How and if the siblings learn about Ilya will need to be discussed, as Ilya has no idea about them either. It would not be improbable for them to have crossed paths / seen and never known within the last 13 years [Ilya was booted from the father's home at 14 years old].
Face Claims and Personalities are open to individual interpretation, Names are likewise open to change as well.
It is best to @ me via the group discord, as may not catch any claims here.
full name • Ilya Adien Graves nicknames • -- age • Twenty-Seven birthday • December 1st occupation • Unemployed, Homeless gender • Male sexuality • Unknown
the appearance
face claim• Alfie Snow
identifying features• Some scarring all over body. Dark, near black eyes.
the personality
likes • Background noise, cats, crows, Summer, warm food dislikes • Cold weather, Silence, Not having something to do, having to fight, being cornered, drunks strengths • Hyper-focused, Practical, Naturally Silent weaknesses • Nerve Pain [Undiagnosed from Previous Injuries], Other Conditions - Type 1 Diabetic [DKA Sufferer] dreams • For everything to be ok fears • Being homeless forever overall personality • Ilya is a tough cookie to crack, having lived a life of consistent fear and pain. He's only ever had the option to push forward, weakness was not allowed. Stoic, Poker-faced, Silent, Never speaks unless spoken to. And yet he's driven to fight and he has no qualms about striking first. His morality is only made for his survival, and nothing else. He has difficulty understanding people, and is generally openly hostile / stand off-ish. He is more likely to stand and fight over lay down and cower.
the history
father • Shane Leroy Graves, 60, Ex-Drill Sergent - Drunkard, Unemployed mother • Unknown [Lisa -- Graves, 59 - Divorced from Shane, Teacher] siblings • Gabriel --- Graves-28, Sampson --- Graves-29, Selene --- Graves-31 important people • ---- hometown • Hickstead, England overall history • Mentions of Harm/Abuse, Abandonment
Ilya was born into the Grave's household, the last of the kids the family would have. He was unplanned and unwanted, his mother dipping into post-natal depression. Shane was a harsh man and told her to snap out of it, to be a mother but she was quick to leave the family home and serve up the divorce papers, taking the other three children with her.
Growing up Shane was hard on Ilya, never really allowing the boy to be a child. Too much one way brought the man to snap at him, and nothing he ever did was right. He went to school and had average grades, not really able to engage and when his report cards came home, his father was always furious with him. He was made run drills to toughen up, and when he continued to fail them, his father took it out on his skin.
When his father lost his job when he was around ten, Ilya came to know the man as a monster and not his father. Between the long hours left locked in the basement and the hours spent under his father's relentless drills, he began to fight mostly for himself. He began to lash out at his father whenever the man decided to hit him. It never ended well, often ending up on the floor bleeding and bruised in the end but he kept fighting. Growing feral.
He dropped out of school because of his father's choices, left alone in the basement all day and only out in the evening so he couldn't get far. On one occasion, his father and another man that called himself his uncle, ganged up on him after he'd managed to get a light upper hand against his dad. He was beaten into unconsciousness, and when woke, he was outside in the snow. The outside world was strange to him, having been kept locked inside the house for so long.
For the rest of his teenage years, Ilya learned to live on the streets, though as time progressed the more pain he began to feel. Yet in all the darkness, he found himself watching crows and cats all around Hickstead, taking in ideas of how to deal with different issues. He befriended many strays, and several crows, the only kindness he knew.
Even now at twenty-seven, Ilya lives on the day to day, sleeping in corners and even in the openness of the local park, though there have been nights where he's been attacked or picked on by others. He's often involved in fights, some of which don't always end well. He masks his pain incredibly well, having learnt the skill from watching animals in various conditions. Ilya has also had his share of run ins with the local police, though thus far, has not been successfully caught.
Note; - Currently suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [undiagnosed] - Recently started to suffer from DKA or Diabetic Ketoacidosis. - Is a Type 1 Diabetic. - Has acute nerve pain from previous injuries, spinal cord injury to the neck and mid back.
the role player
alias • BlackJack, Jac age • Mid 20s other characters • No comment...
