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!.
With Spring seemingly around the corner, or at least, it was trying to come around the corner, Sam Graves knew he had to start looking out for the signs of any of the cows going into labor, since soon, calving season would be here. He wasn't the best at knowing the exact date a calve will show, just the time range, which would be creeping up sooner rather than later. It was actually his favorite part about working on the ranch, the baby calves. It was stupid, probably. Given most people considered him quiet and stoic, which in their defense, he was, it was for them to imagine that he, Sam Graves, would melt at the sign of a new born calf.
The herd was coming in now, being brought back so they could stay in the pastures overnight where they were forced to still use the provided cover for warmth. His blue eyes were scanning over the cattle now, counting as best as he could and noting the tags, ignoring the stated list. Sam had been here long enough that he didn't a list to really identify the cows anymore. He knew most, if not all, by sight and their name - if they had one at least. Nearing the end of his count though, the man couldn't help but to frown. Blue eyes looked to the herders, but they had already gotten off their horses and were leading them away. How...unhelpful.
However, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing over, he saw none other than one Kalani Rocha. Sam didn't talk to her much, mainly because the young woman was the opposite of him and a huge extrovert, which could be overwhelming. But she was a great ranch hand, so what did he have to loose. He walked over to her now, "Lani, hey," Sam started now, trying to keep the gruffness out of his voice and not speak with a mumble, "I need a sanity check with the cattle herd. Do you see Daisy and Shay? The herd just came in but I can't seem to find them and...I'm worried." And if need be, he'd saddle up and go out into the deeper pastures to find them.
What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.
thanks aofie!
Thirty . Ranch Hand . LGBTQ+ . It's Complicated - TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND (unrequited crush - 2 years)
full name • Sampson Freyr Graves nicknames • Sam -> Everyone; Sammy -> only Selene is allowed to call him this, he gets annoyed at anyone else who dares to age • Twenty Nine birthday • May 13 occupation • Ranch Hand; Cattle Herder gender • Male sexuality • Bisexual
the appearance
face claim• Robert Pattinson
identifying features• Sam stands at 6 foot 1 inches with a lean body, usually neglecting to work out due to all of his time spent at the ranch and with the herd. He has golden brunette hair, which usually in a state of unkemptness, depending on the length and has been known to shave it down during the summer heat out of aggravation - he claims it overheats him in the sun. His trademark features are blue eyes and a strong jawline, that may or may not be covered in stubble. Sam tends to have tanned skin from working in the sun and has rough hands from years of forgetting to wear gloves. People have been known to tell him that he looks sullen or sickly, which greatly annoys him since that's just how his face is. He does have this tattoo on his left arm.
the personality
likes • His Siblings (he has a stronger bond with Selene but tries to not be obvious about it), Working on the Ranch, Horses, Quiet Days, Watching the Sunsets, Chilling with the Cattle, Snuggling Calves when no one's looking, Bon Fires, His Co-Workers, Getting to the Point dislikes • Drama, People who Stir Shit Up, His Mom (When her Depression kicks in), His Siblings being in any sort of trouble, His horse pulling up lame, The animals getting injured due to their stupidity or bad fencing, Beating around the bush, When he knows he's being a total chicken shit about confessing any sorts of feelings or even having the nerve to ask someone out on a date. strengths • Hard Worker, Caring - People & Animals, Physical Strength to get stuff done weaknesses • His inability to act on his feelings - has unrequited crush on TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND going on two years, His Siblings (especially Selene), Sometimes He can come off as a prickly asshole in situations dreams • Settling Down; Accepting his Mom will always have good and bad days fears • Some unknown past coming to haunt, making an idiot out of himself in front of TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND overall personality • Sam is usually known for his quiet personality, great with the animals and decent with the people. He has a low tolerance for drama in his life - likely stemmed from a rough childhood with his mother's depression and family antics - which can cause people to accuse him of being snappy, short tempered, and no fun. Sam tends to the the sort of person that's floating in the background of work - quietly getting stuff done, but willing to stop and chat if needed. He shares a deep bond with his older sister, Selene, given that she was the one to look out for him and raise him and Gabriel when their mother would shut down, and would do almost anything for her. This has given him a strong sense of family values and units - even if its nontraditional. His straight lace values and ability to navigate the grey in a black and white world makes him a good friend and companion if they are able to put up with occasional snaps in his personality. Sam unfortunately does have a hard time dealing with matters of love - this whole talking and sharing feelings nonsense, and it makes him a little skittish. His inability to act on these matters usually leaves him in a state of long term crushes that go entirely unrealized simply because he's afraid to act on it - even though he'd drop everything in a matter of seconds if the person of his affection were to ask.
the history
father • Shane Leroy Graves, 60, Ex-Drill Sergent - Drunkard, Unemployed [Estranged], Bellamy Oscar Redfield, 59, Detective - Step Father mother • Lisa -- Graves, 59 - Divorced from Shane and now Married to Bellamy, Teacher siblings • Selene Graves, 31 - Sister Gabriel Graves, 28 - Brother Ilya Adien Graves , 27 - Brother [unknown] important people • TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND - crush & coworker hometown • Hickstead, England overall history • Sam was born the second child to Shane and Lisa Graves in the quiet little town of Hickstead, UK. Thankfully, he and his siblings were so young when the divorce went down between their parents - they hardly remembered the drunken insults hurled at them and their mother by Shane before the ties were severed. Unfortunately, their mom was saddled with depression and little did the three Graves sibling know that there had been a fourth sibling unknown to them due to their young age and Lisa's depression made little Ilya lost to time and their father.
Growing up in the Graves household did not start off easy for Sam - even with the absence of their abusive father. Lisa's depression left her rather unchecked their needs from time to time, and would also put her on extreme highs and lows. While her parents stepped in to help when they could, little Selene ended up being the first Graves child to grow up beyond her years to look out for her siblings. Sam become joined at the hip to her, never wanting to leave her side and often got annoyed with Gabriel - who felt wild and rambunctious - would get in the way of their games and responsibilities.
It was hard for Sam to comprehend the idea of their mother's depression - feeling often annoyed and abandoned when she'd go into a downward spiral and lock herself up in the bedroom for days or be unresponsive and just wanted to sleep. Selene had a better handle for it - she always tried to explain this to both of her younger brothers - but for Sam it just didn't work. The older he got, the more he disregarded his mother's rules and regulations in the house and always looked to Selene for guidence.
Things started to change once Bellamy Redfield entered the picture. He met Lisa after she had been a witness to a convivence store robbery and they remained in touch, even after the case had been closed. The introduction of Bellamy put a change in Lisa - she tried harder to get out of bed, she even went to get help to be a better person, realizing that she needed to take care of things herself in order to be there for him and her children. Therapy helped as well as medication. While she never completely got rid of her depression, she became better at managing it and Bellamy was there for the kids when she did have off days.
Despite the initial resistance to a father figure in their life, Sam soon grew to accept the man as the father that he never had and accepted his presence in his life. But his mother's depression had left his mark and with Selene growing older and more independent due to Bellamy's involvement, Sam took to finding ways of getting out of the house. He took to getting a side job at at Diesel Ranch - liking the hard work, long hours, and interesting enough - time spent with the animals there. The horses and cows proved to be of great comfort to him when no other human could provide that. One of the ranch hands adopted him as a mentee and soon became his go to confidant when Selene was unavailable.
Since then, Sam's life has remained rather quiet. He managed to get through Secondary School and attend the local college, but didn't complete his degree much to Selene and Bellamy's disappointment. But Sam knew where he wanted to be and that was the Ranch, already having the skillset to be there full time and get decent pay. It was a quiet life - but after the events of his childhood, Sam welcomed the life with open arms - settling on his own near the ranch, purchasing two horses to be his work mates, and tend to work there from dawn til dusk - when not distracted by a certain farrier and horse exerciser that is.
To this day, Lisa never had the heart to admit to her children that there had been a forth child, the child that brought on her depression and she left to the horrible mercy of Shane. Unfortunately for the Graves siblings - it's just a matter of time before they find out and have a wrench thrown into their lives.
the role player
alias • forever age • old other characters • my herd
