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!.
“Keith can’t do shit,” Nash looked around at the others as the confidence slowly faded from his voice, “right?” He was wondering how it had even come to all of this, the fifteen year old was pretty sure they hadn’t all been together like this in a room since mum’s funeral. Well, they were missing Jace obviously, and knobhead Keith but that was the latter’s own doing. Like, really, his older brother had chosen to leave and checked out of the family on his own, he didn’t deserve a spot at this table.
He heard his father’s words and they struck like a dagger to the heart. No, he wasn’t going to just up and leave his family. He would never be able to do that, mom needed them to stick together but fuck it was tempting as hell right now.
Nash rolled his eyes as he clenched his teeth together and swallowed hard, “Mav’s right. Way to go. Mum would be so fuckin’ proud right now…”
Nash frowned, of course he knew the man was right, you had to learn how to lose before you could win at anything. That just wasn’t something he was good at. He has always winged it, had always pretended to know exactly what he was doing even if he hadn’t mastered whatever art it was he was engaging in. He had to with all these brothers around him at home not to get walked over completely. Always get that poker face out if you weren’t confident enough. ”Yea, I think I know that, Mr. S” he admitted while using a name the man was more comfortable with.
God, how he would love to be sixteen already but nope, always trailing behind. Link was sixteen and it seriously looked so much better than being fifteen. ”Nope, fifteen” the scowl was there even when he tried his best to hide it. ”Mister would be a weird name for a baby and yea, they all call me Nash” Nash was glad for the humor hiding in their conversation or else he would’ve hightailed it out of here, it was hard to talk about stuff while not actually talking about the deeper meaning of it all. ”Grieving blows”
”Musicals, traditional pieces, yea both, just like being on that stage either way?” Was that stupid to admit to?
Nash laughed, ”If i start napping after class I’ll be a right Scrooge” Too much energy filled up his body each and every day and if there was a break in the fast and steady pace of the teen’s daily rhythm, things would be completely out of whack. ”Besides, I’m sure you are dead tired after all the mental and physical energy you put into your skill”
”Theatrical makeup is awesome these days” he winked, ”Damn, that sounds like a hell of a schedule, mate and I get being nervous but if you could hear yourself play you would know you wouldn’t need to worry.” DId it make sense? Nope but he was sure his friend understood and that he was being supportive, ”That’s because in diving you will make it down into the water either way, that violin needs a lot of work to get to the end of its piece”
”Sounds like a good sister” he told her as he looked around, still peckish after everything he had already eaten but dinner last night had been as much as a sandwich because it was easier than sitting down with everyone. This time of year was just hard. Nash smiled when Emma asked if acting wasn’t enough of a workout. It was hard work but not many people often thought of it that way since there didn’t seem much of a sport aspect to it. ”Yea, it can be challenging” he smirked
Nash shook his head, ”Nah, Stephen is at Oxford. Or well, was…he came back after…stuff” the words trailed, this wasn’t about all of that. ”Jace, Link and Crev are around our school though, your siblings around our halls as well?” God, he really had no idea, he should start paying more attention to things. ”We’re doing Hamlet, feel free to come see it, no idea which part I’m playing yet.” Of course he was hoping for the lead but Mr. Gallagher had been pretty evasive about it all. He laughed as the girl told him he may need a lesson or hundred more before he flew over, ”That may be good advice, do you go back often? Or at all?”
”Crev is the youngest, I have the honour of not being anything special” Okay, that was a low blow towards himself and he didn’t mean it. Nash Breckah had ways to make himself get noticed. ”I don’t do favorite teachers” he smirked, who would ever admit to liking teachers anyways. ”Do you have any?”
Rain kept pouring down as if it matched his mood and the teen had never known life could take such drastic changes in such a short period of time. It put a whole new light onto so many things in this crazy world they called life. RIght now it just so happened to be actual light as the headlights that came out of nowhere put the gloomy scenes around him in focus. While Nash knew people around here on these roads were mostly locals and would never drive very fast, the beams still made him jump. He had been so lost in thought as to where he could disappear to, leaving Hickstead forever, that there hadn’t been any notice to his surroundings.
The voice was a familiar one, one he could recognize anywhere, just like any of his other brothers’. Derek. Great. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the words coming out of his older brother’s mouth were the ones that had his anger and frustration spike higher than they had yet today. Nick?? Nash scoffed and shook his head, what the hell was going on in this family? Maybe it was just the universe playing some kind of horrific game with him and he would go home later and mum would still be there and he would be able to hug her. A few tears started to form in his eyes but there was no way he was giving in to them, not here. Not now.
”It’s Nash,” he snarled as he stepped to the side of the road and kicked his foot at the ground, the wet sock in his shoe sent a cold shiver down his spine. ”Is that how long you’ve not been to the house? Fuck off, Derek”
Nash poured a gulp of his third beer down his throat before he clutched the red solo cup in his hand and looked around the living room at his friend’s house. Tonight had been a spin on a Christmas party of their own. It hadn’t been a real party of anything, just an evening of hanging out with the guys.
They were meant to be playing video games and table football in the converted basement while eating Christmas cookies and sipping on soda but Tom’s parents hadn’t been home and the beer had come out before Nash had known it. The teen had been a little hesitant at first, alcohol wasn’t something he longed for or had much interest in knowing the effects of it all after his father’s spell. It also wasn’t the ‘I’m not legal yet’-sort of thing, which technically should’ve been a way more important point, but he knew his mum would've never approved of anything like this.
The snicker escaped him as the last sip of beer spewed out of his mouth as fast as it had gone in. And not only from his mouth but his nose as well. Did he just fucking giggle? He had only had three beers so far, okay, two and a half maybe, but he was finally having the best time of the year and it was practically the end of December already. How messed up was that? Everything happening around him just seemed so funny. Mark tripping over his own shoes, comical as heck. The icing from the cooking getting stuck on his nose, belly laughing good. Jordan making a cheese sandwich and forgetting the actual cheese? Freakin’ hilarious.
Apparently his friends were still having the time of their lives too when they started to make their way home and Nash tried to get onto his bike. Yea, okay, he fell over a few times but that wasn’t his fault, the bike had to be rigged or broken. It had nothing to do with the beer, right? Or had it? Dang, was he one of those people who couldn’t hold their liquor? Great way to kill the Breckah reputation there. Nash held his finger up in the air as if he was having some sort of epiphany when the bike slipped down from under him once again, ”I’ll just have someone pick me up!”
His butt landed on the cold floor for the umpteenth time and he snorted a laugh. Man, it was hard to read the letters on the screen of his phone once he had retrieved the device and scrolled down through the blurry list. ”Steppphen!” the drawn out amicably words came out as lazy as he could muster when he heard a noise on the other side of the line, ”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…”
”This blows,” Yea, he was not used to being called out like that. ”I’d rather be in study hall.” No, he really didn’t mean that but it was the easiest thing to say to pretend he hated being held back when in all honesty it was the most comfortable feeling he had in a long time. Even thought he man was annoying as fuck at time, Mr. Gallagher made him feel like someone was actually paying attention to him. And to his messing about.
Oh, he was good, those were definitely bribes. Bribes which Nash Breckah was pretty interested in. ”You’re not very nice, ya know that? I probably don’t have any answers for your questions anyways” he said casually as he followed the teacher up the stage moments after the man had sat down and followed suit. ”Why do you need to stretch for sword fighting anyways?”
The lady lifted an eyebrow instantly which always made him suspicious, people usually took to him and his jaunty attitude immediately. The soft smile that followed the question made it a little better but Nash still wasn’t about to give in to being here, not by choice at least.
”Hmm, sure. I guess so?” he shrugged. Of course he thought Mr. Gallagher was a good teacher, heck, he was the best there was in Nash’ opinion but that wasn’t something anyone needed to know. Definitely not some lady he had never met before.
”Maths,” he deadpanned as if it was the most ridiculous question ever because the teen was sure the tutor knew exactly why he was here. ”This is the book” the textbook looked like it had never been opened aside from the folds at the corner due to being stuck in the backpack that was now being slung to the floor. Nash sat down, ”How long does this stuff usually take?”
Nash snorted to himself and mentally rolled his eyes when Keith let it know he thought this spot was some kind of secret place only he knew about. As if. His older really brother needed to come down his high horse and stop thinking he was Master and Commander of their family and the entire fucking world. He did not call the shots and Nash was certainly going to let him know that if it came up.
’Your day off of being an ass?” Okay, maybe he needed to reign it in since Keith really hadn’t said a bad word so far but he really couldn’t help himself. Things had been extra intense and fucked up at home after Jace had been taken against his will. Anyone’s will.
The fifteen year old watched as Keith flicked the rock towards the water. Nash was sure it would be some perfectly executed shot so the man could show off some more. While the skips were pretty decent ones it still joined the ones on the bottom that Nash had tossed into the water before. ”Guess you’re not as much of a tosser as I thought you were” he smirked, proud of getting the offensive word in no matter how immature it probably was.
Fresh air never got old. Classrooms did. ‘You should be outside getting some fresh air and playing’. That’s what adults were always saying whenever kids or teens were cooped up in the house, right? So that's what he was doing, getting the oxygen his brain needed while messing around with some of the rocks.
While Nash felt his reasoning for being down at the beach was justified, he wasn't having much success skipping the rocks across the water. It took him several tries to figure out how to throw them right before one of the rocks would actually jump, most just sank. A noise made him look up. A slightly familiar figure stood beside him. Fucking Keith, great. Just great.
One, two, three. Nash was sure it was just a matter of seconds before the older Breckah would start another round of bullying like he had at the house a couple of months ago. The inquiry by his oldest brother was a casual one and even though it held a lot of meaning it had not been one the teen had expected. ”While that sounds tempting, I’m pretty sure my aim is off.” Nash said spitefully as he kept his eyes on the water before he threw another rock out at the sea. There was no concentration nor control in his try and it failed miserably.
”What are you doing here anyways?” It wasn’t a question of interest, it was more of an accusation.
He had never been amongst the ones who needed extra attention when it came to classwork. Or school. There was attention aplenty, Nash was not deprived of that as he was more than able to get what he needed in that department. If his quick-wit didn’t do the trick he could always rely on his clownesque attitude.
No, he didn’t necessarily need the help, he was just a little a lot behind when it came to the material due to missing class. And while it really was not supposed to come this far, making him see a tutor was just ridiculous. Like seriously? Nash knew he needed to buckle down and get some work done if he wanted to pass this year but on the other hand, what did it even matter? Secondary school wasn’t the most important thing in life, that was something he had learned over the past few months.
Skipping would’ve been an option but his drama teacher had convinced him to get some help in Maths and if he did well the man would show him more sword fighting skills. He opened the door to one of the spare rooms, looking up at a lady with bright red hair and mostly pink clothes. Okay, different. ”Hi. Yea. Nash” he confirmed. Not interested in being here. Maybe it was a good thing his thoughts were quiet ones.
”Mr. Gallagher is making me come here because apparently he cares for some odd reason” the fifteen year old shrugged as he closed the door, ”I’m not stupid or anything, just behind or something?”
[attr="class","character-skycalls-h"]"All the world's a stage"
[attr="class","character-skycalls-text"]It was like literally Shakespearean torture sitting through his other classmates practise rounds and Mr. Gallagher’s words about them needing to memorize their monologues couldn’t be more spot on. No shit, man, these kids needed some work. Why did he have to be so damn emotional and sensitive about the props today? Fuck. He could’ve made an impression and failed, this wasn't like this. Not in drama class.
The wooden sword prevented him from exiting the auditorium and initially Nash just wanted to let his attitude do the work but the teacher’s softer expression somehow got to him. ”Nothings going on but the new usual” he snorted as he tried to grin without losing face ”It’s all good, life’s grand.” Ah, so there were teachers who had been snitching to other teachers. Great. The teen liked Mr. Gallagher and he wasn’t going to tell him anything that would make the man dislike him. There weren’t a whole lot of adults he liked right now since pretty much all of them were on his case about something and he hadn’t even been the cause of all this nonsense.
All this definitely felt like an extended class or some therapy session. ”I have class ya know…”, he said, the statement not bearing much strength as the truth was it was probably one of the classes he hadn’t been attending regularly. ”Do I get to wield that sword if I comply?” He didn’t necessarily want to do that either right now since that had been more of an act to stay on stage instead of having Trevor take over but hey, if he was going to get interrogated he may as well try to get something good out of it too.
