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!.
"I'll be sure to remind you plenty later," Bruce gave an appreciative hum as he hugged her to him. "I'll look forward to that." He knew that there were times he went a little overboard with showing hr how much he cared, but he knew that he was lucky to have her, and he didn't want her to doubt his feelings for her.
"I know you will, that's what's so funny about it - you'll be hunched over in some tiny little kids play house..." He laughed. "So, I need to build a playhouse. Should I be taking notes, or do we just wing it as time goes on?" And he was only half joking about taking notes. He'd been planning a treehouse for the large Oak in the back corner of their section, so it wouldn't take much to get enough wood to create a playhouse on ground level with a playground attached to it - something the baby could grow into and something that Liam could use now.
He moved his hands down to rest on her bottom as she turned around. "I know you will, and I'm glad you'll be there with me.. but I'm also glad I've done this before - I won't have us flying down to the hospital for every tiny twinge and camp that turns out to be nothing." He grinned. "Yeah, I'll be the one running around like a headless chicken, panicking!" He laughed and shook his head. Maybe he hadn't been around too many human babies, but he'd been around enough pregnant animals to know how things worked, so was pretty good at keeping his head when the world seemed to be dissolving around him. "How do you think Liam will take the news?"
"How terrible of me, allow me to rectify that." Bruce lifted his brows, wondering what she was going to do and grinned at the kiss. "I love you... so much," He smiled with a contented sigh. "I know, but don't let that stop you from reminding me." He chuckled. "I love you too." Love was a word that was freely used when he'd grown up, but until he'd moved here, he had never felt it for another person, not like how he felt about Flynn. It was amazing, and scary at the same time. It kind of gave him some understanding at the depth of love between his parents.
"I can see it now.. you sporting badly painted nails playing tea parties in a plastic doll house..." He laughed with a nod. "And you know if that's what was asked of me, I'd do it without thinking. Pinkies up!" He got roped into enough troll hunts with Liam, that he knew he'd be just as blissfully happy to enter the imaginary world of any other child of theirs. "Me?""Yes, you." He said with a chuckle. "I'll be fine." He laughed again. "And best you believe that I will make sure you are." He may not know a lot about pregnancies, but he knew, from stories from his mother, that each one was different, and he would take on the job of making her life as stress-free as possible.
Bruce smiled as he felt her relax in his arms, which had been what he had been hoping. "Have I told you how much I love you recently?" He pursed his lips as he pretended to think about the question. "Not since we woke up." He replied with a chuckle.
"I would say girl, after already having had Liam.. but the idea of having a miniature you toddling about is too cute to resist." He loved the sound of her laugh. "As long as they are happy and healthy, I don't mind what they are. What about you?""Happy and healthy is great." He replied. When he'd been a pony club instructor, he'd imagined himself as one of the parents waiting at the rail - one of the parents who were quietly watching, rather than pretending they knew more than the instructor - and wondered what it would be like to watch his own daughter riding around on a tiny equine full of ponitude. "Maybe a girl? I'm sure mum said the girls were easier to handle than us boys." There again though, he'd grown up on a huge farm and he and his brothers were more likely to vanish somewhere on the property then the girls. "Above all else, though, I want you happy and healthy."
"You know what I mean though..." Bruce chuckled and nodded. He did know what she meant, but he was doing his best to ease her worry, as this must have been as much a surprise to her as it was for him, if not more shocking, since it was her body that was going through all the changes.
"Yeah?" He nodded with a grin, a little lost for words. "You're sure?" He nodded again, knowing that he was beginning to look like a bobble-headed toy. "I am... relieved.. that you're not freaking out," He chuckled as his thumbs rubbed against her arms. He had a feeling that the nerves running through her were due to what she thought his reaction might be. "I'm nervous too, but.. I'm happy. I want to have a baby with you, I'm excited to do this with you." He grinned as he dropped one hand and moved the other to take her hand and spun her toward him, so that her back was against him and he rested both his hands on her stomach. "We're a team." He told her softly, kissing her neck below her ear. "I will always be here for you." He had an office that was attached to their bedroom, but he didn't used it as an office, so they could clear that out and turn it into a nursery while the baby still needed to be close. He didn't voice that though, as he didn't know when they should start planning the baby's room. "Are we thinking boy or girl?" He'd be blissfully happy with either, or both, but womanly intuition was normally on target.
"No but.. I just really wanted to be sure. Before I went and changed our lives and it turned out to be wrong. I just needed to know that it was true." Bruce nodded, he could understand that, he'd also heard that a negative test wasn't always negative.
His smile deepened when she finally gave him a smile in return, even if it was tiny and he almost needed a magnifying glass to see it. "Well, I'll call the Doctors and book in a scan so they can check everything's okay." He nodded, those things he could understand the need for. "But how do you feel about it?" He grinned. "There's no pressure, if.. you're not ready or.. this isn't how you pictured it. I just.. I'd understand if this wasn't what you wanted." He chuckled as he placed a finger over her lips to stop her nervous chatter. With his hands on her arms, he could feel the nerves running through her. "Unless we were going through IVF, I don't think there is a being ready." He said softly. He'd heard from friends that even people who were actively trying to get pregnant still had no idea when it was going to happen. "How do I feel? A little nervous, but so excited!" He gave her a gentle kiss. "How are you feeling about this?" Planned or not, this was their baby!
Though his smile didn't move, Bruce studied her face and wondered where her stress was coming from. "Well, I hope so." His brows rose as he looked at what she was holding and pressed his lips together as a snort of laughter escaped, and he quickly put his fist against his mouth, as this wasn't the time to be laughing. "I'm pregnant..." He chuckled as he pulled her to him and closed her in his arms. "I think the term is we're pregnant." He said softly. "We're in this together."
He stepped back slightly as he looked at her, keeping his hands on her arms so not to lose the contact. "I've heard that the third time's a charm, but you were expecting a different result by the third test?" It wasn't the fact that she was holding a test that had piqued his amusement, it was the fact that she was holding three. He gave her a bright smile. "I've never done this before... well, with human babies, so I'm following your lead here." He needed to do some serious reading, get one of those stupid what to expect when expecting books, or whatever they were called. He wondered if there was a fatherhood for dummies version.
Bruce had received an early call from Seven Oaks that morning. It seemed that Libby had dreams of being a jumper, and decided to show this by jumping out of her pasture, but with her foal panicking on the other side of the fence, the mare wasn't as keen to jump back in, though she did remain right by the fence until someone opened the gate for her. He was going to need to find a confident, small, rider for the Kaimanawa, and see what she could actually do.
Arriving back home, he let himself in the front door. "Honey, I'm home." He laughed every time he did that, it was such a cliché thing to say when you walked through the door, and it rolled off his tongue without thought every single time. "In here!" He grinned as he toed off his boots and headed in the direction her call had come from. An eyebrow lifted as he saw she was hiding something behind her back, and his lips curved in a smile. "Do I want to know?" For where they were standing, there could be a million different things she was holding, and some of them things that males had no idea about, other than the fact women needed them.
"More than your life is worth," Bruce chuckled. "You're very hot when you try to look all serious." He told her with a boyish grin. "No deal, I want the ocean." He shuddered, even the thought made him feel claustrophobic. "Can we compromise and have a moat?" He grinned again. "I'll let you design the drawbridge. I wonder how much consent we'd need for a moat?" He tapped his lower lip in thought again, pretending to take it completely seriously. "And do we want crocodiles or piranha?" If they were going to have a moat, they needed something to stop people from wanting to swim across it. "Would we have to fence it off?" There was a chance he was giving this way too much thought! "Ahh I see, and how will I know when's the time?" He chuckled, tapping her nose. "I'm sure you could be creative and work it out."
"I know you will." He chuckled and then coughed to stop himself from laughing, knowing that if he started, he'd need to excuse himself until he returned to being an adult. He took a deep breath and grinned, yup, all maturity here, he didn't at all have the mind of a fifteen year old boy. "Hmm, I don't know if I believe that." He stuck his tongue out at her. He dissected his dessert, using the side of his spoon to slice his fruit up into tiny pieces and then mixed it together with the sauce and the melting ice cream. "That you do, and I have plenty of practice with it." He offered her a smile. "And you do it so well."
"I hope you're ready to work really hard," He gave a boyish grin, he'd move the heaven and stars for her if she asked him to. "Can he have the whole pot?" Bruce grinned and nodded as he polished off the last of his dessert. "Yup, the whole thing. He can even lick the tub out of he feels the need." He carried his bowl to the sink. "I'm sure no one would notice if you needed to taste test it to make sure it's alright." He said in a conspiratorial whisper with a grin.
"Hmm I don't know.. I'm not sold on the idea of being stuck in a bubble with you." Bruce flashed a grin. "I wonder how much it would cost me to put a bubble over the property?" He tapped his lower lip in thought as he pretended to mentally tally the expenses. "We could live like Sandy in Spongebob Square Pants, just without the ocean surrounding us." Yes, child at heart. "Noted, don't call you sir." He gave a boyish grin. "You could call me Sir, sometimes?"
"I think that's a good idea, then it can be just the two of us, finally.. Mostly." He laughed. "I'll take you every way I can get you." He said with a nod before popping the spoon in his mouth. "Well now, don't you try and get smart with me, I'll see right through it." He quirked an eyebrow. "I'm sure I've grown out of the door slamming phase." It took quite a bit for Bruce to lose his temper, and he'd walk away from a situation before it got to that point, which made him good at his job. "Though I'll have you to keep me in line if I haven't."
"Are you sure? I might need some firm proof of that." He wiggled his brows. "I'll give you a demonstration, later, when we're in a less public setting." He teased back and returned to his dessert. "Finished!" He grinned, it was always amazing how quickly dessert vanished. "Bowl, please." He bit back his chuckle, though nodded his head as Liam took the bowl to the sink. "The tub is just inside the freezer door." They were a pretty fancy brand, but the tubs were small and plain, so it wouldn't harm the pup having a little treat every now and then.
"Now I'm starting to get concerned that you want to live in your own little bubble," Bruce gave a wicked grin. "Living in a bubble sounds like fun. Especially if it was the two of us." There would be no PDA if it was only the two of them. "I could handle calling you Sir every once in a while, but I think the curtsy's might be pushing it." He laughed. "I have enough trouble with the young riders calling me mister, so I think you calling me Sir would get old really quick." He was a farmer's son, formality was a foreign thing for him. "I think we should probably be kicking them out, if we've been replaced; and it's time to find a new side piece." He pursed his lips and nodded. "I'll give them their eviction notice." He chuckled, as he had no problem telling imaginary people they could sod off.
"I've not heard of that one before, I'll keep that in mind.. the same goes for if you start slamming doors," He laughed. "Yes, but I'm smart enough to know to throw something between the door and the frame before they connect." He said with a shrug. "Liam is here- that counts as PDA... and I figured that if you don't like PDA, you clearly don't like A in general." He laughed and stuck his tongue out. "I've had it on good authority that I'm quite good at the D and the A." He said with a smirk.
As the sauce was cocoa and sugar, it wouldn't do the dog any real harm, but it was good to keep a firm no chocolate rule in place, so there was no confusion at a later date. "Okay, he can have his own!" Bruce nodded and grinned. "He'll love having his on dessert."
"of course they do," Bruce grinned and nodded. "They do!" At least at schools, it was from friends sitting too close that headlice were spread, as well as the sharing of brushes, clips and hats. "Do you like being called sir?" He shrugged. "That, and the curtsy."
"Oh no, that's exactly where I've been leaving him!" He released a heavy sigh and then frowned in thought. "You think we should be charging them rent?" He asked with a laugh, even though he knew that no one else would find any part of this conversation amusing.
"Tell me about it, I hope you're ready for temper tantrums and door slamming?" He gave a snort of laughter, which turned into a cough to try and cover it. "My sisters learned very quickly not to slam doors. Very hard to slam a door that is no longer there." He was the only child in the house never to have lost his door, as he had three older siblings to learn from. "and thank you," He pulled a face as he followed her to the table. "You know it's only called PDA if you are out in public?" He asked with a wicked grin. "Just a reminder that chocolate will make him sick." He said before he stuck his spoon into his ice cream. "There is a small tub of vanilla ice cream you can give Gizmo when you've finished." Yes, he spoiled the dog, but it was only summer for a short time, and the Collie deserved the odd after dinner treat too.
"Oh really?" He nodded. "So you wouldn't mind it if I didn't kiss you in public? No holding hands or hugging? Not even one tiny little touch?" He pulled a face. "PDA is where cooties come from." He told her with a nod. "Of course, sir, begging your pardon, sir." He chuckled, giving an approving nod at the curtsy. "Careful, I could get used to this side of you."
"No I don't think you do, we make sure he'd long gone before you get home," He raised his brows and pursed his lips. "As long as you don't hide him in the garage. It would be horrible if he got together with the lady I keep out there for when you're at work. If they hooked up, it would leave both of us high and dry." In all honesty, he wouldn't be too surprised if he found a body in the depths of the garage, it was still filled with the old owners things when he bought the place.
"Oh very saucy," He grinned. "Of course, no PDA." He nodded and then laughed, opting not to voice his thoughts. "Yess," Bruce's brow's arched and be bit back a chuckle. "I get the feeling that the teen years are going to be a hoot." He said for Flynn's ears only before he returned the ice cream to the freezer. "Thaaaanks you!" Bruce grinned and bowed his head as he took his own dessert and headed to the table with it.
He arched a brow at her sudden attempt at seriousness. "Oh yes, and not only that but you don't get to sleep in anymore, no more swearing, and absolutely no PDA," The other brow joined the first. He didn't exactly do the sleep in thing, nor did he swear all that much, but no PDA? A smile curved his lips. "I can live with no PDA." He said with a casual shrug. "Wouldn't want to gross the boy out, or think that it was normal."
"And I get eye-candy that cooks." His brows rose as he looked around. "Really, where? Do I know him?" He gave her a cheeky grin. "Yes, sir," He laughed. "Next time make sure click your heels together." He teased with a grin. "Perhaps you should handle the sauce part.""You calling my saucy?" He asked as he picked up the jug and using the spoon to make sure that just the right amount poured out, he artfully swirled it over the fruit and ice cream, making sure not to get any over the edges.
He looked over as he could hear that Gizmo and Liam were back from the chickens. "Don't forget to wash your hands." He said as he carried the spoons to the table.
Bruce shook his head and laughed at the reply he got, the scary thing is that he would have done the exact same thing. "you are such a dad now," His brows flew up. "Oh no!" He gasped. "Does that mean that I need to be... mature?" He said the word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. He was ecstatic about the comfortable relationship he had with Liam, as he didn't want to replace the boy's father, but would happily step into the dad-role. He may joke around a bit, but he was also adult enough to know when the time for games needed to be put aside.
"Oh I think you could, but you couldn't ask for a sexier one, right?" He grinned and nodded as he stole a quick kiss. "That's exactly what I meant! I get eye-candy while sorting out dessert." Where she was standing also gave her a perfect view of the backyard. "Uhh yes, sprinkles on everything!" He laughed as he slid the ice cream container toward her. "Ok, my sexy assistant, you need to slice the bananas in half, and then two scoops into each bowl on top of them so that you get kind of a boat effect." He reached into the cupboard again and pulled out all the containers of sprinkles that they had accumulated, as well as some wafers. "Then pour over the sauce and finish it off with the decorations." And while she handled the technical side of dessert, he located the spoons they would need.
"Mmmm..." Bruce gave a boyish grin, knowing that he wasn't helping his own case here, but he was a firm believer that growing up was optional.
"I will," He smiled as he watched the boy head outside. "Make sure you turn the tap off if the trough does need filling." He called after him. He rinsed the dinner dishes and put them into the dishwasher to make sure the countertop was tidy before starting on dessert. "Ooh yes that sounds wonderful, Can I play sou-chef?" he grinned as he took the sundae plates from the cupboard and handed her those and the bananas. "I couldn't ask for a better assistant." He said with a smile as he found a bowl and the things to make the chocolate sauce, taking the ice cream from the freezer so that it could soften. "I'm guessing we want sprinkles too?" He asked as he took the sauce from the microwave and stirred it, smiling at the consistency of it - as he had had to substitute a couple of the home brands that he would have used.
