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!.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity chuckled, as she'd heard a thing or two about the sleepover, though she knew that Mik held no grudges about silly things like that, and no one was killed, and the Ghostbusters or the Winchester brothers hadn't been called in, so the night can't have been that bad... right? "I'm sure, that with his two terrors, he'll have an idea or two." Even if one of his horses thought he was a lap-dog.
She pursed her lips and shrugged. "I can see if I can find anything in the archives at the station, if you want?" She offered with a grin, as she was curious to know if there was any basis behind a Hickstead urban legend, and if it involved the death of a human, there should be a police report about it, even if it was an innocent death.
She kept pace with the teenager and her mare as they headed into the barn, she chuckled as Molly explained how she got interested in ghosts. "Everyone has to start somewhere." She offered with a shrug. "And you have to wonder where those shows got their ideas from, as a lot of things on Supernatural come from myths and legends, so they have to have some base of truth." She laughed as the topic turned to fairy rings and she shook her head with a smile. "Other than know where the ley lines are, I haven't come across anything out of the ordinary." Even though it was horse country, there was very little land that was completely wild here. Untamed, yes, but not wild. "My knowledge of fairy ring vanishings, is a lot like your ghost horse, and come from stories I've heard or read." There was a large section on the Lines in the family grimoire though, but that was back in Virginia, with her family.
She reached out her hand, and ran it down Luna's face. "Now that you have her in hand, I'll leave you to your bonding, and I need to head off." She pulled a card out of her back pocket and held it out to the girl. "My number is on there, if you ever want to talk."
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity smiled and nodded. "You can use oils to anoint candles... um, you can rub oils, and/or herbs, on a candle to... well, imbue the candle with your intentions. And, between us, if you have a spell that requires you to let the candle burn down, the candles used on birthday cakes are awesome. They come in every imaginable colour too, easily accessible and won't break the bank." However, the little candles didn't give the same feeling as the flame on a tall candle.
She smiled and nodded, not a lot of people thought about the power of words. She laughed as she thought of Bruce Lee as a sorcerer. "No, he was a man who was very in tune with the power of the energy around him." She guessed that he probably would have been seen as a sorcerer, or a mystic, by some.
She shrugged, knowing that no matter where she had gone in life, her cat would have stayed at home and she would have gone alone, a witch without her familiar - she had thought about getting a cat who could come to work with her. "I don't think she was ever my cat." She offered with a shrug. "She belongs to the forest around our house. And my job requires me to work hours that wouldn't be fair on a living companion, with a heartbeat." After all, her plants were alive. "Cacti are said to be very good for Feng Shui, but that's a whole different topic, and not something I really follow." She laughed as she thought about the chaos she lived with at times.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity gave a warm smile. Thank you, both. She said, including both of them in her comment. She nodded in the direction of the arena, where the young woman was now leading the pony through a maze of poles on the ground. "That is Cara, she's Naomi's oldest foster child." Well, in all technicalities, Cara had aged-out of the system, but Naomi still talked about the teenager as her foster daughter. "As for the carrots, there are some in a bin by the pastures." At least there should be, unless one of the horses had found them.
She smiled at Julia's question about her number of horses. "At the moment, Kenzie looks after her son more than I do, and I have help from the people that work here if I run out of time to exercise them." She was lucky that Ca'Daith was happy to have other people touch her now, as things had been very different when the mare had first arrived here - back then even Serenity struggled to connect with the mare. "They all came to me, well, other than Shadow, needing a safe place." She laughed and nodded, though she wouldn't change the night she had met Moses for anything. She nodded to the next question. "Yes, I work for the police." She said softly, her nose scrunching at the following question and shrugged. "While I have some cases that make me wish I had taken up a job at the BAU, I know that what I'm doing helps the people who can't speak up for themselves."
She grinned at the girl's excitement at meeting some ponies. "Right this way, my good people." She led the way over to the pasture where Cara's small herd lived and pursing her lips, she gave a whistle, smiling as eight heads popped up at looked toward them. While she knew that Cara didn't give the ponies treats very often, there was a cooler bin attached to the bottom of the gate - where the ponies wouldn't be able to reach it - and she knew that it contained the carrots that were used as rewards during training, and she was sure the owner wouldn't mind if they fed a couple of them to the ponies who came over to say hello. "Most of the ponies in here are Exmoor Ponies. The three youngsters, Ice and two weanlings, were off by themselves at the back of the pasture, and the others were watching the humans by the fence before the Welshie blew out a breath and trotted toward them. "The one coming toward us is Twist, he belongs to Cara's daughter." She smiled as the pony reached the fence and stuck his head between the rails and reached his nose toward Julia, blowing gently toward her, eager to meet someone new.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity shrugged and grinned. "Work, but loyal as anything once you're a team." She laughed as she looked over to where her own mares were, especially the youngster who would jump fences to be with her rather than the fence being between them. She couldn't wait until Jera was ready to be ridden, and shook herself out of her thoughts as she followed the girl and her horse. "Sure." She grinned as she took the mane comb from the grooming bucket.
Serenity shrugged. "As I wasn't around back then, my info comes from things I've read or seen in movies, so don't take my knowledge as being written in stone." She offered as she worked the comb through the mare's mane. Naomi inherited the property from an uncle...I think, so it's possibly been in her family for years." She gave an impish grin. "Or won in a poker game, as properties were often won and lost back in the day if someone got too cocky." She knew that her great-great-great grandfather had almost lost their property through a gambling debt, but it was his mother who put an end to that, as no one wanted to tempt the wrath of the village forest witch.
Serenity grinned. "If liking research makes you an oddball, then most equestrians would fit into that category." She laughed as she worked with a stubborn knot. She pursed her lips and shrugged. "As I said, can't confirm or deny. There are rumours that people have vanished, but... if people have done through, and come back, they haven't gone running to the press about it. And, if there's a chance it's a one-way trip, would you really chance it? Have you heard of changelings?"
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity grinned and then frowned as she tried to think of what she had said about the universe and nodded with another smile. "Go for your life." She offered with a laugh. "Nine times out of ten, when not on duty, I have no idea what comes out of my mouth." Most of the coven would back her up on that one, the elders often joked that it was her ancestors were talking through her at times.
She smiled and nodded about the stones. "Combining stones is a great way of using properties that work well together, you can do the same with candles, oils... Sorry. Just make sure that they aren't the polar opposites of each other. However, that's also confusing, because so many stones have so many properties, and a lot of the ones that are used for energy, can also be used for calming. It's really all about the intention while you're putting the piece together." Everything was about intention.
She grinned. "Words Are Energy and Cast Spells, That’s Why It’s Called Spelling." That had to be one of her favourite quotes. "And before you think I'm really clever with words, the great Bruce Lee said those words first. Her father was a huge Bruce Lee fan, and through his admiration for the man, and many years of training, he had taught his own children the skills of martial arts, while they had mixed it around with other styles so they didn't have any one style to say they were great at, but knew enough to know how to keep themselves safe, and kick butt when the time called for it.
She smiled as she thought about the cat that lived on their family property. "She couldn't have come with me, she would hate living in the small flat that I live in. She shrugged at the green thumb comment. "We grew our own food at home, other than the meat of course, so it's something that came naturally to me, I guess. I've learned that some plants don't take to being grown indoors, so I make use of the community garden by the police station to grow those crops. And there's nothing wrong with succulents and cacti, however much people like to say that anyone can grow them and they are hard to kill, I have seen other people prove them wrong. Keeping cacti and succulents happy and healthy, takes a lot of work." She had a small rock garden that happily grew on the outside of her zen garden.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Reni smiled as she was introduced to a young girl, her smile deepening at the child's manners. "Pleasure to meet you, Julia, you can call me Reni. And I know some ponies who would love to have a carrot or two." She smiled up at Moses. "Not sure who else here uses lavender, but I'd guess that your delivery would be for Cara." She nodded toward the arena, where the young woman was working a marble roan Connemara pony, or at least trying to work the pony, who was currently standing in the middle of the arena with her legs splayed out in all directions as though she didn't know how she was supposed to used them.
Her smile moved back to Julia. "I have four horses here. Ca'Daith and Jera." She pointed to the pasture she had just come from, where the young mare was trotting along the fenceline, which Reni silently begged her not to jump. "As well as Kenzie and her son, Shadow." She shook her head in amusement as the colt wandered further and further away from his dam, though raced back to her when Jera took offence to the colt and snaked her neck in warning toward him.
She gave an impish grin at the question of how she knew Moses, that night always brought a smile to her face. "There was a really big snake... that wasn't as big as people try to make her out to be, and a lizard, who got loose in the break room, and some really scared police officers." A night that those men were never going to live down. "Would you like to come and meet some ponies?" She knew that Cara wouldn't mind if she took Julia over to the pasture where the pony herd grazed, and the ponies weren't likely to get too pushy, like her own horses. The mares were all well-mannered, but they often forgot their size in their excitement for attention and treats, and she didn't trust Shadow not to bite the girl.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Reni smiled and shrugged. "In all technicalities, you wouldn't be lunging her, per sey. The idea is to get her to realise that you can make her feet move, thus, making yourself the alpha mare, so you won't be working in circles, a straight line can be enough some days." She explained. "Horse hierarchy is worked out by who can make the other move in the direction they want. Contrary to popular belief, it's a mare who is in charge of a wild herd, not a stallion. The stallion's job is to keep the herd safe and... make babies. The alpha mare is the one who is really in charge, she'll kick other mares, or youngsters out of the herd if they won't listen, and they can only return when the mare says they can."
She listened and nodded."Well, if it happened before the stables around here got their names, though Naomi will know what this property was called if it hasn't always been Blue Acres, and it's been in her family for years. If the tale is that old, the man would have been riding a stallion, as it was an ego thing back in the days. Men rode stallions, because they were often large and powerful, where women were put on mares and geldings because they weren't as strong, broken more and easier to handle. For a man to b riding a mare, he would have been seen as weak, with very little standing in society... Or, he was young. A young man your age, rather than a grown man. Someone not quite seen as responsible enough to ride a stallion, but old enough to handle a young mare who needed more milage before she could be handled by a woman."
Reni's smile deepended. "Leylines are interesting, I think you will enjoy your research." They were also full of legendary tales, which was why the woman knew more about them than the average person, and why she was so keen to take the job in this continent, rather than any other. She grinned when it seemed the mention of the fae piqued the teen's interest. "Some say that where the leylines connect, the borders between our world and the otherworld, home of the fae, can shimmer." She gave a shrug with a mysterious smile. "Not that anyone can actually confirm or deny the fact."
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Reni grinned. "Sounds like the candle flame did it's job then." She said with a laugh. "The universe doesn't always gives us answers. Sometimes a clear head it clarity enough." And sometimes that was the most annoying lesson to learn, especially when you wanted an answer that was a little more than a simple yes or no. She grinned and shook her head about taking notes. "I'm not going to test you on this later." She teased with a laugh. "Google is your friend in anything candle and crystal related. You just need to know the correct way to word what you want to know." And, after a while, you wouldn't need the internet as a reference, it would just come naturally. "A lot of black coloured crystals are good for grounding. Hematite, as I mentioned before, Shungite, Smoky Quartz, Black Agate, Black Onyx and Black Tourmaline, just to name a few. Each with their own grounding properties. The best way to find which one is right for you is to hold them and the right one will let you know."
She shrugged and grinned. "There's no more powerful spell, than the ones you write yourself. Even if they are blended from ones you have found from other places." She offered with a shrug. She smiled as she thought about the cat that had just turned up at the house she grew up in. "Her name is Mielikki. She's a giant black Forest Cat who just appeared one day and decided our family belonged to her. Sadly, she lives with my parents in Virginia, over in the U.S. of A. She was good at knowing when she was needed while I was studying, like sleeping on my bed so that I couldn't go to bed before I finished what needed to be done." She missed having a cat around, but worked too long hours for her to feel that she could give an animal the time they needed. "I have plants at home, they just don't tend to be as vocally opinionated as cats." Plants were opinionated in their own ways, but they couldn't tell you what was wrong, but they didn't really fit into the familiar role.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity nodded and grinned, her eyebrows arched. "The round pen sounds like a good idea, other than the fact that you would have to catch her first to get her to the pen." She offered with a shrug. "Might just be easier to ask Mik if he can set aside some standards and a reel of tape that you can use as needed."
Her brows lifted as she listened to the tale of the ghost horse and nodded her head, lips pursed. The tale was similar to many other ghost horse stories, but she decided this would not be the best time to bring that up, as she wasn't one to squash other people's happiness. Plus, Reni could have a look through the archives at the station and see if there was any truth to the story. Even if it was a cold case, hadn't been solved, a gunshot would have at least been looked into, and she would be able to find the name of the rider. "Depending on how long ago it happened, the horse was probably a stallion." She offered, as men tended to ride stallions way back when, as it was a sign of manliness.
She smiled and nodded, falling into step beside the girl and her horse. "How much do you know about ley lines?" She asked. Despite being a Yank, the history of ley lines had been a part of Reni's lessons, as there were well known standing stones throughout Europe, and everyone knew about Stonehenge - the most famous standing stones, no matter where in the world you were from. And while she had never been to the Straight Path herself, she believed that the lines were a form of energy, and her inner-child was keep to go and find out. Sounds like it will be quite the adventure. Just make sure you don't steps into any fairy rings that you find, or walk through a Yew Tree that's on the Ley."
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity grinned. "Sometimes, it has nothing to do with the colour of the candle, and just watching the dancing patterns of flame is enough to answer any questions you might have." Lighting a candle near her was not a good thing when she was supposed to be concentrating on something, which is why she was more likely to burn incense when she needed to concentrate, as she tended to get a little lost when looking into a flame.
She nodded when asked about crystals. "The different crystals have different meanings, just like the candles. Hematite." She held up her hand to show the hematite and tiger's eye bracelet that she was wearing. "This stone is great to help keep you grounded, also helps with focus. While the tigers eye offers healing, protection and success." She brought out the necklace she was wearing, a woven pentacle with a triquetra in side the star and in the middle of the celtic trinity was a bright blue stone that was flecked with gold and white. "This is lapus lazuli, good for bring out power, knowledge and protection. The two crystals that people are most familiar with are clear quartz, the master healer, and amethyst, the sobering stone."
Reni had no issues with the conversation turning to books, as it wasn't often that she found people who were into the same books as her, or ones she could recommend without people looking at her like she was nuts. She laughed and shrugged. "I don't know about expert opinion, but it's a good book as far as spells go." She offered. She laughed at the antics of the other woman's cat. "I love your cat's name! We have a very large black cat back home, and she's loud enough without being about to talk. I could only imagine what it would be like if she could talk, and shudder to think!" It was times when she was working magic, that she missed having a familiar, but she hadn't found one here, so she did without.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Serenity had a couple of days off, and she was spending them at the barn with her horses. Jera's training was coming along well, the young mare had taken to the saddle and bridle nicely and would make a wonderful show horse when she found the correct partner, as the mare tended to throw a fit as soon as she was bossed around, so she would need a confident rider with gentle hands who was looking for a partnership. Ca'Daith was as cool, calm and collected s always, enjoying the cooling weather out in the pastures, eating the grass. She was standing in the pasture with her new mare, the large mare she had brought home after a welfare check that had ended badly for everyone involved a year ago. "Easy girl." She soothed the grey Clydesdale cross gently as the mare looked around, nickering urgently for her black colt who had wandered off to explore the chain on the gate. "Shadow is safe, you can still see him." She watch the colt, before she made a kissing sound and caught the weanling's attention, smiling as she looked at the lightning shaped white line that ran down his face from forehead to muzzle.
She looked over when she heard voices, smiling when she saw Moses and a young girl. "Behave yourself." She told the colt as she shook her finger at him, laughing because she knew the colt didn't care what she said, and she slipped the halter off the mare's head before exiting the pasture and heading toward man and child. "Hi." She greeted both with a smile.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Heat hit Reni's cheeks as she realised she may have said a bit too much about ghosts than she should have, and decided that now probably wasn't the best time to move off on that tangent. She'd be happy to talk about it later though, if Molly brought it up again, as she'd come face to face with a spirit in the past that had been a little more... well, real than it should have been. She grinned and nodded, pleased that it seemed that the girl wanted to at least think about her approach. "If it helps, you could ask Naomi, if you can put up a couple of break fences to give yourself a smaller area to work in when you are starting with the 'being with me is more fun than working' game." It was easier to work with a horse in quarter of the pasture, rather than the full pasture.
Reni rubbed Luna's forehead, the mare had good amount of spunk, the only mares she'd met who didn't have that spunk, had broken spirits. Her brow rose in question when the topic moved back to ghosts. "An equine ghost? Where, how, when?" She laughed, knowing she sounded like an over-excited child, and took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Sorry. An equine ghost sounds like an interesting way to enter ghost hunting. I come to know Maeve pretty well since she started riding here, so I can't think that any of the ideas she would have suggested would be anything, as a local law enforcer, I would have to caution you against. I'm curious to know what you have in mind for the summer." Part of her was curious, and that child that was still in her wanted to join in on the adventures, she had some holiday time that she needed to take.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Okay, in hindsight, she probably shouldn't have disclosed that she liked people watching, especially when she was off-duty, but people watching was so much easier than people interacting.
She laughed gently at the question and pulled a face. "I don't know if I have that kind of relationship with candles, I've just been working with them for a while." To a point that she could reach into her basket of candles and pull out the colour she needed without having to look at the candles. "Crystals tend to sing to me though." She added with a mysterious smile.
She was silent as she watched Mina's eyes close as she reached out toward the candles again, and she gave the younger woman a small magical push to help her find the candle she needed. She grinned as the conversation turned to books, as it was easy to talk about fictional witches, and spell books, that was all make-believe. "Hey, it's a good book of spells." She said with a cheeky grin. She released an undignified snort at the Sabrina question, as that was a little too close to the truth for her liking. "Sadly, I work too much that I decided it wouldn't be fair on a pet. I would love to have a talking cat though!" As a child she would imagine that their cat could talk, after all the creature had appeared out of the forest behind their house, so she was sure that the cat was a magical creature, given to her family for protection... Well, if the Academy hadn't worked out, she could have become a children's author.
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Reni shrugged. The term horse whisperer gave people the idea that you told the horses what to do, whereas telling them that you listened to the horses let them know that what you were doing had nothing to do with whispering things to them. "Man, you're like a certified BAMF then." Her eyebrow arched in amusement. She'd heard the term before, and not often said as a compliment, though she laughed and shook her head in reply to Molly.
“But…. don’t you always want your emotions to stay away from the horses?” Reni grinned and nodded. "Thus the doorway." She said, pointing at the gate. "My emotions are out there, being held in a bag of energy, waiting for me to pick it up and deal with it when I leave." Her brow lifted again, because she realised that from what she had said, the energy would come back to her as she left with the horse. "The horse acts as a buffer, and the energy can't touch me when I'm leading the horse." She shrugged, it had made sense when her dad had taught her about it, but that was probably because they always talked about stuff like that, so it was her normal, and not so fairy-tale. “Balls of energy? Perhaps…would that help me find ghosts?” She laughed and shook her head and then paused to consider the girl's words. "Well... it would, if the ghost was corporal enough and you needed them to back off."
Reni ran her hand down the mare's nose. "It won't work if you don't think it will. It worked so well for me because I walked into the pasture with a game plan, and knew exactly what I wanted Luna to do, and I had the belief that she would. The instant it seemed she had other ideas, I raised my energy and Luna realised that I meant business." Being shorter than the average height was never easy when it came to working with horses, as they easily outsized you, but being able to raise your energy, you would make yourself appear bigger than the horse. It's why ponies were often the rulers of the pastures when they were turned out with horses, because they had big energy to make up for their small size. “She is beautiful, but I think her face always says she’s a trouble maker.” Reni crinkled her nosed and laughed. "There's nothing wrong with a little spice to go with the sugar. Do you often hunt for ghosts?"
Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.- Ovid
Reni grinned, as her civvy clothes were the polar opposite of her uniform. In her time, she like wearing flowing skirts and peasant tops, nothing too constricting and the fabrics as natural as possible. "Er...I do it when I get side tracked at work." She smiled and nodded. "I too like to people watch." She offered with a shrug.
"The candles speak to you?" She knew that to another person her words sounded kooky, if not a little stupid at best, though she waited while Mina thought over what she had said and nodded. "You have probably worked with the stones and metals for long enough that everything you do is so natural that you don't even notice how you perfectly pair things together." There was a little witch in everyone.
She watched as the other woman selected the two candles and weighed them in her hands. "And possibly heavy with burden." She smiled and shrugged. "Removing the human emotions from it, you're on the right path." Everything had an energy, and the trick in life was learning to read the different vibrations that this energy released. "It's called The Blue is for Nightmares Collection." She offered, as it was a series she had thoroughly enjoyed reading. "Though the "witchcraft" finger quotes and all "in it is more Melissa Joan Hart, Sabrina than Charmed. Did you buy it as a solo book, or as the boxed collection that comes with a spellbook? Another good series is White Haven Witches." Sure, she lived witchcraft, but it was fun to read about it too.
