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!.
She looked out of the window as they pulled out of the restaurant car park, trying to get a sense of where they were going. From the direction they were heading in, she figured it could only be a handful of places. Since they’d had one of their first dates on the beach, she was betting on that being their destination. "Now I feel like I've got your hopes up for something crazy," She looked at him with a smile ”Nah, I’d have been happy just going for drive. .I mean the company’s not that bad. .” She teased. As they pulled into the beach car park, she smiled smugly to herself, happy that she knew him, that they were on the same wavelength since she probably would have suggested the same. "You take the lead, my lady." She got out of the car and tipped her head towards Damon. ”Why thank you kind sir.” She took off her heels, holding them in one hand as she began the descent to the beach, taking one step at a time. "You can pick the spot," She grinned and looked around ”Ooh all the power . .” She joked before walking closer toward the water and stopping before the sand changed. ”Here?” She asked, glancing back to Damon.
"hi ashley." She returned her friend’s smile with a weak one of her own, closing the door behind her. "i just want to get this out of the way first ... i'm not here to cause problems. I just, want to get to the truth." Ashley felt the knot of worry and anxiety in her stomach start to ease at Heidi’s words and she visibly relaxed a little more, some tension dropped from her shoulders and the breathe she’d been holding was exhaled. ”okay..let’s sit down.” She headed back into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for the brunette before grabbing them both a bottle of water and placing them on the table. Sitting down, she fiddled with the ends of her hair as she tried to think of the best way to start. ”First off. . I just want to get out there, we don’t know for certain Josh is Jason’s. .and I don’t want to.” she knew deep down he was but she’d fight until the end to stop any tests being done on her son. He was happy how he was and that’s how he was staying.
She sighed and took a sip of water to prepare her for the lengthy explanation she was about to give. ”I was sixteen. . just moved to Hickstead where I met Damon. .we started dating, things were going well. . you get the gist. Damon lived with Jason which is how I met him. I don’t know what he’s like now but back then he had a temper and enjoyed winding Damon up. he was a charmer and a sweet talker. It started off with flirting when Damon wasn’t there. .he was twenty one, so of course I was flattered and surprised an older guy was interested in me. .I was naïve for thinking he liked me. .I found out later he’d done it all to hurt Damon”. She shook her head and took a moment before continuing. ”I was drawn in by him and I was pretty confident back then, I knew how to flirt and I liked it. . that’s when the affair started. .I saw another side to him, a sensitive side. .and I fell for him, which ruined me because I loved them both for completely different reasons. Damon eventually walked in on us and well the shit hit the fan.” She took another drink of water, giving Heidi time to process the past she’d been trying to forget for the past five years.
She hid a smirk as Damon opened his mouth to protest at her splitting the bill. She wasn’t a hard-core feminist; she loved to be treated but she believed in paying her own way when she felt like – tonight being one of those times. Plus it was fun to see Damon get a little flustered. She pretended to pout when he said the surprise wasn’t anything exciting. She knew money was tight at the moment, a romantic stroll around the park would have been a nice surprise and she’d be happy. "Your chariot awaits," She took his arm with a smile and kissed his cheek softly before heading out to the car. She almost swooned as he opened the door for her; chivalry clearly wasn’t dead with her boyfriend which made her love him all the more. She fastened her seatbelt with a click and glanced out of the window as they drove, trying to figure out their destination.
Ashley was sat at the kitchen table, her hand wrapped around a blue mug patterned with different dogs as she absentmindedly chewed her lip whilst waiting for her friend to knock at the door. At least she hoped they were still friends. It had been a shock to her when she’d seen Jason walk through the door of Heidi’s house. For a split-second she’d thought Heidi had been playing her the whole time, trying to get close to Josh for Jason. However the look on Heidi’s face had made it clear as day – she didn’t know a thing. She felt for the woman, it wasn’t a bombshell she’d want to be on the other end of either. It had been tough enough watching her son grow up and start to show more of jason’s features as a child than damon’s. Damon hadn’t wanted a paternity test though, choosing to love the child as his own regardless, which made her love him even more. She’d said the words only once, outwardly confirming her thoughts but it was never mentioned again.
The brunette tapped a finger against the mug as she waited anxiously. It had been a surprise to get the message from Heidi asking to meet. She figured Jason would have told her to stay well away which would be a shame since Josh had grown close to Demeter. She took a sip of her green tea, hoping to settle the growing nauseous feeling in her stomach. She didn’t know if it was the morning sickness starting to kick off again or the nerves she was feeling over what was to come; probably a mixture of both. Hearing the knock at the door, she placed the mug back down onto the table and pushed the chair out as she stood up to make her way over to the front door. She opened it and gave the other woman a weak smile ”Heidi. . come in.” She said, moving out of the way slightly to allow her in.
Ashley pulled into her cousin's driveway and rolled to a stop, lifting the handbrake into place after nudging the gearstick into neutral. She pulled out the keys and glanced to Damon with a grin "Ready for an afternoon of chaos?" She loved spending time with her family but it was definitely wild with all of the children. She glanced down for a second at the new ring on her left hand, wondering whether to take it off for the party or not. Of course she wanted to tell everyone about the proposal but it was the twins big day and her news could wait. She left it on anyway, figuring nobody would likely be staring at her hands any time soon.
She got out of the car and moved around to open the back door for her impatiently waiting son. He hadn't shut up for the whole car ride; excitedly chatting about seeing his cousins, eating cake and playing party games. Her heart warmed at how happy he was and how easily he'd seemed to settle into life in a new country/town over the past six months. She'd had doubts over the past few weeks on whether they'd made the right decision in coming home - with Jason harassing her, but josh's happiness reassured her that she had made the right choice.
She released the hyper child from his restraints and let out a laugh as he shot off like a canon towards the house "don't crash into anyone!" She yelled after him, rolling her eyes with a grin as she glanced back to Damon, doing a double take to make sure he'd picked up the twins presents. "I guess he's excited." She watched the brown haired boy disappear into the house, straight into the garden no doubt to find his cousins. Ashley made her way through the house to the kitchen and stepped out into the garden, scanning the environment until her eyes landed on josh who had found his older cousin to play with. she smiled as she spotted her brother on a chair and moved up behind him to ruffle his hair "Sup brother" she grinned, leaning down to give him a quick hug and kiss her nephew on the head.
"I would never imply such a thing.... I know it's filthy." She smirked and shrugged her shoulders. Dirty minds could find humour in any situation. "how about dessert to go? I've got something planned on the way home," She lifted a brow, intrigued to what he’d been planning behind her back. ”Well that sounds exciting” She smiled and asked a passing waitress for the bill. Ashley finished her glass of wine while she waited for the woman to return, glancing at the number at the bottom of the piece of paper as she placed on the table. She picked up her purse and pulled out a few notes, glancing up at Damon. ”Don’t even start. .” She said with a knowing grin. It was his anniversary too and she wasn’t going to let him pay the whole bill. She put her money down on the plate before slipping her coat on. ”Where too Mr Thornton?”
She picked up her glass of wine and brought it back to her lips to take a drink. "I was concerned for what your suggestion might have been, I figured I should get in there first." She grinned and shook her head. ”Are you implying I have a dirty mind?” She asked, lifting a brow with a smirk. He wasn’t wrong. With some of the friends she had, it was hard not to. Ashley crossed one leg over the other and leant back in her chair slightly as the waitress came over to take their plates and offer them a dessert menu. She picked it up and scanned it briefly, hoping something would catch her eye. ”Do you want dessert or grab something on the way home?” She asked, lifting her eyes to meet Damon’s.
She loved how easily she could get him hot and bothered with only a few words and actions. She’d have been concerned if it had been difficult, that sort of thing usually meant the relationship was starting to go stale and she couldn’t imagine that happening with Damon, they just bounced off of each other so naturally. She smiled at how oblivious he was to the waitress eyeing him up, unable to stop herself from smirking as the young girl tried to hide a frown as she left. She was half tempted to wave goodbye to her but she refrained, not wanting to spoil the mood. "I'm worried for the way your mind works," She laughed and lifted a brow. ”My mind? You’re the one who mentioned a bow tie and a G-string”
She smirked in satisfaction as she made him jump, taking pleasure in the fact that she could still have him eating out of the palm of her hand. With work and a four year old it was hard to find the time to actually make the effort to still look and feel sexy and it was good to know she still had it. She grinned softly as he sat back up when the waitress burst their bubble delivering the main. She thanked her and gave her a pointed look when her eyes lingered on Damon a little too long. She knew she didn’t have to be jealous with Damon; he was as loyal as they came but she still didn’t like other woman ogling her man. That was her job. "Why do I get the impression this uniform is going to be a bow tie and a g-string?” She gave him a flirtatious smile as she shrugged gently. ”I pictured you in an apron naked but a bow tie and g-string works too”
She placed her cutlery down on her plate as she finished her starter and used the edge of her napkin to wipe the edges of her mouth before taking a sip of wine. "Of course there are," She gave a little smirk and leant forward so her arms rested on the table. "And what might those be?" She pretended to think for a moment, acting as if she hadn't already had her mind in the gutter. "Oh the usual. . cooking, cleaning, laundry, daily foot rubs." If she was to be working full time, the housework would be down to him. She stretched her high heeled foot out to rub against one of his legs as she ran her eyes over him again. "Obviously there's a uniform when Josh isn't around. . less is more." She returned her gaze to his and bit her lip with a smile before leaning back slightly as the waitress came with their mains.
"I know how to talk us out of it," She let out another laugh and nodded in thought, pretending to think about it. She'd been in disagreements with Damon before and she hated it. He was very good at arguing his case in a laid back manner while she was a firecracker and tended to raise her voice which almost always instantly made her lose. You'd think she'd have learnt by now but it was ingrained in her personality. She had managed to pick up some tips from him which she liked to use as a curve ball occasionally but they rarely argued anymore, more so toward the beginning of their relationship due to obvious reasons however that was all in the past. "Because I'm not a top notch barrister yet? Though you are more than welcome to make me a kept man." She tilted her head slightly as she ogled him, smirking at the thought of him walking around the house in an apron. Her very own butler in the buff. "I mean that can be arranged. .but there are conditions of course."
"No, it's busy but I like keeping busy in this way," She nodded with a smile, knowing the exact feeling he was talking about. She hated it when the practice was having a slow day which was surprisingly rare since a lot of the residents had multiple pets along with two full livery stables. She loved it when there wasn’t much time to stop, busy days went quickly. She loved her job but she loved being at home with her family just as much. "Okay you have a point there, maybe we should start Chloroforming him instead to make it simple?" She let out a laugh and rolled her eyes playfully. ”I mean we could but I think we may get done for child abuse unfortunately” Maybe they could just give him a couple of doses of calpol, knock the kid straight out with a nice taste. She remembered the stuff tasting like pure sugar when she was little but she figured nowadays it would probably taste a lot different. She picked up her cutlery before tucking into the insanely good looking meal in front of her. ”oh wow, how’s yours?”She was almost lost in how amazing it tasted, half annoyed they didn’t treat themselves to a decent restaurant more often. ”It’s great. .why don’t we come here all the time again?”
"No it's nothing too worrying, just trying to make sure we meet all the legal deadlines to avoid any trouble" She listened whole heartedly, finding his work pretty interesting. His brain was one of the things she loved about him, she wasn't short of brains herself but she knew becoming a lawyer was extremely tough. She definitely didn't have the patience for all of the years of training. She'd barely managed the three to become a veterinary nurse. "Okay. . as long as it's not too demanding.""Did it work? I feel like you should have done the opposite and fed him sugar whilst we weren't there to deal with it" She grinned and shook her head "Imagine! She'd never want to babysit him again. .but yes it did work, he's all tired out so it should be an easy night for her." Good babysitters were hard to come by and plying their son with sugar was a sure way to make her run for the hills. Josh was hyper on a good day. . but add sugar into the mix and he was a like Tasmanian devil - bouncing off the walls. She took a sip of her wine and watched as the waitress brought over their food a short while later, thanking her as she set it down.
She grinned and shook her head ”thanks but no thanks. .me and seafood don’t mix.” although she’d never tried lobster, the whole idea of seafood made her stomach churn. She’d been told many times that you can’t dislike something without trying it but they were wrong, she didn’t like it and wasn’t going to change her mind. She took another sip of wine as she waited for damon to tell her about his day. He seemed pretty nervous tonight which was unusual, he was usually pretty relaxed on their date nights but then again it had been a while since they’d been somewhere so fancy. She could see him lost in thought, taking longer than normal to answer which made her smile. ”nothing too stressful I hope? Good. . quiet morning at work then I picked Josh up early and took him to the park to burn off some energy for the sitter tonight.”
ashley was glad they'd been put into a quiet booth in the corner away from hustle and bustle of the entrance and kitchen. she smiled and picked up a menu, turning the pages as she scanned each meal. she'd had a quick look at the menu beforehand but she was stuck between a few things that sounded good. "ooh splashing out are we. .in that case i'll have the lobster." she joked with a cheeky grin. she'd never even tried it and she wasn't about too. to be honest she was looking forward to the desserts more than anything. she had a big sweet tooth. she looked up when the waitress returned with their wine and to take their order. she ordered whatever the chicken was, thanking her with a smile before picking up her glass to take a sip. "how was your day babe?" luckily she'd only had to work half a day so she hadn't had to rush around like a headless chicken to get ready.