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!.
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.
She grinned and batted her eyelashes at him. ”I’m always all yours. .forever” She watched his face as she passed hmthe briefcase, smiling at his reaction. Perfect. She’d guessed he would like it but seeing his face was priceless. She leaned into the kiss and half pouted when he pulled away. If she had her way, she would kiss him all day every day. Grinning, she clapped her hands excitedly. ”yes lets go!” She was acting like a kid in a sweet shop but she couldn’t help herself. As they drove, she flicked through the radio, settling on a station that was playing throwback songs. Squealing with a grin, she turned up the volume and started to sing along to ‘can't fight the moonlight’ from one of her favourite films, coyote ugly.
When they pulled up to the restaurant, she ended her mini concert and unbuckled her seatbelt before stepping out of the car; bag in hand. She moved around the car over to Damon and held her hand out to take his as they walked into the restaurant. She gave the hostess a small smile and let Damon speak since he made their reservation. While the host grabbed their menus, she had a quick glance around, happy to see that the restaurant was pretty quiet. Picture-perfect setting for their anniversary meal. The brunette followed the other woman as she lead them through the room and sat down when they reached their table. While the waitress gave them a few minutes to browse through the menu, Ashley reached her hand over to rest on Damon’s. ”Happy Anniversary”
ashley smiled and shook her head slightly. "why thank you mr thornton." damon was always the humble one, turning compliments back on the person who was giving them was something she was used to and she wasn't complaining. it was one of the things she loved about him and who didn't like to be complimented anyway. she couldn't help but feel a buzz as they stepped out of the house, it had been ages since they'd had a proper date night. they were both either working, studying or in ashley's case doing a night shift and on top of all that they had to juggle looking after a four year old. she wouldn't change her life but at the same time, it would be nice if the two of them could get more alone time.
"yeah. .if we don't leave know i'll find an excuse to go and check on josh. ." she said with a small grin. the babysitter was one they used regularly and she was lovely, josh always had fun with her and she knew he was safe but she still hated leaving him. she got into the car and fastened her seatbelt before reaching into the back and pulling out damon's present. "I know we said we were just going for a meal and not doing presents but i saw this and i had to get it for you." she smiled and waited for his reaction. she hoped he liked it. she'd been thinking about what she could get him when she saw the briefcase/satchel in one of the shops in the city and it was perfect. .she hoped.
Ashley sat on her bed while she took the clips out of her hair to release the curls she'd had pinned to her head.She ran her fingers through them until she was satisfied with how they looked. Tight curls that stuck to her head did not look good. She'd stopped by the hair dressers after work to get her hair done and even had a friend come by to do her make-up professionally. It was the anniversary of their first date and she wanted to make an effort. Although she wasn't wearing a dress. It had been a cool day and she couldn't bring herself to get her legs out. She stood up and looked in the full length mirror in the corner. She liked her outfit choice - a navy dressy top, navy pants and black heels. Not over the top but dressy enough.
She grabbed her chain bag from the dresser and headed out of the bedroom. She was excited for tonight, it had been a while since they'd been on a date and she was looking forward to spending some quality time with him. She loved Josh more than anything but he was a handful. It was hard to get some alone time when he was around, especially in a two bedroom flat. She greeted the babysitter as she walked into the hallway and bent down to give her son a kiss goodbye. "Be good baby." She said as she stood up. She had a quick word with the sitter about his bed time before moving over to Damon. "Well don't you look handsome" She said with a smile, pausing as she passed to give him a light kiss on the lips. "Lets go get wined and dined." She said as she walked outside to the car, where she'd hidden a little surprise for Damon.
