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!.
Cal kind of woke up, but not really. It felt like a fever dream but he had no idea what was going on. He wasn’t on the water anymore. He wasn’t smelling the air filed with salt and fresh fish being gutted. Cal did feel like a herd of elephants was sitting on his chest though. His eye lids blinked slowly, the sterile white paint of a hospital room coming into view.
The desire to move was there, but his muscles wouldn’t allow it. His vision finally managed to clear up and he saw three figures. Cal couldn’t quite figure out who they were, but they weren’t dressed in medical staff outfits. “W-what? Wh-ere…” he managed to mumble, hoping to get answers. Did he jump in time? All he could remember was the boat and that was it.
Cal couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the look of Eli and Cole. Not in a judging way, but in a cute way. Eli always did his best to look put together but Cal always loved having some hair that wasn’t put in place. “Hi! It’s all good, I bet he was having a hard time waking up,” Cal smiled before kissing Eli back on the cheek.
He then gave his attention to Cole. “Hey buddy! I hope you won’t mind some sunshine today.” Cole was growing so fast, but he still had those chubby cheeks. Cal wasn’t around him a lot, but enough that Cole kind of knew who he was. But Cal wasn’t someone who would press too much of a relationship.
Cal looked back at Cal. “I think we need some extra caffeine,” he grinned. “How about it?”
“Awesome, you two take it safe and slow. I don’t need anything being broken on either of you or the boat!” Cal was happy he could sit on the bench with his notes, looking like a suave owner of something. He was lucky when people needed an extra hand on the fancier vessels. Made him happy to his patrons trust him. Meant more money for him and his staff.
Cal nodded. Fishing did indeed take patience and all that fun stuff. There was something about it humbling a person. “Ah, fair enough. I hope things in life are…or will improve once you pick it up?” Maybe that was a stretch, but in the world of Cal – people didn’t pick up fishing for the fun of it. There was always a reason for it. Sometimes, it was for fun – but most of the time, something was going on.
“I guess it should start with you deciding what you want to focus on. Freshwater versus salt water. There are some decent beginner styles for each in case you don’t want to spend a fortune on it!” Hopefully, asking the classic sales questions would help redeem the slip of his tongue from earlier. Maybe he was becoming his grandfather after all.
Cal was happy that he managed to get his employees to sign up for the races. Maybe because it was a test to see if anything he taught, was picked up. He wasn’t worried about Christian, but he knew that Aria and Perry would be fun to watch and hear.
The horn to go was heard, and Cal’s expert hands guided his sails. Wind hit the sails and Cal tilted his body, shifting his weight. He noticed Perry struggling for a split second but Cal had a good feeling the young man would be fine.
He crossed the invisible line at 7 minutes, a personal record for singles for himself. So even if he didn’t win, he made a new PR which was great for him. Cal anchored out of the way to cheer on the rest of the racers.
Cal stretched his arms up high, releasing some pops and cracks while at it. The sub was surprisingly out today and it felt nice on the face. He had cleaned up a bit, but nothing baby faced. Cal didn't think he needed to scare his boyfriend today with a hairless face.
He and Eli hadn't put too much thought into today. All they knew was Cole was growing as toddlers do. The kiddo was growing out faster than Iris could alter and fix clothes for the little boy. Even when Cal could patch a pair of pants, another hole was seen shortly after. So, the pair decided it was time to treat Cole to a few pieces of clothes. And maybe some treats too.
Cal suggested a thrift store, as there were decent options and wouldn't cost too many fingers and toes. But that didn't mean Cal wouldn't drop money on a canvas fabric overalls for the toddler. He sat outside of Dolly's and waited for Eli, happy to just spend time with him.
Had Cal known that cookies and food were involved, he would’ve made the work a bit more tedious. But he wasn’t that awful. At least, he hoped not. But he was happy that Aria and Perry seemed to be getting along. If anything, Cal was feeling pretty good about the younger people in his crew. They all had something going it seemed, but they were their best selves at work. For the most part. There were times he had to play a stern dad, but there weren’t any major complaints.
“Excellent.” He led the pair to the yacht, sitting pretty. “This here is a Lurssen Ace, a lovely 85m motor yacht. It’s one of the smaller models of the company. Still quite luxurious. The owner just wants to make sure everything is spiffy. I found two things that have concerned me, but I will not tell you what they are. Do you want to start on the upper level, or work bottom up?”
“Oh no worries at all, mate. We have a lot of new people coming and going around these parts. Classic retail spiel,” Cal smiled. It was something that he had to deal with and learn at an early age. Though, he had a feeling that the man in front of him wasn’t that interested in the newest gear. But he decided not to pry.
“Was there anything in particular that drew you in?” Cal asked. He often got some solid answers from that question. Either it was a gift for someone or themselves, were traveling and wanted to get something from a local on their travels, or just to see what they wanted to save up for. There were always some new lures and the newest model of reel and rod.
Cal chuckled at her comments. “No, no it’s privately owned. Brand spanking new. Just in came in for some maintenance.” Cal would’ve added more but Christian also just showed up. “Oh, no worries. I know that can be ab it hectic.” He knew that children could be a menace when it came to school or just leaving the house. But the fact Christian had triplets made Cal wonder what his household was like. Granted, Cal had met Ama – and she seemed to have everything run like a tight ship.
“I have already gone through this vessel, but I will not share what I saw and noted,” Cal started. “I want you to do an inspection on it, Aria – with Christian’s help. It’ll be good practice to see what your eyes can pick up. I would go with you myself, but my ribs are still hurting, and going through once is enough for me. So let’s get a clipboard with the right paperwork and we can begin. Let’s say…in ten minutes.”
Cal didn’t quite know what made him pull up the apprenticeship idea. Maybe it was because he knew there weren’t enough people that were interested. Engines for boats weren’t as interesting as cars, at least for those in the engineering program in the local schools. But the marina surprisingly had a good number of applicants. So far, only Aria was able to do it this time. Which was better than nothing. Others were interested, but their universities didn’t consider him an applicable place or scheduling conflicts.
So far, Aria was proving herself to be handy. Granted, there were times that she needed some guidance from Cal or Christian. But she took direction well. Seeing that she had worked on a few of the smaller vessels – it was time that she sees a larger boat. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, but just have her work on an inspection. Cal had looked it over himself, but he wanted to see what she could see herself and if they lined up.
He called Christian as well, as he was able to take Aria through areas that Cal could go through again. It hurt him too much last time. His body was still healing and feeling achy, despite it being months. His eyes looked at his watch. They had a few minutes left before he would call them.
Cal rubbed his left side. While he had been good about keeping still since the accident, there was that lingering pain. Eli hadn’t left his side, same with his mother and grandfather. His nieces and nephews weren’t allowed to be as physical around him as they used to be. Christmas was rough, as he wasn’t fully healed. Honestly, Cal didn’t know if he was fully healed now. PT had been a godsend. There were times he wanted to quit but Eli refused to let him sit home and do nothing.
His gramps was still refusing him to get on a boat to do any runs, or if there was a fishing thing – he couldn’t be by himself. Cal felt like a child, but he was beaten up by the crash. Still gave him the chills, every time he thought about it.
He was working the shop today, maybe helping a few boats come in and go out. The sun was out, and honestly – he wanted to sit outside for a moment. He was technically done for the day, but he rarely left right away. Perry could handle the shop for a bit. The young man had improved quite a bit with his attitude. Still a bit snarky, but it was often with people that deserved it.
Cal grabbed his water bottle and made his way down the dock to sit on the bench that was there. But when he got there, someone else was there. Not that was a problem or anything. But his managerial side came out, and Cal put on a professional smile. “Hello,” he greeted. “Have you been helped yet?” he didn’t look familiar, but there had been a lot of new people that came in when he was out for a few months.
Cal hated the fact he had left Eli alone with no message. But he had this weird feeling that he had to get out as he could today, which meant he left without a word. By the time he had gotten to work, he had thought about leaving a note – but it had been too late then. He verbally told Perry and texted him to call Eli for him. Cal told himself he would make it up to Eli with a nice dinner and a nice bottle of wine.
The ride to Perkins was great! The weather was amazing and the sky was clear. But how did mother nature need to humble him? It was as if the universe was about to show him the true meaning of karma for his mishap this morning.
Clouds began to form in the sky, making the sun disappear. Cal could see the horizon line of the inlet where his house was. There was about an hour and a half left now. He could feel his body tense as a cold wind whipped at him through the windows. His boat began rocking, forcing Cal into a stronger stance. Cal rarely ground his teeth, but they were grinding now, at with how fast the waves were picking up. Despite knowing the waters and being a strong swimmer – he was alone.
One hand on the wheel, Cal attempted to reach for the radio – but he was thrown. He swore under his breath, as the rain began hammering hard – regaining his balance. The boat began moving between left and right, tilting hard.
Darkness became pitch black, and Cal didn’t know what was happening until he felt the water hit him with a heavy hand. His eyes began to sting, and his vision went blank.
Cal woke up next to Eli again. It was a welcome sight, not taking the moments for granted. The night before was a nice one, had dinner and came to his place. They were intimate, still getting comfortable with each other. If he didn’t have work, he would’ve stayed in bed. But alas, the ocean called. The weather was predicted to be sunny today and the waters were calm, despite the late November chill.
He left a kiss on Eli’s head before making sure his alarm was off. It would be rude to startle his guest with a 6 am blare. Cal slipped on some sweats and a t-shirt before sneaking into the kitchen to start the coffee pot. The sky was still dark, but the sun would be up soon enough. It had been a moment since he had been out, and he was looking forward to having the ocean breeze in his hair again.
His task for the day was to meet some people on the small Isle of Perkin to drop off some goods. Maybe catch some dinner for himself, too. Christian and Perry had done the run last week, and not wanting to force the two together again – Cal volunteered.
Coffee poured, and Cal hummed slightly to himself, getting some eggs and mini sausage links out to fry up. He thankfully didn’t get a sick stomach, so Cal was able to eat a full breakfast before hitting the water.
