At the mention that those she was surrounded with were uncultured brought Harlow into a fit of laughter, the bridge of her nose wrinkling as she did so. She brought her hand to cover her mouth, trying to quell the lingering giggles that would come even after she tried to stop them. "They were uncultured swine, the only literary references they understand are ones that come from law books or something- and those are no fun." The term uncultured swine could come off as abrasive if it weren't for the fact it had was a meme- though at the same time she meant the words for their whole truth, funny or not. Her parents either didn't have enough time, or didn't care enough, to even pretend to be interested in what she was as a child. If she wanted to watch a movie like the Aristocrats or the Harry Potter series she did so alone, lest she face the ridicule that the movies were a waste of time and simply tales for a child. If she wasn't going to watch something to better her education then whatever she was watching was worthless, atleast according to her parents. Still she was resilient to the time of her childhood, refusing to let them damper her time away from their grasp.
Finally coming down from her fit of laughter she drew in a breath, looking over to Mason as he spoke of Lumos, noting the bashful smile that appeared on the man's face, "I like it. It's elegant for those who are very clearly uncultured and for those of us who have class, well it's fun. A nice break from some of the more serious and intense names people name their horses." She joked softly, a warm smile breaking her features. She recalled the books fondly, more often than not in her own home she felt more like harry potter than anything else. Obviously not a wizard, but the feeling of being shut away like some sort of embarrassment. Only mentioned when it was for the purpose of looking good, it left a sting in her heart but she used to spend hours reading the books, shutting herself in a world of her own. Separated from the troublesome affairs of her reality. That was one thing money had been able to buy to some extent, comfort. She was lucky enough to have the entire collection of the first edition books though how they came to her still left a sour taste in her mouth. The books were bought as an apology from her parents, them saying sorry for shoving her away once more but they were a trojan horse. They weren't really saying sorry, it was to silence her- a distraction. Still she treasured them, taking them everywhere for when she needed a good read.
Harlow remained quiet while he continued to speak on Klaus' origin and at the mention of his other horse being a former racer she smiled fondly, running a hand along Cinna's neck. "Klaus suits him better already, don't get me wrong Beau is a nice barn name but it's just so painfully common. Klaus is creative, it's nice." She paused, flicking a cautious glance to Mason, wanting to make sure she hadn't stepped on any toes. She hoped not, already quite fancying his company. Though his story of where Klaus came from prodded her forward to talk of her own boy and she let out a soft sigh, twirling a small piece of Cinna's mane around in her fingers. "Cinna was an off the track Thoroughbred. From what I could piece together, he won a Grade one race but it broke him and they basically threw him away. I rescued him from a killpen. I think they used to call him Spice but really once he warms up to you he's more like the warm gooey center of a cinnamon roll than anything else so that became his name. Occasionally Big Red if he's being a little bit moody." His origin made her blood boil- he was thrown away. Even her parents hated the idea of him, that he was 'used goods'. Cinna was the center of her heart, anyone who bothered to get to know her knew that- then again she rarely let people close.
As he continued on about the movie and show renditions of A Series of Unfortunate Events she found herself nodding in agreement. She felt the movie left out truly more than it offered, selectively focusing on only bits of the series rather than the entire thing. Each book was great in its on way and that wasn't conveyed enough in the movie. "I think they tried to condense it too much in the movie, if they would've broken the movie down into two parts and really focused on each chapter of the lives the Baudelaire children it would've fared better." The movie was good for its time but compared to the execution and planning of current day movies it looked poorly done whereas the netflix series did the amazing line of novels justice. "They did do a really good job with easter eggs, I think my favorite part were the jokes they tied in. Like the hour glass scene, that it wasn't really an hour long because he bought it online." The tail end of statement was met with soft laughter, amusement at the accuracy of the show's jesting about online shopping.
When the topic once more returned to the grackles, now turned dinosaurs, her eyes lit up faintly. Paleontology was a guilty pleasure of hers. She listened to him intently, giving an amused huff "Maybe it's their bravery- then again at this point of their line it might be more stupidity than anything else." The words were followed with a coy roll of her eyes "Have you ever heard of a cassowary? Those things...they're terrifying. Putting alligators and crocodiles aside I'd say those things are actual dinosaurs. They make that brave little numbnut down there look like a puppy by comparison." With a dramatic shudder she glared down at the bird as it merely yelled at them, as if it were a grumpy man telling them to get out of his yard. She obliged with the bird's loud-mouthed demands, the two setting off on what either could be a simple journey around the grounds or a fun adventure.
That was indeed scenic, even just being here for less than a day she decided she liked the environment here much more than the one the west coast had to offer. It was simple beauty that was left for the most part untouched by humans. Threes were shaped away and pruned back to be out of the way, the leaves from last year were still on the ground, and litter was almost non-existent on the property. It was relaxing and a nice break away from the rest of the world. She hadn't expect Mason's reason for coming here to be based on injury and immediately she felt guilty for even prying into his past. Horse injuries were always the worst, between the cost of seeing a horse through all of the care and the guilt if left on you as the rider and owner- it was never easy needless to say. "That sounds rough. I'm glad your boy pulled through though, but I'm willing to bet a big part of his recovery was that you were willing to spend time with him, I used to know some people that would abandon their horses when things got rough and still had the audacity to call themselves equestrians." Her voice carried a genuine air about it as she paused, her thoughts being severed by the couple.
Maybe it was naive of Harlow to think she could evade lovestruck couples while here, or maybe she just didn't expect to see a pair of love birds on her first day here. Never having allowed herself the distraction of a boyfriend when she was younger, it was never something she was concerned with. Instead she was forcing herself down the fast track to attaining the unobtainable- perfection. Sarcasm was how she coped with things that annoyed her, and the trail being blocked by the oblivious couple indeed annoyed her. Initially she was worried Mason would see her in an unfavorable light with her sarcastic remarks, it'd be a shame to lose the fast friend she managed to make. Needless to say his mocking Valley Girlโข accent immediately vanquished the worry and instead an amused grin reappeared on her face in place of the fake smile she offered the couple as they passed. "Like Oh mi gawwd, it's like, so rare. You know guys these days, they're literally, only into like, video games. Ugh and they're like-" Not even being able to keep her facade of an intense valley girl up she stopped halfway through, her voice cracked with laughter before it took over.
It took a matter of moments before her fit of laughter dissipated, she'd stop laughing for a few seconds before she cracked another smile and started all over again. Even if Harlow herself did have the slight Valley Girl accent from growing up and living in Cali for most o her life it wasn't as bad as some. She had met a handful of girls who had the valley girl accent and personality so bad that interacting with them was a form of torture similar to nails on a chalkboard. Opting for not trying to continue her mocking she rode quietly for a few moments, simply enjoying the well maintained path towards the arenas.
Truthfully she should've expect for Mason to ask why she was here too, though she didn't have a prepared answer on hand. On the surface there was no real reason or rhyme as to why she decided to me. She came off both a loss and win from the Olympics, coming away with a silver medal. She was proud of her accomplishment but her parents were livid to say the least. They were disappointed in her performance and her dedication to a horse that was 'destined for nothing but losing and disappointment'. Those exact words led to an explosive and volatile argument, the same night she cut ties with her parents. She had enough money saved up from sponsorships and past wins to support herself and her two boys. It then dawned on her she was relatively unknown to him. He either didn't recognize her first name when it wasn't attached to her last name or he didn't follow Cross Country, and truthfully? The anonymity felt glorious. Opting to keep her truth vague, "I came off a big win and loss last year. When I went back to the stable that I had Edgar and Cinna boarded at I got in an argument with the owners. That night I saw openings here and decided this place would be a better fit, for my horses and myself." The story wasn't entirely a lie, it was just a mask. Characters in place of her family. "My story certainly isn't climactic i guess. I figure it sounds a bit like any other time someone decides to swap stables, eh?" The latter statement came with a warm chuckle as she leaned forward to stroke the stallion's neck affectionately.
