Abigail Hughes

That near vibrating sound that so reverberated within the large animal's chest certainly helped to relieve the spunky woman of her safety, even despite the simple fact that the lion was surely a natural predator of her own species. That is...he could be. If their species ever existed naturally in the same space as one another. But she didn't do too well in the African heat and frankly she didn't think he would do well in the blistering cold of the Himalayas. Although he could be like....an English lion and then maybe he could handle it all just fine but they were all dead as far as she knew so really, she was pretty sure she was rather safe. Plus! He seemed quite like fun! That is, once she got over the initial shock of a LION in the forest. How rare was that! Furthermore, it was equally as rare that anyone actually knew what she was! Abigail had been called a great many things in her youth (most of which she was content to recite to the man) and yet, she could count on one hand the number of people who were able to identify her since she left that small village she had grown up in. It was all of ONE. Just him - didn't that make him kind of special too?

She was rather surprised, really, on how well traveled the man was. That assurance that he had been many places and seen many things only caused her mouth to part in rather clear awe. Frankly, she couldn't help but to wonder where he'd seen someone like her before and yet, before she could even bother to inquire, her newfound Lion friend assured her that she was not like those very animals she had named. At least someone understood that. "You've been to lots of places?!" The girl exclaimed, quickly moving back to that very topic that had so interested her. "Where have you been before Mr. Lion? I've only been to two places before but I think I'd really like to go other places too! I'm going to Italy in a few days. Isn't that exciting?! Have you ever been to Italy?" Abigail was, perhaps, a bit too keen to share those details of her own life with the stranger. Her excitement had a way of making the girl ramble far more than she knew she should have. Still, she hardly even waited for those answers to her own questions before she rose on her back paws, clearly attempting to match his height.

That realization of just what she had interrupted dawned upon the young woman quite quickly and near immediately the girl inquired whether or not she had interrupted his nap. After all, nap time was pretty important if she said so herself and she quite liked to have un-interrupted naps too. She didn't mean to wake him up - really! It just....well, it was her fault she wasn't looking quite where she was going. An almost bashful look crossed her features as he admitted that he quite had been enjoying his nap. Still, she was grateful that he didn't seem to terribly mind her presence. Really, he was quite near pleasant compared to some of her kind she'd wandered upon during her forest trips. She'd met some grouchy men out here! Like Olly the bear! He had been very grumpy though she was pretty sure he was like....on the brink of getting ready for hibernation or something like that. Did polar bears hibernate too? Maybe she'd have to check up on him once she got back from Italy....that might be nice.

Her petite frame fell back upon all four paws, her hazel eyes turned towards that clearing as it quite suddenly dawned upon the young woman exactly what she had been doing before finding Mr. Lion. She had lost another friend within that forest, one whom had been unwittingly subjected to her playful antics. She watched as his eyes too turned towards that glade of sorts the pair found themselves within, only to respond, quite simply, that he had not seen her winged friend either. Her ears drooped ever so slightly as she considered just what she intended to do with herself now that she'd lost her friend. It was with this in mind that the girl inquired, almost distractedly, of Mr. Lion's own thoughts on butterflies. Her hazel eyes turned abruptly back towards him as he commented on his own favored breed of those pretty creatures. "Monarchs are lovely aren't they? My favorites are the Morpho butterflies! They're such a pretty bright BLUE!" She'd never actually seen any in real life but they were beautiful, those pictures she'd seen online. She bet they were even prettier in real life.

She hardly considered how odd it might seem that a creature as big as him might take an interest in her childish antics. Rather, she quite near accepted it and his love of butterflies without a singular question. It was that sudden turn of his head that drew Abigail's attention, her eyes turning to face the same direction as his only to spot that small fluttering insect. THERE IT WAS! Her tail flopped near excitedly behind her as she moved closer towards that rock, her butt wiggling ever so slightly. That baritone voice drew her from her thoughts of that butterfly, her eyes brightening at that simple word of 'we'. Her head bobbed quite enthusiastically, "Okay!" She exclaimed, scrambling off that boulder to jump after him. His much larger frame was certainly able to cover that ground far quicker than Abigail and yet, she was hardly bothered, entirely excited to chase after the lion and the butterfly. She was going to get them BOTH!