Abby hadn't expected the lynx kitten to stick around once it realized there wasn't any jerky left. But it refused to leave even when she went to sleep that night. It curled up next to her on her bedroll like any house cat would.
It was gone when she woke up as expected but it returned to her side with some sort of rodent in its mouth before they packed up the wagons and left for the day. It slept in her lap as they traveled and repeated this pattern for three days.
At that point she realized the lynx was here to stay so she gave it a name. Not knowing whether it was male or female, Abby decided to simply call it Simba. No one here would know it was named after a male cartoon lion if it ended up being a girl except Katie.
Blaise had already apologized for laughing at her when he finally calmed himself down for real but she was still a bit put out with him. What kind of whacked out sense of humor did he have?