She had been about to back away slowly before she caught the lion's gaze, nearly blinking in surprise at the intelligence she sees there. She's seen that look before, in the eyes of the bear her mother had become due to her own folly. It's so familiar despite being in an animal she's never seen before that it makes Merida's breath hitch in her throat, especially when she realizes the puppies have stopped their jovial bounding, keeping their distance almost as though in reverence.

Merida lifts her robe and skirts at both sides in a curtsy, bowing with a deeper incline of her head than she'd give most. "Good day to you, m'lord."

Somehow she feels silly, talking to a lion, but no more silly than she did talking to her mother in bear form.