Someone asks a question - a hypothetical one, not really soliciting an answer.  A person makes a statement, based on an observation maybe a conversation starter, maybe random, maybe in the course of an ongoing conversation.  Questions cannot remain unanswered, comments and observations can not go unsresponded to in the mind of...

Who is the lion?  The lion is the king of the conversation jungle and an expert on every topic.  No comment is allowed to dangle in the air for rumination by the listener(s).  The lion sees it as a unlucky zebra.  The lion sees himsellf as lucky however because prey has just crossed their path, ripe for the pouncing and devouring.  The Lioness sees an opportunity in a comment as arbitrary as "it sure is hot today" to display her meteorological chops explaining high pressure systems, heat domes and how a La Nina is driving the heatwave.  The Lion doesn't realize that "it sure is hot today" only means that the commentor is feeling the heat.  If they want anything, it's likely not an explanation of the origin of the hotness, what they really want is a cold drink.

The Lioness doesn't know the difference between the arbitrary and the profound, because her appetite for prey, her appetite for flexing, her appetite for checking (when she hears something that is presumbably wrong) is unsatiable.  The lion is very social, but once he gets going he can suck the air right out of the room.  The lioness is intellectual and very bright, but that brightness is dimmed because she

TALKS TOO MUCH.

The lion is attractive, stylish and definitely has swagger, but it all disappears when he tells you about the barber who cuts his hair, the fabric of which his suit is made and the thought that was put into putting together his ensemble. By the time the listener receives this unsolicted explanation on the lion's tailoring, the lion

LOSES ALL SWAGGER.

So why give them any play at all, I mean the lion and lioness are attention whores right?

Sure they are but if you delve behind all that mouth, there is a story.  That story likely won't come out all at once, because that story is PRIVATE.  However you will catch a glimpse of their story in their interactions, in their tone and in their interests.  When we put together pieces of their story, we begin to understand, to tolerate and even love the lion(ess) in all their expertly talky glory.  Besides, there's a little lion(ess) in all of us, does that make us any less loveable?

So... show a little tenderness to the Lions and Lionesses in your life today.