he'd been chatting up some nameless passerby when the pair of them stumbled upon the flourishing meadow, the countless number of berries sending a rumble to his stomach. he offered for her to join him for a mid-morning snack, one she politely refused due to an apparent allergy. he was torn between either continuing their conversation or giving into the growls of hungry, eventually choosing food over a pretty face.

he bid her goodbye before setting on course for a patch of particularly delicious looking berries, their vibrant color instantly grabbing his attention. clueless of the dangers that could come with consuming unknown plants, astaroth proceeded to shove his face full of the sweet tasting treat, tail happily swaying behind him while he did so.

he'd been too busy shoving his face full to notice the change of scent in the breeze, his focus fully on the berries until a voice pulled his attention away. lips stained and mouth full, he turned to face the feminine version of himself, the only difference between them being the patch of white along her nape and shoulders.

"help yourself" came his muffled response, tail swaying softly behind as further invitation for her to join him. he would have turned back around to continue gorging himself had a genius idea, or so he thought, not popped into his head. "bet i can eat more than you can" he dared, a few loose berries slipping between his teeth and falling to the earth's floor in the process.

"i won't go easy on you" he teased after finally swallowing the mouthful of berries that had been keeping him from talking properly. watered down gold watched as she came to stand beside him, a playful smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. "ready?" he began, glancing to his side to ensure she was good to go.

"set" he let out, his focus zeroing in on a cluster of berries he had yet to pick from the bush he'd been eating from. "go!" and with that he was off, tail swaying happily behind him as he dove headfirst into an absolutely terrible idea.  

for the first minute and a half into their little competition, asatroth felt as if he could eat the entire meadow full of berries. fast forward to about three minutes in and it felt as if his stomach was going to pop. by the time five minutes rolled around he could barely even chew, the thought of swallowing another mouthful causing his stomach to do somersaults.

and then she had to go and give the final blow by throwing up everything she'd just scarfed down.

if there was one thing he couldn't tolerate in this world, it was vomit. "oh god" he let out as he immediately swung his head around to avoid looking at the mess she'd just heaved up onto the ground. he really hoped she just had an upset stomach, cause the last thing he wanted to deal with right now was food poisoning.

he squeezed his eyes shut at the commotion behind him, desperately trying not to heave up his own stomach full of berries. it was only after she buried the mess did he open an eye and glance in her direction, concern painted along his features despite her sounding perfectly fine.

"you ok?" he asked, for both her sake and his own. if she was going to blow chunks again, he didn't want to be anywhere in the vicinity, especially not with the way his own stomach gurgled with nausea.

he offered a weak smile when she revealed that she felt fine. well, at least one of them was doing ok. "i'll be alright" he let out, though took her advice and decided to have a seat before things took a turn for the worst.

"i'm not the best at handling ehh, vomit" he revealed, tossing an apologetic look her way. his stomach had always been weak when it came to handling others, and his own, regurgitation. yuck! "i still would have beat you, even if you hadn't gone and spewed them back up" he teased with a wink, hoping to turn the conversation to a more appealing topic than barf.

he smiled at her attempt to make him feel better about his weak stomach, a few small tap of his tail against the earth signalling his silent thank you. "we should do this again sometime, just you know, without making ourselves sick" he suggested, golden gaze turning to catch her reaction.

"astaroth" he introduced, a soft breeze tangling his fur in knots while he leaned over to gently bump her shoulder should she let him. "so marley, what brings you out this way?" he wondered, having noticed she was without the scent of any pack.

the pair of them talked for what seemed like five or ten minutes before a wave of exhaustion overtook him. and so with a polite dip of his head, he bid marley a goodbye and set off to find a place to sleep off all the weight he'd just put on after eating those berries.