Dragoncrest Cliffs All hail the poison berry!

prompt: Weather conditions are so favorable for fruit, that you character discovers delicious fermented fruit.

Summer was in full swing. The birds chirped, and fledglings tried out their wings. Dolphins splashed in the sea. Recently, colorful red berries popped up on bushes around the cliffs. Astera curiously observed the berries, knowing that the packs older members wouldn't approve of her eating foreign fruit. And yet the berries looked so juicy and Astera couldn't help wondering how they would taste. So when nobody was looking, she gingerly plucked a few berries off a bush and ate them. They tasted sweet and sour art the same time, and the overwhelming tase made Astera head spin. The world felt upside down and the cliffs started spinning. Astera staggered as she tried to walk and fell face flat on the ground. Her vision filled with colors that slowly faded back to normal. She looked in amazement at the berries and tried another one. This time there was no result. Hmmm... Astera wondered how many it would take to trigger the same reaction. Astera nibbled on the berries until her paws, mouth, and fur were stained with red and pink. Oh no! Would the stains come off? 

I thought this would be a fun prompt for @Miette, but AW, especially any pup.

it took great patience on sobeille’s part to make a bid for freedom. she did so while the adults left for their hunt, turning back midway to scamper off into the bushes.

adventure was on her mind as she fumbled around the greenveld. birds overhead squawked at her passing, eliciting a small giggle from the speck-sized urchin.

she stopped as she heard noise, one ear flopped and one at full attention. searching the area, she saw astera rolling in sawgrass, her pelt stained a deep merlot. oo? miette chirruped, breaking into an excited gallop as she made for astera‘s prone form.

Astera had been too occupied clearing of the stains to notice Miette's little shape come into view. She quickly turned her head in the mischievous pup's direction, upon hearing her chirp, fearing that she had been caught red pawed, eating the berries. Aww... hey Miette! The last time Sobeille had escaped and came along for an adventure, it had almost ended in tragedy. Astera shook her fur, remembering the shenanigans at the beach. The pile of berries remained at her paws, and Astera rolled one towards the wayward pup. Perhaps if she gave Miette berries, she could become closer to the little troublemaker. Miette had slowly but steadily become Astera's favorite of her younger cousins, even though she loved all of them. She was almost like a mirror of Astera's own personality, if not even bolder. Look, it's a berry!

sobeille wasted no time greeting astera in a flurry of clumsy puppy kisses. between the bugs and the shiny purple stone on the beach, astera had quickly become a fixture in sobeille’s little life — and possibly her favorite of the ‘non-littermate’ faces around camp. 

she stopped as astera rolled a berry towards her. glancing from the juicy berry to the stains on astera’s fur, sobeille put two and two together. 

plopping on her round bottom with a thump, sobeille started greedily stuffing the red berries into her mouth. small dribbles of bright crimson sluiced down her features and matted her thin chest.

Sorry about the wait times!

These addictive berries had scary side effects! Astera decided that one was enough for her greedy little cousin, and she covered the remaining fruit with her paws to shield them from Miette's greed. That's enough, Sobeille. You don't wanna get sick, do you? The last thing Astera needed was another scolding, tis time for giving pups potentially dangerous food. She kept her ears pricked for the sound of pawsteps or other signs of her packmates.

sobeille had no such self-control. astera’s paws quickly obscured the berries, barricading them from view. how dare! she snuffed the edges of astera’s claws, a frustrated grumble sounding from her chest.

she would not be dissuaded, not even by astera. sobeille looked slyly at her friend, and then set her teeth upon astera’s paws in the hopes of coercing her to lift them.

Miette was persistent! Astera let up a surprised gasp as Sobeille's sharp puppy teeth attacked her paw. Sobeille Miette! No biting! Astera felt quite hurt in the moment. She took her little cousin on adventures, showed her crystals, and gave her berries. And this is what she got in return. Painful nips? Astera reminded herself that she was only a pup, and offered a distraction. A group of bees hovered over a patch of flowers. Look there, those are bugs! She motioned towards the busy critter's, hoping Miette would pause her unslaught of nips.

sobeille paused, shaky head pivoting to peer at the bees. their lazy flight pattern was observed with only a passing glance; sobeille would not be so easily duped!

she pretended to lurch towards them, but she had no interest in their rounded bodies. just when it looked as if she might snap at their droning wings, she turned back to astera’s paws with a roar. GIB ME!

This was not going well. Astera was deceived for a moment, until she heard what Sobeille intended to be words. To Astera, it was all frenzied yips in the scene of momentary chaos. She instinctively pulled back, revealing the berries. Instead of covering them up again, Astera took a moment to reflect. She wanted to be a "cool" older sister, and so she allowed the pup to approach the fruit. Rules were for boring adults.

hah! success! juice dribbled between miette’s gnashing teeth as she popped two berries into her mouth.

her nose wrinkled; these berries tasted funny. the flavor was acidic — not at all the saccharine nectar she anticipated.

but astera was eating it - and rolling in it! miette’s wide eyes studied her older sister; perhaps these berries were for painting?

she mashed a bundle between her paws, painting long stripes of crimson on her face and chest. just like her big, cool sister!

eventually she tired of this game; the berries were funny, and made her head spin. miette found her way home in a drunken stumble, barely making it to the den's mouth before she crashed in dead sleep.