take me down to paradise city [p]

Tap. Tap. Tap. The soft tapping of deep charcoal-hued paws against the texture of the hardened snow of Highstones rubbed against rough pads. The gentle breeze and sharp scent of wintry air wafting in and out of her nostrils, strong features lifted with a soft smile as she sat down right outside the camp. Cool eyes the shade of deciduous trees in leaf-fall taking in the sight of the territory beyond as the sun rose over the horizon. Whatever it was that had drawn her there - whether it was her insomnia, or maybe fear of missing out - she wouldn't complain. The sheer beauty of the trees around her and the sharp tall peaks of the mountains in the distance called to her. The clans truly were a place of beauty. But surely, there was beauty beyond..the lake, the caves and mountains, and the abandoned Twolegplace that the elders talked about! Sleeps...c'mon focus on what's right in front of you... she internalized.

The calico shook out her pelt and got to her paws in a smooth motion.  As she turned her head to head back into camp, her eyes caught movement. A bird, a small bird, brown and indistinct. But what interested her was where it sat. It was a bush, but even the bush itself wasn't what was interesting to her. A clump of small red berries hung from its thin black spindly branches. With her interest piqued, she tore a bundle of them off and held them in her claws, and made quick work of bringing the suspicious berries to Batsong. Surprisingly she was graceful as she bounded on three paws on her way to the medicine den, the sound of the retreating bird making her ears swivel.

"Batsong. Do you have a minute? I found these outside the camp..are they safe to eat?" she questioned dropping the nightshade in front of her. She had heard of these death berries, but surely these weren't it?

Sleepyhollow backed away frantically, Batsong's fast movements catching her off guard, "No no no, I didn't eat any of them. But they're close to camp..we should make sure the queens know so the kits don't get into them." she meowed leaning down to sniff the things, "But Batsong..what exactly are they? They don't look all that dangerous." she added, tilting her head. From the medicine cats' reaction, they had to be poisonous.

Even so, the berries didn't scare her, if anything they intrigued her. How could such little things do so much damage? She had heard an elder say that even one could kill the strongest warrior.

Sleepy shook her head violently, she didn't know anything about them other than they were dangerous. She sat down, took a deep breath and wrapped her tail around her big paws preparing to listen to the tale. She loved stories too, especially the real ones. Her eyes widened and ears flattened to her skull at the mention of the Dark Forest. The one thing she truly feared was the Dark Forest. Blazefang had told her about when the Dark Forest took over. Just the thought of it made her shudder. "Mm, what happens when you eat them? How would you go about saving a cat that ate them?" she inquired. Knowing the antidote was important. Almost more important than knowing what death berries were. If The Dark Forest had given the land such a dangerous berry, surely Starclan would've given the clans herbs to balance it out.

Sleepyhollow leaned down to sniff at the stinging nettles, they didn't smell like much, but their appearance was distinct enough she would remember it. She nodded sharply, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she committed the information to her memory. She enjoyed learning, and knowing things, being able to help others..it was nice. "Rather be puking than dead I suppose." she mused with a soft laugh.

Sleepy blinked in blatant surprise. She paused in silence for a moment, momentarily getting lost in her thoughts. On one paw she could see herself giving her life to the medicine cat path - the ultimate way to help others. But on the other paw..she wanted to be like her father. She wanted to be like her mother. But then again Smallbean had lived a life in the medicine den and still become an admirable warrior and deputy. So anything could happen, really.

"Yes. If I was needed. Like how you became a medicine cat. I will be who my clan needs me to be." she responded after thinking it over.