a toadstool for your time

Her mouth was agape, tongue flapping against her lower jaw lazily. Noe was beyond hungry. She couldn't remember her last meal. Her stomach didn't even hurt with hunger anymore. She was a little lightheaded and at some point, she decided to go this way - but the reason was long gone from her memory. She merely plodded through the cold silently, waiting for anything to appear before her. Her paws dragged behind, leaving deep lines in the snowy mud around the pond.

A fuzzy outline caught her attention; a patch of morels clumped against a tree trunk. They were pale in color, with complicated, fleshy tops. Noelani stopped her march to investigate. Upon sniffing, Noe's open mouth oozed drool. She remembered in her youth, her father pointing out these morels. Yes, yes… That's it. The mushroom that can be eaten, safely. Without a second of hesitation or clear thought, Noelani bit down on the morel.

After a third bite, Noe looked back at the morels - where are they? She couldn't focus on them. Her eyes kept going the opposite direction she meant to look, no matter how hard she tried. Anxiety and fear washed over Noe and she paused rigidly. Within seconds, mouthfuls of chewed morel mixed with bile and foam sprayed from her mouth. Dizzy and confused, Noe tried to back away but collapsed into the dirt and snow. She scraped her limbs on exposed roots peeking through the branches. Vomit and bits of morel oozed from her open mouth.