This is a work of FICTION, made by and for adults. The following chapter includes depictions of physical disability (hypermature cataracts) and intoxication (pheromones). The full chapter will include masturbation, tentacle sex, intoxication (aphrodisiacs), and non-human insemination. Reader discretion is advised.

Feeling a heavy cloud pass under the midday sun, Riana blinked several times and rubbed her lids as the discomfort behind her eyes gradually lessened. ‘Smells like it’s going to rain,’ she fondly reflected as the wind picked up slightly and disturbed her long, dark hair. Squinting as her cherry tree slowly fell from focus, Riana turned back around and slowly continued the careful path through her garden.

Touching along the soil with her feet passed her vegetables, Riana carefully considered, ‘What’s ready to harvest.’ Through her trek, she skillfully squatted to pick leaves and tubes that smelled enticing into her basket, occasionally pruning others or the weeds around them as she sensed their weakened life. ‘Danu, curse those snails,’ Riana thought in frustration as she uprooted an entire cabbage that was torn apart before tossing it aside, ‘eating all my brasshagh while I’m asleep.’ Sighing as she glanced over the dim field, Riana dug her toes into the loosened soil as she decided, ‘Some garlic would be nice.’ Perking up with a smirk when she sensed, ‘By the hazel,’ Riana perked up and nimbly hopped over the rest of her patch.

Grinning as she approached her nut tree, Riana gently held a growing bud as she hungrily commented, “Just a few more fortnights, my darlings.” After savoring the softness of the fuzzy husks as they slipped out of her fingers, Riana returned her attention to the ground and knelt down.

“Lets see,” Riana jested as she dug her fingers into the dry dirt, “where were you?” Turning up momentarily, she snickered before standing again and walking the few steps to her prize. When she squatted to pull the fragrant bulbs, Riana halted as a much stronger odor held her attention. ‘That’s strange. How did a cherry fall so far?’ Riana wondered when she discovered a small orb amongst the stems.

Riana slowly reached out before a tingle in her fingertips stopped her. “It’s—alive,” she remarked in surprise before finally touching it. More confused as her hand slipped over the slick surface, Riana gently held the squishy ball in her palm and tried to examine it. “Is—did a sparrow egg not grow its shell?” she speculated while it slowly rolled around and left a sticky trail. ‘Why does it smell like a cherry, though…’

Curiously returning to her hazelnut tree, Riana reached towards a nest in the branches and observed, “Five eggs—and they’re all healthy.” Riana huffed in frustration as she planted her heels back on the ground, grimacing as her curiosity wasn’t satisfied. Carefully placing the oddity in her satchel, Riana reflected before collecting her garlic trove, ‘A duck egg does sound nice. I should check the lake when I fetch water.’

—Broodling Bio 101—

Broodlings are interdimensional, single-sex (female), hive-minded “magical fungi” that rely solely on magika and physika for sustenance. They are sentient, intelligent, and can act independently, but each is highly reliant on her “family” unit of “sisters” for survival. When isolated in a low-energy environment, like the Mortal Plane, she reverts to an egg-like state to preserve the energy she has while emitting a sweet-smelling pheromone with pain-relieving properties. Her only chance of survival before dying of starvation or hypothermia is for a biologically compatible host to discover her and provide enough energy that she can return to her basic life stage.