Oct. 22nd, 2021

cotyledon: (illustration)
[personal profile] cotyledon
"Um..."

There's a pumpkin patch in the Nexus today! A small one. It kind of looks like one of those pumpkin sales you see outside churches around Halloween, selling pumpkins to raise money for the youth group: several dozen pumpkins of various sizes and shapes set out on a tarp. Except there's a low chicken-wire fence set around the tarp, and these pumpkins are not just sitting there.

They're rocking back and forth a little, all on their own, making intermittent rolling forays in no particular direction. Bumping into each other, rolling up against the fence, scrunching up the edges of the tarp as if to get under it and away from the light. Some of them have reddened patches on their skin, as if they're blood-stained.

"Ummm...so, what had happened was, I bought a bunch of rare seeds from a guy at the night market." The young woman sitting in a folding chair by the display looks a little sheepish. "I have a greenhouse on the roof of my building, I figured whatever sprouted could be contained. They just turned out way more prolific than I expected."

She's gonna need a new greenhouse.

"These are vampire pumpkins. They used to believe if you leave a regular pumpkin out in the full moon they might turn into vampires on their own, but apparently you can breed them for seeds and get a full crop. Who knew, right?"

Brrll, brrll! The coven of gourds makes soft thrumming noises as they bump around. Some might find the sound annoying, but Abby thinks it's kind of pleasant, a little like a cat purring.

"Anyway, these are up for adoption, I guess. I wouldn't recommend eating them, unless you're already a vampire, but I can't think why you'd want to, even then. They can't bite you; they don't have mouths. I don't think they're malevolent, just kind of dumb, so probably the worst they could do is trip you up on the stairs. If you get one and keep it in a playpen or a box, it's totally harmless and kind of cute."

That's...encouraging. Any takers?

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