Buggleberry

“That apple’s not for eating.”

- [Redacted] forager teaching their apprentice

Buggleberries are the living fruit of the Buggletree. Buggletrees themselves aren’t like Droots and appear to be simple, comparatively lifeless plants but for some reason, their fruit grows into sentient beings. As such, the [Redacted] strictly forbids eating the Buggletree’s fruit, as it seems that the trees themselves can’t spread anymore. The trees only grow in the open plains far away from the forests, and each tree is a solitary plant, separated from other Buggletrees by hours or even days of travel.

As for the Buggleberries themselves they’re quite small, and could certainly fit in an adult human’s hand. They have a red skin with a pale flesh, and as the berry matures, it sprouts a pair of purple legs and a little mouthless face peeking out from a gap in the berry itself. The process often leads to chunks of the berry falling away, but this doesn’t appear to cause the animal any pain or harm.

Atop their red, fruity bodies grows a set of leaves, these leaves catch the sunlight that these creatures need to live. This being the case, Buggleberries refuse to go into caves, houses, or deep forests. Buggleberries live in massive hordes, rumbling around the open countryside on their tiny little legs.

For some unknown reason, the mechanoforms that move through the areas harbouring Buggletrees often check up on the Buggleberries, as if they’re interested in seeing how the species progresses. Among humans, there are those that Buggleberries shouldn’t be considered more than food, and there are those who grow deeply attached to the adorable critters, keeping them as pets. Some, in a bid to prove the Buggleberries deserve respect, even bring them to sparring competitions, with mixed success.