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Description
Cenoh flies into the MetaCorp arboretum, carrying her lover Jid in her arms. Flying around the oversized greenhouse, she searches for a body of water, eventually finding one. Amongst the arboreal displays, she spots a small pond decorated with lily pads and other aquatic plants. Cenoh lands at the small body of water, crouching over it and gently lowering Jid into the shallow pond.

Her lower body submerged in the fresh water, Jid releases a weak sigh of relief as the color starts returning to her leafy skin. She sits in the pond for about twenty seconds as she tries to regain her strength. “C-C-Cenoh…” Jid whispers softly, finally rehydrated enough to speak.

Cenoh almost cries in happiness, pressing a button on her armor’s wrist panel. The armor opens up and detaches from her body, leaving Cenoh in the simple vinyl suit she wears underneath. Letting her armor compress into a retracted form, Cenoh steps into the water and sits next to Jid, hugging her lovingly. “I’m here, Jid,” Cenoh says softly. “You’re safe.”

“Cenoh… Is it really you?” Jid’s voice slowly returns to her as she rehydrates. Cenoh nods in response. “How… did you find me?”

Cenoh sighs. “To be honest… it was luck, Jid. I got a miraculous opportunity, and I took it.”

Jid smiles. She has now almost fully regained her color, her voice now more prominent. “I’m glad you did. You don’t know how happy I am to see you again.” Bringing herself closer to Cenoh, Jid shares a kiss with her wife. Both of them let out tears of joy. Seconds later, Jid breaks the embrace. “Cenoh, what about Whood? Did you find her too?”

“Yes, yes I did. She’s here as well.”

Jid breathes a sigh of relief. “I need to see her. Where is she?” She tries to stand, but Cenoh stops her.

“Jid, you’re still weak. You need to rest.” Cenoh stands and climbs out of the pond. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring her here.”

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Doctor Anna continues to observe the Florian infant. After watching Whood feed on a cherry tomato, she’d become very interested in what else the botanical child had to show. Whood certainly seems to like Anna, as her gaze has been fixated on Anna for several minutes. The girl’s little smile seems innocent enough, but Anna would rather not try to touch Whood again.

“Excuse me,” a female voice says from behind Anna. The doctor turns around, not expecting to see a green-skinned woman with pink floral hair looking back at her. “Is my daughter okay?”

Anna takes a moment to collect her thoughts. This is not what she’d expected an adult Florian to look like. “Um… yes, she’s fine.” Anna moves out of Cenoh’s way, allowing the Florian mother to see her child again.

“Thank you very much,” Cenoh says. Whood excitedly smiles at the return of her mother. “Hello Whood, my darling.” Cenoh brings a hand to her daughter, who clings to it in happiness. “Guess what? I found your mommy. We can be together again.” Cenoh looks over at Anna. “I’m sorry, but do you have something I can carry her in?”

“Uh… oh, of course.” Walking over to a station along the wall, Anna grabs a small pot, already filled with soil. She brings the pot to the Florians and sets it down on the soil bed.

“Thank you,” Cenoh says, gently grabbing her daughter by the waist. She slowly pulls Whood out of the soil, exposing her roots briefly before lowering her into the pot and allowing her to settle in. The pot is just big enough for little Whood, and small enough for Cenoh to carry without trouble. Cenoh thanks Anna again before walking off with Whood, leaving Anna to ponder what she’d just seen.

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Cenoh returns to the pond, the awaiting Jid anxious to see Whood. As Cenoh dips back into the water, she brings the small pot to the pond’s edge and sets it down next to Jid. “Oh my god,” Jid says, tears filling her eyes once again. “Whood, my baby…” Jid brings a gentle hand to brush through Whood’s white and blue petal hair. “I’m so glad you’re alright. And you’ve even picked your color.” Jid brushes Whood’s new blue petals with her thumb.

“It looks like she wants to take after her mother,” Cenoh says, combing her fingers through Jid’s bright blue petals.

Jid frowns, looking down in thought. She sighs in disappointment. “It’s you who she should want to be like, Cenoh. I mean… you risked your life to save us, and I stupidly let myself get captured by slavers. I just…”

“Jid!” Cenoh turns Jid to face her, gripping her shoulders. “Don’t say things like that. We might not be soldiers anymore, but you’re still my wife. I would give my life for you, and I’m certain that had our places been switched, you would have done the same thing for me.” Cenoh hugs Jid tightly, trying to resist the tears.

“B-but Cenoh… I never could’ve done the things you have. You were always the stronger one. I could never catch up to you, no matter how hard I trained. I wasn’t even strong enough to carry the seed…”

Cenoh clutches the back of Jid’s head, her voice becoming shaky. “Jid, what has happened to you?! This is not the woman I married! You are not weak, and you’ve never been weak! I may have carried Whood, but you’re the one who helped me produce her. She takes after you more. You’re the true mother. I was just the carrier. I… I…” Cenoh finally breaks down, crying into Jid’s shoulder.

“Cenoh, I think you’ve held back your emotions for too long.” Jid wraps her arms around Cenoh, trying to comfort her crying spouse. “What physical strength you possess has always been balanced by your emotional weakness. That’s why we need each other to survive.” Jid lifts Cenoh’s head, and the two lock lips in an emotional kiss.

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Anna watches from behind a tree as the two Florians converse in an alien language. She only understands what they’re saying because of her tablet’s translator, and as she reads what they’re saying, she feels genuine sadness for the two.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Anna turns around in surprise to see Chris standing behind her. “Reunions such as these really tug at the heart strings, don’t you agree?” he says.

“Um… Chris,” Anna begins, “Forgive me if I sound rude, but… what are they?”

Chris smiles. “Oh Anna, that’s a perfectly reasonable question given what I suspect you have seen. They are Florians, a race of botanical people from planet Traucal. Those two in particular have been through quite the endeavor as of recently, so I think it best to give them some privacy. In the meantime, you can tell me about what happened while you were caring for the child.”

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“Are you calm now, Cenoh?” Jid asks, Cenoh still firmly hugging her wife with her face planted in Jid’s chest. Cenoh gives a slight nod, but refuses to lift her head. “Cenoh, I’m truly thankful that you went through so much to save me.” Jid brushes a hand through Cenoh’s pink petal hair. “You don’t have to downplay yourself for me. I still love you, no matter how much stronger you are than me.” Cenoh’s hug tightens. She tries to speak, but can only manage light sobs as she covers Jid’s chest with tears. “It’s okay, Cenoh. You don’t have to speak anymore. You’ve done enough already.”

Cenoh finally begins to relax, disappointed with herself for breaking down like that. But Jid is correct in that Cenoh has always been emotionally unstable. After hiding her true emotions under a cold guise for years, she can’t hide it any longer.

Jid feels a tiny vine tap her shoulder. Looking to her right, she sees a long vine poking out of Whood’s pot and reaching over to her. Whood smiles at Jid, showing her a single cherry tomato growing from the vine. “What’s this?” Jid asks, plucking the cherry tomato and looking it over. “Is this some kind of fruit? Oh Whood, you want to be a harvester, don’t you? It looks like you really do take after your carrier more than your mother.”

Cenoh loudly sobs, Jid’s comments not helping her emotional frailty. At this rate, she might replace all of the pond’s water with tears.

“Here Cenoh, open up.” Jid offers Cenoh the cherry tomato, poking her face with the delicate veggie. Cenoh’s mouth opens, and Jid pops the tomato inside. Cenoh eats the little tomato, liking its unique flavor. “Feel better?” Jid asks. Cenoh nods slightly, but still refuses to release her spouse. “I think I know what’ll really make you feel better. How about a round of pollination?”

Cenoh’s eyes widen as she finally lifts her head to face her lover again. “H-here?”

“Of course.” Jid smiles, stroking Cenoh’s cheek. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I want to see if your spores still work on me.”

Cenoh wipes the tears from her face with a lustful smile. “Okay, but remember, I like it rough.” Cenoh surrounds the two of them with giant pink flower petals, concealing them inside of a giant flower bud so they can get busy in the pond.

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6 HOURS LATER
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Clara and Josh enter the arboretum, meeting Chris inside. “Hey Chris!” Clara calls to him. “Have you seen Plantera? She’s been gone for a while.”

“Why yes,” Chris says, setting down the flower pot in his hands. “She’s still here with her family. Let’s just say that she and her spouse have been busy here.”

“Busy doing what?” Josh asks.

“Erm… Come, it’s best if I just show you.” Chris leads Clara and Josh to the pond, where a large pink flower bud sits, pulsing slightly. Placed next to the giant bud is a small flower pot with Cenoh’s daughter Whood inside. The Florian infant smiles and waves at the group as they approach.

“Is that what I think it is?” Clara asks, eyeing the large bulb cautiously.

“Yep, that is definitely Plantera’s,” Josh says. “But where is she?”

Chris snickers. “Is it not obvious?”

Clara takes another look at the pulsating bulb. “Oh… I think I understand now.” She walks closer to the bulb, wondering if she should touch it or not.

Before any of them can expect it, the bulb’s petals begin to open, releasing a cloud of pink spores into the air. Clara backs away, coughing after accidentally inhaling some of the spores. The petals dispel on the ground, and from the pool arise two nude Florians. Cenoh stands up and stretches, her pink petal hair flowing behind her before she puts it back into its usual ponytail with a vine. “Ahhh…” Cenoh sighs with relief. “Hello, you all. I take it you missed me?”

Clara falls to her knees, trying to clear her face from the strange pink spores. Josh hurries to her side. “Clara, are you okay?” he asks, worried.

Clara starts breathing heavily, her body feeling unusually warm as her hands shoot to her crotch area. She suddenly feels incredibly aroused. “Plantera…” Clara gasps out words between heavy breaths. “What… did you do… to me?!”

“Oh, sorry. I guess you were too close to us.” Cenoh exits the pond and approaches Clara, unabated by her current nudity as every inch her leafy green skin is on full display. “They’re my lust spores. I use them when I’m getting intimate with Jid.”

“Oh god!” Clara cries in arousal. “I feel like… I’m gonna die!” She squirms on the ground as uncontrollable feelings of intense sexual arousal course through her.

Cenoh looks at Josh. “We should probably get that armor off of her.” She and Josh help Clara out of her knight armor, sliding her out of her chest piece and greaves. With her armor off and down to her normal clothes, Clara buckles her legs as her hands clutch at her crotch area, occasional moans escaping her lips. “Josh, if there was ever a time to have sex with her, it would be now,” Cenoh says.

Josh double-takes at this statement. “W-what? How can you just casually say something like that?”

“If you don’t, she’s gonna be fondling herself for hours until she’s relieved.”

“But… me and Clara don’t even have that kind of relationship.”

“Ugh…” Cenoh rolls her eyes. “Sorry to do this to you, but it’s for her sake.” She flicks her wrist and blows a cloud of pink spores into Josh’s face.

“Ah!” Josh covers his face, but he’s already inhaled the spores. “What is wrong with you?!”

Cenoh smirks. “Well, I think I’ll just leave you two alone. Have fun!” She walks back to the pond, where Jid waits, having watched the whole ordeal.

Jid stands in the pond, also completely nude. She exits the water, struggling slightly. As she climbs out, she appears fatter than before. Her belly, hips and butt have swelled several inches, giving her a big pear figure. “I think I took in a little too much water.” She pokes a finger into her belly, feeling it slosh with ample water within. “Oof… I’m so bloated…”

Cenoh eagerly grabs handfuls of Jid’s bloated belly. “Considering how dehydrated you were before, I consider this an improvement.” She squishes and shakes Jid’s water belly, feeling the water sloshing around inside.

Jid lets out a slight moan of pleasure. “Cenoh, please don’t do that, unless you’re ready for another round of pollination.”

“Heh, I wouldn’t mind that at all, actually. It would certainly be interesting if you had the big belly this time.” Cenoh kneels in front of Jid and plants her face into the sloshy belly before her. “Isn’t that right, water baby?” Cenoh shakes around Jid’s belly some more, inciting pleasured moans from her partner.

The two stop upon realizing that Chris is still standing just a few feet away, watching the whole thing. “Hm? Oh, don’t mind me,” Chris says nonchalantly. “The two of you are quite interesting to watch.”

“Chris, no offense, but we would prefer if you didn’t.”

“Okay then, you two enjoy your privacy.” Chris turns and heads for the exit, leaving Cenoh and Jid alone again.

The two Florians sit on the grass by the pond. “I’m glad you’re out of that little state, Cenoh,” Jid says.

“Yeah, me too.” Cenoh continues to explore Jid’s bloated figure, grabbing and squishing her water belly. “By the way Jid, please don’t tell anyone that I got so emotional. I would lose all respect from them.”

Jid giggles. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. By the way, is this the dimension you were sent to? Because if so, you got off very lucky.”

“Well… no, this isn’t where I was sent. This world is just a connector.”

“So, where were you sent?”

Cenoh sighs. “A very hostile place. The landscape is filled with corruption and almost everything alive wanted me dead.”

“Oh… Cenoh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad that it was me who got sent to that world. I can’t imagine that you or Whood would have survived there alone.” Cenoh takes Jid’s hands with her own, smiling. “But Jid, in the time that I was in that world, I discovered a beautiful jungle, filled with luscious trees and water, and the most expansive network of underground tunnels and caves imaginable. It was here that I made my new home.”

“Your new home? But I thought you said the world was filled with hostile creatures.”

“It is, so I did the only thing I could. I fought, and I conquered. In only a short span of time, I had the entire jungle marked as my new kingdom.”

Jid looks at Cenoh in surprise. “Kingdom?”

“Jid, I’m not just a soldier anymore. I’m a queen.” Cenoh hugs her wife once more. “You know what that means, don’t you? You’re a queen as well, and our little Whood is a princess.”

Jid’s eyes begin tearing as she lovingly embraces Cenoh. “Somehow, I knew… From the moment I saw you again, I knew that you’d become something incredibly powerful. I just… It’s so hard to believe.”

The moment between Cenoh and Jid is interrupted by little vines tapping their laps. The two see Whood in her pot, lifting herself up with several vines to bring herself to her mothers. The infant shows her parents two vines growing more cherry tomatoes.

“Well, look who’s evolving,” Cenoh says, plucking one of the small tomatoes from her daughter’s vine. “What did you eat while we were away?”

“I’m guessing it’s these little fruits she seems to love so much.” Jid also plucks a cherry tomato and eats it. “We’ll have to find out what these are called.”

Cenoh picks up the pot containing Whood and puts it on her lap. “Hello little darling.” She brings a gentle hand to her daughter, who eagerly grabs and hugs her carrier’s appendage. “Guess what? You’re a princess, Whood. We have a new home, where we’re royalty.” Whood’s vines begin to wrap around Cenoh’s waist. She can’t understand language properly yet, but she simply wants to show her love for her carrier. Using her vines, Whood pulls herself out of the pot, roots and all, and clings to Cenoh’s chest lovingly. “Oh Whood, I love you too.” Cenoh lightly pats her daughter. “Come on, you need to stay in the soil.” She gently pulls Whood away and places her back into the pot.

“Allow me,” Jid says, taking Whood’s pot from Cenoh’s lap and placing it on her own. Jid briefly puts her thumb in her mouth, pricking the skin with one of her sharp teeth. The wound leaks yellow blood, and Jid brings it to Whood, who eagerly holds the finger with her little hands and suckles the wound. Whood’s vines unwrap from Cenoh and retract into the pot as Whood drinks her mother’s blood.

“Still refuse to breastfeed?” Cenoh asks.

Jid smiles. “I like it better this way. You know she likes blood more than nectar. Besides, she’ll mature faster this way.”

“If I recall correctly, didn’t the council forbid this practice?”

“Yes, they did. I’m not entirely sure why, though.”

“But we’re safely out of their reach.” Cenoh gives Jid a smug smile. “We’re queens now. We can decide for ourselves what’s forbidden and what’s not.” She hugs her spouse again.

“I like the way you think,” Jid says.

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Doctor Anna wanders back to the pond, hoping to get a glimpse of the Florians again. She peeks at the small body of water from behind a tree, seeing Cenoh and Jid standing in the grassy clearing nearby, surrounded by a series of strange plants that weren’t there before. They appear to be collecting samples of large leaves and flowers, weaving them together in strange but elegant patterns. Anna wonders what they could be trying to create, until Cenoh wraps Jid in a garment fashioned from big leaves and blue flowers to match her hair.

“How do I look?” Jid asks, pivoting in place and allowing the floral garment to wave around her as she admires it.

“You look majestic,” Cenoh says, lightly feeling Jid’s wide hips as she admires her wife’s pear figure in her new floral gown. “Now for mine.” Cenoh lifts up a garment of her own and wraps it around herself, a dress made of big leaves and pink flower petals to match her hair. “Do I look just as nice?” she asks, slowly turning around to show her dress to Jid.

“I believe you do,” Jid says, picking up the pot containing Whood. Cenoh picks up a small circlet fashioned from small twigs and flower stems, and places the circlet onto Whood’s head. Whood smiles happily as she accepts the makeshift tiara. If the infant were capable of speech, she would be unable to contain her joy.

“Now we truly look like royalty,” Cenoh says, patting Whood’s head. “Especially you, our precious little princess.”

“And when she comes of age, she’ll learn how to be a princess and a soldier,” Jid says.

“Now Jid, that’s for her to decide when she comes of age. But I would certainly like it if she decided to become a strong warrior just like her parents.”

Anna simply watches the Florians, reading the translation of what they’re saying on her tablet. She can only imagine what Florian society must be like.

Cenoh and Jid begin walking in Anna’s direction. Before they can potentially see her, Anna quickly runs back to the arboretum’s entrance and acts as if she’d always been there. She tries to hide her nervousness as the two approach her, likely preparing to leave.

“Before we go, can we know what these little fruits are called?” Cenoh asks Anna, showing her a cherry tomato from Whood’s vine.

“Oh… They’re cherry tomatoes,” Anna says.

“Ah, cherry tomatoes. Okay then. We’ll be leaving now,” Cenoh says to Anna. “Thank you dearly for everything.”

“Uh, it’s no trouble,” Anna says.

“Oh, and just for future reference, try and improve your hiding skills.” Cenoh’s remark makes Anna freeze on the spot. “While we appreciate your curiosity, we don’t like being spied on.” With that, Cenoh and Jid leave the arboretum with Whood, laughing to themselves as Anna stands motionless in mixed fear and embarrassment.

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THE IDT ROOM
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Cenoh and Jid enter the IDT room, with Cenoh carrying Whood in her pot as they meet up with Chris. “Ah, good to see you two are doing well again,” Chris says. “I take it you’ll be returning to your home world now?”

Cenoh and Jid exchange looks. “If you mean Traucal, then no,” Cenoh says. “We don’t wish to go back there.”

Chris raises and eyebrow. “Really? That’s surprising. I guess it was a waste finding the dimension housing it.”

“You found Traucal?” Jid asks.

“Yes. I figured that you two would want to return to the rest of your kind. Your home world is right through that portal.” Chris points at the shimmering blue portal.

Cenoh stares at the portal briefly, reminiscing about her life with the other Florians. Although she sometimes wishes to go back, she knows that she never can. “Sorry Chris, but there’s a reason we were exiled from Traucal. If we ever went back, we doubt they’d be friendly towards us. We have a new home now, one where we’re queens. That is where we’d like to go now.”

“I see.” Chris presses some buttons on the console. The portal flashes briefly, indicating a change in destination. “Here you are then, dimension FGC-673, Clara and Josh’s home world.”

“Thank you,” Cenoh says. She and Jid enter the door into the portal chamber, approaching the shimmering blue portal with Chris watching.

“Don’t hesitate to pay us a visit if you feel like it, Plantera. The portal is always open.”

“Don’t worry, we will. And also, stop calling me Plantera. My true name is Cenoh. Tell that to Clara and Josh as well.” With that, Cenoh takes Jid’s hand and Jid clutches Whood tightly as the two jump into the portal and to their new home.

On the other side of the portal is a wooden building with a stone slabbed floor, housing the shimmering portal leading to MetaCorp. From the portal, Cenoh, Jid and Whood all emerge and step onto the floor safely. Cenoh leads her spouse and daughter out of the building and in the direction of the jungle that shall now house the three of them.

“Plantera, huh?” Jid says.

“It was my usurper name,” Cenoh says. “I don’t intend to use it anymore.

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“Did you see everything you wanted?” Chris asks to the mostly empty room. As he does, a figure de-cloaks from behind him. It’s a tall, muscular man slightly resembling Cenoh and Jid.

“Yes,” the Florian general says. “Thank you for your cooperation.” The armored military official enters the chamber and approaches the portal as Chris redirects it back to Traucal.

“You’re not going to pursue them, are you?”

The general stands silently for a few moments. “No. They were wise not to return to Traucal. As long as they keep it that way, we have no quarrel with them or with you.”

“Good to hear. I hope this meeting was as beneficial to you as it was to me.”

With no other words, the general enters the portal and returns to Traucal.

Chris sighs. “The Florians are very dimensionally adamant, but at least Clara and Josh’s world is safe. Wait… Speaking of Clara and Josh, where are those two?”

THE END

Description
Cenoh flies into the MetaCorp arboretum, carrying her lover Jid in her arms. Flying around the oversized greenhouse, she searches for a body of water, eventually finding one. Amongst the arboreal displays, she spots a small pond decorated with lily pads and other aquatic plants. Cenoh lands at the small body of water, crouching over it and gently lowering Jid into the shallow pond.

Her lower body submerged in the fresh water, Jid releases a weak sigh of relief as the color starts returning to her leafy skin. She sits in the pond for about twenty seconds as she tries to regain her strength. “C-C-Cenoh…” Jid whispers softly, finally rehydrated enough to speak.

Cenoh almost cries in happiness, pressing a button on her armor’s wrist panel. The armor opens up and detaches from her body, leaving Cenoh in the simple vinyl suit she wears underneath. Letting her armor compress into a retracted form, Cenoh steps into the water and sits next to Jid, hugging her lovingly. “I’m here, Jid,” Cenoh says softly. “You’re safe.”

“Cenoh… Is it really you?” Jid’s voice slowly returns to her as she rehydrates. Cenoh nods in response. “How… did you find me?”

Cenoh sighs. “To be honest… it was luck, Jid. I got a miraculous opportunity, and I took it.”

Jid smiles. She has now almost fully regained her color, her voice now more prominent. “I’m glad you did. You don’t know how happy I am to see you again.” Bringing herself closer to Cenoh, Jid shares a kiss with her wife. Both of them let out tears of joy. Seconds later, Jid breaks the embrace. “Cenoh, what about Whood? Did you find her too?”

“Yes, yes I did. She’s here as well.”

Jid breathes a sigh of relief. “I need to see her. Where is she?” She tries to stand, but Cenoh stops her.

“Jid, you’re still weak. You need to rest.” Cenoh stands and climbs out of the pond. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring her here.”

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Doctor Anna continues to observe the Florian infant. After watching Whood feed on a cherry tomato, she’d become very interested in what else the botanical child had to show. Whood certainly seems to like Anna, as her gaze has been fixated on Anna for several minutes. The girl’s little smile seems innocent enough, but Anna would rather not try to touch Whood again.

“Excuse me,” a female voice says from behind Anna. The doctor turns around, not expecting to see a green-skinned woman with pink floral hair looking back at her. “Is my daughter okay?”

Anna takes a moment to collect her thoughts. This is not what she’d expected an adult Florian to look like. “Um… yes, she’s fine.” Anna moves out of Cenoh’s way, allowing the Florian mother to see her child again.

“Thank you very much,” Cenoh says. Whood excitedly smiles at the return of her mother. “Hello Whood, my darling.” Cenoh brings a hand to her daughter, who clings to it in happiness. “Guess what? I found your mommy. We can be together again.” Cenoh looks over at Anna. “I’m sorry, but do you have something I can carry her in?”

“Uh… oh, of course.” Walking over to a station along the wall, Anna grabs a small pot, already filled with soil. She brings the pot to the Florians and sets it down on the soil bed.

“Thank you,” Cenoh says, gently grabbing her daughter by the waist. She slowly pulls Whood out of the soil, exposing her roots briefly before lowering her into the pot and allowing her to settle in. The pot is just big enough for little Whood, and small enough for Cenoh to carry without trouble. Cenoh thanks Anna again before walking off with Whood, leaving Anna to ponder what she’d just seen.

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Cenoh returns to the pond, the awaiting Jid anxious to see Whood. As Cenoh dips back into the water, she brings the small pot to the pond’s edge and sets it down next to Jid. “Oh my god,” Jid says, tears filling her eyes once again. “Whood, my baby…” Jid brings a gentle hand to brush through Whood’s white and blue petal hair. “I’m so glad you’re alright. And you’ve even picked your color.” Jid brushes Whood’s new blue petals with her thumb.

“It looks like she wants to take after her mother,” Cenoh says, combing her fingers through Jid’s bright blue petals.

Jid frowns, looking down in thought. She sighs in disappointment. “It’s you who she should want to be like, Cenoh. I mean… you risked your life to save us, and I stupidly let myself get captured by slavers. I just…”

“Jid!” Cenoh turns Jid to face her, gripping her shoulders. “Don’t say things like that. We might not be soldiers anymore, but you’re still my wife. I would give my life for you, and I’m certain that had our places been switched, you would have done the same thing for me.” Cenoh hugs Jid tightly, trying to resist the tears.

“B-but Cenoh… I never could’ve done the things you have. You were always the stronger one. I could never catch up to you, no matter how hard I trained. I wasn’t even strong enough to carry the seed…”

Cenoh clutches the back of Jid’s head, her voice becoming shaky. “Jid, what has happened to you?! This is not the woman I married! You are not weak, and you’ve never been weak! I may have carried Whood, but you’re the one who helped me produce her. She takes after you more. You’re the true mother. I was just the carrier. I… I…” Cenoh finally breaks down, crying into Jid’s shoulder.

“Cenoh, I think you’ve held back your emotions for too long.” Jid wraps her arms around Cenoh, trying to comfort her crying spouse. “What physical strength you possess has always been balanced by your emotional weakness. That’s why we need each other to survive.” Jid lifts Cenoh’s head, and the two lock lips in an emotional kiss.

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Anna watches from behind a tree as the two Florians converse in an alien language. She only understands what they’re saying because of her tablet’s translator, and as she reads what they’re saying, she feels genuine sadness for the two.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Anna turns around in surprise to see Chris standing behind her. “Reunions such as these really tug at the heart strings, don’t you agree?” he says.

“Um… Chris,” Anna begins, “Forgive me if I sound rude, but… what are they?”

Chris smiles. “Oh Anna, that’s a perfectly reasonable question given what I suspect you have seen. They are Florians, a race of botanical people from planet Traucal. Those two in particular have been through quite the endeavor as of recently, so I think it best to give them some privacy. In the meantime, you can tell me about what happened while you were caring for the child.”

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“Are you calm now, Cenoh?” Jid asks, Cenoh still firmly hugging her wife with her face planted in Jid’s chest. Cenoh gives a slight nod, but refuses to lift her head. “Cenoh, I’m truly thankful that you went through so much to save me.” Jid brushes a hand through Cenoh’s pink petal hair. “You don’t have to downplay yourself for me. I still love you, no matter how much stronger you are than me.” Cenoh’s hug tightens. She tries to speak, but can only manage light sobs as she covers Jid’s chest with tears. “It’s okay, Cenoh. You don’t have to speak anymore. You’ve done enough already.”

Cenoh finally begins to relax, disappointed with herself for breaking down like that. But Jid is correct in that Cenoh has always been emotionally unstable. After hiding her true emotions under a cold guise for years, she can’t hide it any longer.

Jid feels a tiny vine tap her shoulder. Looking to her right, she sees a long vine poking out of Whood’s pot and reaching over to her. Whood smiles at Jid, showing her a single cherry tomato growing from the vine. “What’s this?” Jid asks, plucking the cherry tomato and looking it over. “Is this some kind of fruit? Oh Whood, you want to be a harvester, don’t you? It looks like you really do take after your carrier more than your mother.”

Cenoh loudly sobs, Jid’s comments not helping her emotional frailty. At this rate, she might replace all of the pond’s water with tears.

“Here Cenoh, open up.” Jid offers Cenoh the cherry tomato, poking her face with the delicate veggie. Cenoh’s mouth opens, and Jid pops the tomato inside. Cenoh eats the little tomato, liking its unique flavor. “Feel better?” Jid asks. Cenoh nods slightly, but still refuses to release her spouse. “I think I know what’ll really make you feel better. How about a round of pollination?”

Cenoh’s eyes widen as she finally lifts her head to face her lover again. “H-here?”

“Of course.” Jid smiles, stroking Cenoh’s cheek. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I want to see if your spores still work on me.”

Cenoh wipes the tears from her face with a lustful smile. “Okay, but remember, I like it rough.” Cenoh surrounds the two of them with giant pink flower petals, concealing them inside of a giant flower bud so they can get busy in the pond.

---------------------
6 HOURS LATER
---------------------

Clara and Josh enter the arboretum, meeting Chris inside. “Hey Chris!” Clara calls to him. “Have you seen Plantera? She’s been gone for a while.”

“Why yes,” Chris says, setting down the flower pot in his hands. “She’s still here with her family. Let’s just say that she and her spouse have been busy here.”

“Busy doing what?” Josh asks.

“Erm… Come, it’s best if I just show you.” Chris leads Clara and Josh to the pond, where a large pink flower bud sits, pulsing slightly. Placed next to the giant bud is a small flower pot with Cenoh’s daughter Whood inside. The Florian infant smiles and waves at the group as they approach.

“Is that what I think it is?” Clara asks, eyeing the large bulb cautiously.

“Yep, that is definitely Plantera’s,” Josh says. “But where is she?”

Chris snickers. “Is it not obvious?”

Clara takes another look at the pulsating bulb. “Oh… I think I understand now.” She walks closer to the bulb, wondering if she should touch it or not.

Before any of them can expect it, the bulb’s petals begin to open, releasing a cloud of pink spores into the air. Clara backs away, coughing after accidentally inhaling some of the spores. The petals dispel on the ground, and from the pool arise two nude Florians. Cenoh stands up and stretches, her pink petal hair flowing behind her before she puts it back into its usual ponytail with a vine. “Ahhh…” Cenoh sighs with relief. “Hello, you all. I take it you missed me?”

Clara falls to her knees, trying to clear her face from the strange pink spores. Josh hurries to her side. “Clara, are you okay?” he asks, worried.

Clara starts breathing heavily, her body feeling unusually warm as her hands shoot to her crotch area. She suddenly feels incredibly aroused. “Plantera…” Clara gasps out words between heavy breaths. “What… did you do… to me?!”

“Oh, sorry. I guess you were too close to us.” Cenoh exits the pond and approaches Clara, unabated by her current nudity as every inch her leafy green skin is on full display. “They’re my lust spores. I use them when I’m getting intimate with Jid.”

“Oh god!” Clara cries in arousal. “I feel like… I’m gonna die!” She squirms on the ground as uncontrollable feelings of intense sexual arousal course through her.

Cenoh looks at Josh. “We should probably get that armor off of her.” She and Josh help Clara out of her knight armor, sliding her out of her chest piece and greaves. With her armor off and down to her normal clothes, Clara buckles her legs as her hands clutch at her crotch area, occasional moans escaping her lips. “Josh, if there was ever a time to have sex with her, it would be now,” Cenoh says.

Josh double-takes at this statement. “W-what? How can you just casually say something like that?”

“If you don’t, she’s gonna be fondling herself for hours until she’s relieved.”

“But… me and Clara don’t even have that kind of relationship.”

“Ugh…” Cenoh rolls her eyes. “Sorry to do this to you, but it’s for her sake.” She flicks her wrist and blows a cloud of pink spores into Josh’s face.

“Ah!” Josh covers his face, but he’s already inhaled the spores. “What is wrong with you?!”

Cenoh smirks. “Well, I think I’ll just leave you two alone. Have fun!” She walks back to the pond, where Jid waits, having watched the whole ordeal.

Jid stands in the pond, also completely nude. She exits the water, struggling slightly. As she climbs out, she appears fatter than before. Her belly, hips and butt have swelled several inches, giving her a big pear figure. “I think I took in a little too much water.” She pokes a finger into her belly, feeling it slosh with ample water within. “Oof… I’m so bloated…”

Cenoh eagerly grabs handfuls of Jid’s bloated belly. “Considering how dehydrated you were before, I consider this an improvement.” She squishes and shakes Jid’s water belly, feeling the water sloshing around inside.

Jid lets out a slight moan of pleasure. “Cenoh, please don’t do that, unless you’re ready for another round of pollination.”

“Heh, I wouldn’t mind that at all, actually. It would certainly be interesting if you had the big belly this time.” Cenoh kneels in front of Jid and plants her face into the sloshy belly before her. “Isn’t that right, water baby?” Cenoh shakes around Jid’s belly some more, inciting pleasured moans from her partner.

The two stop upon realizing that Chris is still standing just a few feet away, watching the whole thing. “Hm? Oh, don’t mind me,” Chris says nonchalantly. “The two of you are quite interesting to watch.”

“Chris, no offense, but we would prefer if you didn’t.”

“Okay then, you two enjoy your privacy.” Chris turns and heads for the exit, leaving Cenoh and Jid alone again.

The two Florians sit on the grass by the pond. “I’m glad you’re out of that little state, Cenoh,” Jid says.

“Yeah, me too.” Cenoh continues to explore Jid’s bloated figure, grabbing and squishing her water belly. “By the way Jid, please don’t tell anyone that I got so emotional. I would lose all respect from them.”

Jid giggles. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. By the way, is this the dimension you were sent to? Because if so, you got off very lucky.”

“Well… no, this isn’t where I was sent. This world is just a connector.”

“So, where were you sent?”

Cenoh sighs. “A very hostile place. The landscape is filled with corruption and almost everything alive wanted me dead.”

“Oh… Cenoh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad that it was me who got sent to that world. I can’t imagine that you or Whood would have survived there alone.” Cenoh takes Jid’s hands with her own, smiling. “But Jid, in the time that I was in that world, I discovered a beautiful jungle, filled with luscious trees and water, and the most expansive network of underground tunnels and caves imaginable. It was here that I made my new home.”

“Your new home? But I thought you said the world was filled with hostile creatures.”

“It is, so I did the only thing I could. I fought, and I conquered. In only a short span of time, I had the entire jungle marked as my new kingdom.”

Jid looks at Cenoh in surprise. “Kingdom?”

“Jid, I’m not just a soldier anymore. I’m a queen.” Cenoh hugs her wife once more. “You know what that means, don’t you? You’re a queen as well, and our little Whood is a princess.”

Jid’s eyes begin tearing as she lovingly embraces Cenoh. “Somehow, I knew… From the moment I saw you again, I knew that you’d become something incredibly powerful. I just… It’s so hard to believe.”

The moment between Cenoh and Jid is interrupted by little vines tapping their laps. The two see Whood in her pot, lifting herself up with several vines to bring herself to her mothers. The infant shows her parents two vines growing more cherry tomatoes.

“Well, look who’s evolving,” Cenoh says, plucking one of the small tomatoes from her daughter’s vine. “What did you eat while we were away?”

“I’m guessing it’s these little fruits she seems to love so much.” Jid also plucks a cherry tomato and eats it. “We’ll have to find out what these are called.”

Cenoh picks up the pot containing Whood and puts it on her lap. “Hello little darling.” She brings a gentle hand to her daughter, who eagerly grabs and hugs her carrier’s appendage. “Guess what? You’re a princess, Whood. We have a new home, where we’re royalty.” Whood’s vines begin to wrap around Cenoh’s waist. She can’t understand language properly yet, but she simply wants to show her love for her carrier. Using her vines, Whood pulls herself out of the pot, roots and all, and clings to Cenoh’s chest lovingly. “Oh Whood, I love you too.” Cenoh lightly pats her daughter. “Come on, you need to stay in the soil.” She gently pulls Whood away and places her back into the pot.

“Allow me,” Jid says, taking Whood’s pot from Cenoh’s lap and placing it on her own. Jid briefly puts her thumb in her mouth, pricking the skin with one of her sharp teeth. The wound leaks yellow blood, and Jid brings it to Whood, who eagerly holds the finger with her little hands and suckles the wound. Whood’s vines unwrap from Cenoh and retract into the pot as Whood drinks her mother’s blood.

“Still refuse to breastfeed?” Cenoh asks.

Jid smiles. “I like it better this way. You know she likes blood more than nectar. Besides, she’ll mature faster this way.”

“If I recall correctly, didn’t the council forbid this practice?”

“Yes, they did. I’m not entirely sure why, though.”

“But we’re safely out of their reach.” Cenoh gives Jid a smug smile. “We’re queens now. We can decide for ourselves what’s forbidden and what’s not.” She hugs her spouse again.

“I like the way you think,” Jid says.

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Doctor Anna wanders back to the pond, hoping to get a glimpse of the Florians again. She peeks at the small body of water from behind a tree, seeing Cenoh and Jid standing in the grassy clearing nearby, surrounded by a series of strange plants that weren’t there before. They appear to be collecting samples of large leaves and flowers, weaving them together in strange but elegant patterns. Anna wonders what they could be trying to create, until Cenoh wraps Jid in a garment fashioned from big leaves and blue flowers to match her hair.

“How do I look?” Jid asks, pivoting in place and allowing the floral garment to wave around her as she admires it.

“You look majestic,” Cenoh says, lightly feeling Jid’s wide hips as she admires her wife’s pear figure in her new floral gown. “Now for mine.” Cenoh lifts up a garment of her own and wraps it around herself, a dress made of big leaves and pink flower petals to match her hair. “Do I look just as nice?” she asks, slowly turning around to show her dress to Jid.

“I believe you do,” Jid says, picking up the pot containing Whood. Cenoh picks up a small circlet fashioned from small twigs and flower stems, and places the circlet onto Whood’s head. Whood smiles happily as she accepts the makeshift tiara. If the infant were capable of speech, she would be unable to contain her joy.

“Now we truly look like royalty,” Cenoh says, patting Whood’s head. “Especially you, our precious little princess.”

“And when she comes of age, she’ll learn how to be a princess and a soldier,” Jid says.

“Now Jid, that’s for her to decide when she comes of age. But I would certainly like it if she decided to become a strong warrior just like her parents.”

Anna simply watches the Florians, reading the translation of what they’re saying on her tablet. She can only imagine what Florian society must be like.

Cenoh and Jid begin walking in Anna’s direction. Before they can potentially see her, Anna quickly runs back to the arboretum’s entrance and acts as if she’d always been there. She tries to hide her nervousness as the two approach her, likely preparing to leave.

“Before we go, can we know what these little fruits are called?” Cenoh asks Anna, showing her a cherry tomato from Whood’s vine.

“Oh… They’re cherry tomatoes,” Anna says.

“Ah, cherry tomatoes. Okay then. We’ll be leaving now,” Cenoh says to Anna. “Thank you dearly for everything.”

“Uh, it’s no trouble,” Anna says.

“Oh, and just for future reference, try and improve your hiding skills.” Cenoh’s remark makes Anna freeze on the spot. “While we appreciate your curiosity, we don’t like being spied on.” With that, Cenoh and Jid leave the arboretum with Whood, laughing to themselves as Anna stands motionless in mixed fear and embarrassment.

--------------------
THE IDT ROOM
--------------------

Cenoh and Jid enter the IDT room, with Cenoh carrying Whood in her pot as they meet up with Chris. “Ah, good to see you two are doing well again,” Chris says. “I take it you’ll be returning to your home world now?”

Cenoh and Jid exchange looks. “If you mean Traucal, then no,” Cenoh says. “We don’t wish to go back there.”

Chris raises and eyebrow. “Really? That’s surprising. I guess it was a waste finding the dimension housing it.”

“You found Traucal?” Jid asks.

“Yes. I figured that you two would want to return to the rest of your kind. Your home world is right through that portal.” Chris points at the shimmering blue portal.

Cenoh stares at the portal briefly, reminiscing about her life with the other Florians. Although she sometimes wishes to go back, she knows that she never can. “Sorry Chris, but there’s a reason we were exiled from Traucal. If we ever went back, we doubt they’d be friendly towards us. We have a new home now, one where we’re queens. That is where we’d like to go now.”

“I see.” Chris presses some buttons on the console. The portal flashes briefly, indicating a change in destination. “Here you are then, dimension FGC-673, Clara and Josh’s home world.”

“Thank you,” Cenoh says. She and Jid enter the door into the portal chamber, approaching the shimmering blue portal with Chris watching.

“Don’t hesitate to pay us a visit if you feel like it, Plantera. The portal is always open.”

“Don’t worry, we will. And also, stop calling me Plantera. My true name is Cenoh. Tell that to Clara and Josh as well.” With that, Cenoh takes Jid’s hand and Jid clutches Whood tightly as the two jump into the portal and to their new home.

On the other side of the portal is a wooden building with a stone slabbed floor, housing the shimmering portal leading to MetaCorp. From the portal, Cenoh, Jid and Whood all emerge and step onto the floor safely. Cenoh leads her spouse and daughter out of the building and in the direction of the jungle that shall now house the three of them.

“Plantera, huh?” Jid says.

“It was my usurper name,” Cenoh says. “I don’t intend to use it anymore.

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“Did you see everything you wanted?” Chris asks to the mostly empty room. As he does, a figure de-cloaks from behind him. It’s a tall, muscular man slightly resembling Cenoh and Jid.

“Yes,” the Florian general says. “Thank you for your cooperation.” The armored military official enters the chamber and approaches the portal as Chris redirects it back to Traucal.

“You’re not going to pursue them, are you?”

The general stands silently for a few moments. “No. They were wise not to return to Traucal. As long as they keep it that way, we have no quarrel with them or with you.”

“Good to hear. I hope this meeting was as beneficial to you as it was to me.”

With no other words, the general enters the portal and returns to Traucal.

Chris sighs. “The Florians are very dimensionally adamant, but at least Clara and Josh’s world is safe. Wait… Speaking of Clara and Josh, where are those two?”

THE END