I had written a whole reply about how the pedestrians are in total control of the relationship rather than the fungus, but then I realized it's irrelevant. Symb

I had written a whole reply about how the pedestrians are in total control of the relationship rather than the fungus, but then I realized it's irrelevant. Symbiosis is a broad term; it applies to parasitism as well as host cleaning. So in the case where a pedestrian creature is wearing another living creature for protection, it is symbiosis.