Rusa enjoyed the looks on people's faces as they noticed that she wasn't quite Human. That is to say, in the magical realm of Earth. At this other place, Mindspace, she was hardly out of place, folks were actually looking at her because she was beautiful and magical, not because she had antlers and shouldn't have a wand to wave around.

Her choices of elegant dresses gave pureblood wizards pause - she held herself with such grace. But... she was a wyldkin, a shifter. No one trusted her as far as they could throw her, but they were intrigued. Always.

She did have that effect on people. Like seeing her father - the great stag, the king of the wilds, the creature from whom legends and myths of Cernunos were built - seeing Rusa struck a chord in anyone who knew magic, and plenty who didn't.

After all she did spend a little time dallying in the mundane world. Just a few times a year. Parties. You know. The kind where people think those are fake antlers, or glued-on ears and dyed green hair. She didn't care to live there, but like normies enjoyed their moments exposed to magic, she enjoyed her moments exposed to those who had none.

But Mindspace... was different. It was filled with magic - alien and wonderful magics, really. And filled with creatures which defied description.

The boy that came along with her, Madboy Max she called him because she knew more than she let on about him, found his own three-headed creature to bring back home. And Rusa found... this.

He was like water and wood, and Rusa named him Willowtears because that's what he let her call him. Whether he responded to it, who knows. But Willowtears accepted Rusa as his very own, and far from being a snippy beast like his clutch mate going with Max, he tenderly guards Rusa using hissing and nudges but very rarely any physical contact. Now, if something were to attack her, he'd be all over that like flies on honey.

On an inspection day before they moved to Twoarth, one of the few times when Zora Domina could not prevent the authorities from looking around her school to make sure that every subject was being taught correctly and in a good environment (about which she was duly proud, after all this school and its grounds had come a long way in the time she'd been using it) both Willowtears and Rusa had to be gently hidden. The gardens and hothouse proved an easy place for Willowtears to encourage nearby plants to grow, and he stuck out only appearing to be a topiary among many. Rusa... remained still and silent, knowing that one false move would bring bigots down upon her for having that wand she enjoyed, or even for being around Humans too much.

It passed without incident, though, with another brought in to fake being the Herbology instructor, and the dashing Desmond Voorhees jumping in as the History professor. Neither was asked anything more than they'd be able to answer... And the students cooperated easily. Unlike other schools of magic, the students were treated with enough respect that they knew the condition of their exotic instructors would be in jeopardy if they mentioned it to the wrong ear.

Thankfully, by this time, Max was already gone, along with the other rather darker students...

***

She would have enjoyed his company even if he wasn't so exotically handsome, he was hardly human, but in different ways than she was. He had the same bearing as her sire, tall and elegant and strong willed. Long pointed ears and three-fingered hands, lovely violet eyes. And power. He was the grandson of Kallah Vahh, the great-grandson of Lumin King Vaelan of Dragondeep. The descendant of two interdimensionally-active humans. And, two more lines of Zekirans that had long been known as the most influential on their planet for generations - Sengihr and Marad. He carried so much power in fact that Kallah Vahh has had to instruct him on how to actually contain it. And his urge to rule or govern was markedly strong with not just his royal line, he had an ease about himself that attracted anyone in need of that guidance.

Echo fell in with Rusa while she was out and about at Carramba, but he brought her directly to his massive estate on Zekira, just to show off.

Their children, son Shaa'rus Vahh, and daughter Morr'sah Vahh, grew up with the idea that they would want to find a place to rule. They both can shapeshift into beautiful deer-versions of themselves, pale snowy Morr'sah and buckskin tan Shaa'rus. They learned what spell magic they could from Domina's instructors while they were very young, then spent another decade learning much more on Dragondeep, and fleshed out their full education on Zekira. Rusa is so proud of them, they and their grandmother - and grandsire too - make quite the herd.

Don't you dare hint that that is what they'd call themselves though...

Willowtears, male plant hydra
Size: 5'5" s / 20' l / 20' ws cannot fly
Colors: blue, green, with a little pink thrown in for flower petals
Features: above
Abilities: cannot fly, and is blind; however, can burrow and swim, and enjoys doing both things
Telepathy and Verbal Speech, you don't want to really hear what he sounds like. Because it's three times more terrifying than you think it will be
Photosynthesis: Because they are part plant, they can do photosynthesis, using the sun to make glucose, which they then utilize as food. They can exist very successfully doing this alone, however, it's best for them to balance this with some meat food as well. Also, due to this, parts of them can be eaten- most notably their thorns, the outer layer of their skin, and their petal/leaf crests, all of which they shed annually.
Sunlight Empowerment: Any magic they do becomes stronger if done in full sunlight. Sun-based Magic: Using sunlight energy to accomplish things: potentially, anything the hydra can accumulate enough willpower to do, but more usually things like concentrating and directing beams of sunlight and such.
Plant manipulation: Manipulating plant movement, as well as factors such as growth and what sort of chemicals the plants synthesize-- potentially, they could de-poison-ify a plant, or make it more poisonous.
Venom: They are naturally venomous; their saliva is venomous, so their teeth are coated in it. The thorns on their backs naturally secrete this venom, and their claws are hallow and contain the venom. The venom causes temporary paralysis, followed by death if it's given in a high enough dose. It is incredibly painful, but rendered useless if separated from the hydra's body for three minutes prior to ingestion. This dragon cannot be ridden, obviously, and must warn away kids or stray people who think he wants a hug