"What are you?" Lu Yuze asked, and his tone held genuine curiosity rather than accusation, like he was asking about her profession rather than her fundamental nature.
Shuyin's scales began to recede slightly as she fought for control, forcing her body back toward human appearance through sheer willpower.
The iridescent shimmer faded from her cheekbones, the delicate plates sinking back beneath skin that looked normal again, though she could still feel them there just under the surface, ready to emerge again if her control slipped. "I don't fully understand it myself," she admitted, her voice still carrying traces of those inhuman harmonics but gradually returning to recognizably human tones.
She forced herself to breathe, to think past the red haze of rage and violence, to find words that weren't the complete truth but weren't entirely lies either.
