Oathbound
Lutis, Rebellion-Held Aviye
Zai
Zai fell onto her hands and knees, gasping as she felt the "fraction" of Shenmi's soul enter her. She watched as the blue bruises on her hands and arms started to visibly recede, and while they didn't go away completely, she knew that she was healed.
The first part of the oath swearing had involved Shenmi taking a fragment of Zai's soul, a process she'd barely felt except for an inexplicable sense of loss while she meditated. But then Shenmi had inserted her own piece of soul, and suddenly it took everything Zai had just to hold on.
The feeling like she was about to burst through her own skin made her sick to her stomach, and she took deep, gulping breaths as she tried to focus. There were several pangolins in the yard, and they watched her with their black eyes as they hovered over the small pond in the corner, lapping up sips.