The walls of the tavern had been muffling most of the sounds filtering out, so the minute I opened the door, it was like a tidal wave of noise, all pounding into my eardrums like someone was bashing some drums next to my ears. Even the smell was horrifying: unwashed men, food and different types of liquor all mixed together. 

Startled by how unruly, how disgusting, it all was, I stumbled back out the door, letting it slam shut. I leant against the wall, panting to remove the smell, and my hands tapping my ears to make sure I still had my hearing. 

My heart pounded in my chest as I stepped back to open the door, wincing already for the onslaughter. If I didn't have my fox sense, then I would have been fine; now it was going to be a lot harder to focus. Steeling myself, I stepped back into, standing on the threshold. Unlike fox ears, human ones couldn't flatten to stop loud noises, so I was forced to walk through the mass of sounds, a hand pinching my nose shut to get rid of the smell. 

Some of the patrons stared at me strangely, but I ignored them, a headache already forming as my ears darted from sound to sound. 

"Hi there!" someone said happily. 

I looked down to see a short man before me, juggling some empty cups. His shaggy blonde hair and large green eyes made him look like a child and I guessed that the man before me was the bar's owner. 

"Can I help you with something?" he asked.  

"Maybe," I replied nasally, before removing my fingers. "Are you the owner?" I questioned, even though I already knew the answer. 

"Sure am! Welcome to the Boar Hat," he said with a laugh in his voice, grinning at me. 

"I'm trying to-" A man's raucous laughter drew my attention, before I focused on the owner. All the noise and the smells were getting to me. "I'm trying to find..." I gasped out, my vision swimming, head throbbing. I could feel myself swaying but I couldn't stop myself. 

"Hey." A hand on my arm. "Are you alright?" 

"No. I think I need to sit down," I said shakily, clamping my hands over my ears. Maybe this was a bad idea. 

His hand still on my arm, he dragged me to behind the counter, the patrons following us with their eyes as we passed. He ushered me around to a small door without word and let me in. In the corner was a pig eating scraps.  

"Stay with Hawk for a bit; just until it quietens down a bit. I'll bring you some water and food," he explained, closing the door behind him.

Removing my hands, I noticed how silent it was in the room, besides the pig eating, and it didn't smells so bad in here, like old wood and fresh fruit. I regarded the pig in the corner, wondering about it's name. 

Why is it named Hawk? Wouldn't Hog be better suited? 

"What are you staring at?" it said, looking up at me with food in it's mouth. 

I had seen many strange thing in my years, but this would have to be my breaking point. Animals did not speak the human language while they were still an animal. 

Screaming, I bolted from the room, running straight into the bar owner, who was carrying the water and the food for me. The water split all over me and the glass shattered on the ground; the pie went flying and landed on my head. Panicked by all the noise again and from being burnt, I screeched, trying to brush it from my hair. 

Huddled in the corner, I snapped my teeth at anyone who came close, an injured, frightened animal cornered by humans. So much for staying human. 

"Hey, girlie, are you alright?" a man asked, crouching beside me. I almost bit his fingers off when he offered me his hand. He didn't seem at all concerned that I tried to bite him.

"Yeah, do you need some water to wash the food off?" another asked. 

Soon, the whole tavern was helping me out and the bar owner even brought me new clothes while my others were going to be washed. In a freshly pressed dress and stockings, bare foot, I sat on the edge of bar, swinging my feet slowly. On my head were some things called mufflers, two weirdly shaped cups with fluff on them connected to a piece of wire - the cups encircled my ears and kept out the sound of the tavern. 

"Thanks for the clothes," I said to the bar owner, who was cleaning a glass with a rag. 

"No problem," he replied. "Sorry that Hawk scared you so much." I could still hear him enough through the mufflers. 

"ME?" Hawk screeched before snorting. "You assaulted her with food and water." 

"You're a talking pig," the bar owner said to the pink pig and I zoned out from their harmless bickering. 

"Did you hear that they are still searching for the Seven Deadly Sins," said a young man nervously, clutching at his mug of beer. 

If my ears could swivel and twitch, they would have. Another mention of those Seven Deadly Sins; could it really be some of my friends? Did cult members get a hold of them as well? I moved closer to the men, interested.  

"Nah, those knights would be old and dead by now," replied his drunk friend, his cheeks tinted pink as he took another swig from his tankard.

"If they are dead, then why are their poster's still up?" asked another, gesturing to the posters.

A 'Wanted' sign was against the wall and on it were seven pictures, their names written underneath. Meliodas. Ban. Merlin. Escanor. King. Diane. Gowther. The seven deadly sins. I wandered over to admire the drawings. Two were woman, one was some giant armoured creature and the other were men.  

"Who are these guys?" I questioned the men. They definitely were not my friends. They didn't even have the same names as my friends. 

"Them? They're the Seven Deadly Sins. How can you not know who they are?"

"I... haven't been around civilization for a while," I lied, smiling at the men.

"They were the strongest knights in the kingdom, protectors of the King. That was, until they slaughtered the Grand Master. Then they became the enemy, hunted down by the Holy Knights. Meliodas was their captain, the sin of Wrath. Ban was Greed; Gowther was Lust; Merlin was Gluttony; Diane was Envy; King was Sloth; Escanor was Pride."

I furrowed my brow, glancing at the pictures again.

"They say that Gowther, the Wandering Rust Knight, was spotted a few days back," said another man, joining in our conversation.

"The Wandering Rust Knight wouldn't exist by now!" exclaimed the drunk man and everyone delved back into an argumentative conversation.

Boom.

The beer in the tankard before me rippled, disturbed. None of the men noticed as another boom rang out but I heard it, even through the mufflers. Pulling the mufflers off, I focused on the sound again, listening to the faint booming. 

Then it got louder. 

Boom! Boom!

"What's that?" many cried out.

Sniffing, I noticed a faint tang on the air. Rust. A finger of fear snaked up my spine.

"Hey, I smell rust," Hawk voiced my suspicion, nose in the air, just as the door smashed open.

The one horned helmet of Gowther, the Wandering Rust Knight, filled the doorway, a menacing figure standing in the light. It heaved a sigh and it sounded guttural, animal and evil. It took a step forward, armour clanking and it was as if a spell had been broken in the tavern.

Men screaming, bolting for the door, pushing past each other in their haste. I, on the other hand, couldn't move. It was as if my feet had been glued to the floor. It wasn't until the knight reached a large, armoured gloved hand towards my head that I jumped backwards.

I turned tail and jumped the counter, hiding behind it. Hawk still stood in the same spot, sweat drops appearing. The bar owner stepped forward, grabbing the hilt of a green sword, one I hadn't noticed before.

"Who are you?" he asked the knight and the creature took another step forward.

It quivered, and then toppled backwards, crashing to the ground. The helmet rolled away and a silvered- haired girl was revealed, eyes closed tightly.

"Huh?" both Hawk and I exclaimed, looking at each other.

The owner shared a look with us as well and then we went back to staring at the girl.

Is this Gowther's true form beneath the rusty armour? Is the girl the sin of Lust?