Hideaway Strath 7 Deadly Sins

When he greeted her with a friendly query, Towhee just stared at him for a beat. It wasn't a judgment against his lack of knowledge, simply a mental buffering as she tried to remember how to make small talk. In the end, the system crashed and the leader simply shook her head, not in response to Rye's question but as a silent indicator that something was amiss, so badly that she couldn't find her words for a moment.

But after a steadying breath, Towhee was able to say and sign, -"Fen's gone, like, gone."- That was all she could manage for now. She sagged under the weight of the news, her insides clenching with the same onslaught of emotions she'd been experiencing the past several days. She simultaneously wanted to retreat back to her mechanical searching and throw herself into her friend's arms to seek comfort.

Towhee did neither of those things. She just stood there for a second, looking utterly broken and like she might burst into tears. Instead of doing that, she made a croaking noise, which abruptly rose in volume, becoming a ragged scream of anguish. It tore out of her so violently that she swore she felt the earth trembling beneath her feet.