It was supposed to be an easy mission.

That was what Ozpin had said! Go in, take care of the small fry; the more experienced students would then take out the dangerous Grimm that had made its home in the Emerald forest. "Your role will be done with before you know it" was what he had said. Word for word.

She should've pressured Ozpin harder to let him bring her team. But ooooohhhhhh no! Four students, even if they were freshman, would be too much against the small Grimm she would be distracting! He wanted to see just her in action, and while teams are helpful; it doesn't allow him to see just her fighting ability. It would be 'counterproductive'.

She had reluctantly nodded her head and agreed with the headmaster.

It was supposed to be just Beowolves. Maybe some Boarbatusks; or some itsy bitsy Deathstalkers if she was particularly unlucky, which she was of course. The fortunate do not choose to spend their lives fighting; not in her experience. Nothing a huntress in training of her caliber wouldn't be able to handle however,or so Ozpin had told her.

Well, she found Beowolves alright.

She had been launched into the Emerald forest like she had been in her initiation, the wind dragging across her skin and ruffling her combat skirt and hood in a cool rush before the gunshots exiting her weapon's barrel slowed her descent. The clearing she had landed in was, predictably enough, empty. No matter; simply run in a direction and she would find something surely. The Emerald Forest was chock full of Grimm for the students to practice their skills on.

Except the Emerald Forest was empty. No matter what direction she turned there was no flash of black, no squeal of a Boarbatusk, no crack of a Beowolf's feet on a twig. Not a thing, not a sound. The forest lacked even the call of birds as she ran through it, and every twist and turn that she made was met with a frustrating absence of dark creatures to plunge her weapon into.

It had to have been at least thirty minutes of exploring before she saw any thing other than trees and grass and the occasional ruin. And even then she had stumbled upon them in a clearing. There were three Beowolves, one of which was an alpha. Nothing to write home about she admitted, but it would serve as a good start to showing off her skills to the headmaster. She wasn't normally a show off; mainly wanting to keep to herself, but Ozpin had asked to see how capable she was.

Her plan was simple. Study the Beowolves for a few moments to seem more studious and cunning than she actually was, then strike whenever they turned their back away, got distracted; or just otherwise were stupid. Then she would rush forward and take out the two Beowovles, taking out one in a stealth attack and brute forcing her way through the other while she had the advantage.

It was the perfect plan! As the Beowolves turned away and headed into the forest, she pressed her heels to the ground, balancing on one knee and her finger on the trigger of her weapon to get that quick burst of speed to slice straight through her target. She was sure that a more calculating member of her team would have been satisfied with the plan. It was foolproof! Except for one little itty bitty tiny detail.

There were three Beowolves. Not two.

The third one had said hello to her as soon as the gunshot exited the shaft of her weapon, rocketing her forward straight into its outstretched arm and clothes lining her. Its limb slammed into her neck, the strike pressing into the tissue with contemptuous ease and crushing her wind pipe. Her knees buckled underneath her weight and she fell on her hands, struggling to breathe as the ground swam in front of her eyes.

A mass of black rushed towards her from the left of her vision, meeting her slumped head with a meaty impact that sprawled her to the ground and her ears ringing. Her eyelids felt heavy, creeping down her vision even as she fought to keep them open. The last thing she remembered was a black foot rushing down towards her body, filling up her vision and crashing into her head.

When her eyes opened again she was in a… a cave. Or at least that's what it appeared to be. There was rock all around her, stalagmites and stalactites galore. The cool damp air that was always present in caves wrapping around her body. Really the only thing that didn't make it seem like a cave was how BRIGHT everything was.

The abnormal brightness pierced through her eyes and against her skull. She could feel a headache blossoming across her forehead from where she had been struck. She had to be in a cavern full of natural dust, which would explain how she was still feeling a headache despite her aura, she would admit that she always did have an allergy to the stuff. It was either that or she was dreaming and in said dream she had night vision.

Not that she could check which it was of course, although she was fairly confident that she wasn't dream, that would be a pretty garbage dream.

Her hands pressed into the small of her back with slimy tendrils squeezing into her stomach, causing a searing pain that arced through her hands and arms as she struggled against them. Expecting the resistance, she ceased her struggling, instead leaning her head forward to take a closer look at her surroundings. She was curious about the situation she was in, but more so was was looking to catch any glimpse of who had tied her up. Or rather, what had tied her up.

Cursory looks around the cavern had at first, revealed very little about her situation and where she was. She was no worse for wear, other than the headache pressing against her skull; and her eyes drifting across the rough floor had eventually found her weapon discarded on a pile of stones. She took a few more looks at her own body, but she hadn't appeared to have lost anything interesting.

Turning back from the cave, her vision scanned the cave from left to right, eyeing several tunnels that raced away from her. Almost all of them began twisting and turning a short distance in. Those that didn't shot so far off that the light didn't reach down the craggy offshoots.

And of course, she couldn't forget the most interesting little detail about the cave she was in; the two Beowolves standing perfectly still and staring straight at her from her right. And standing right in between the two and looking at her was a different Grimm she had never seen before. It was leaning against the aforementioned column standing as still as a statue. It was…. oddly masculine.

This strange new one was pitch black; she could almost hear her partner sighing in exasperation at the observation. It had an almost lizard like head that was plated in bone that met a similarly armored torso and tail. The plates of armor seemed to be centered on muscle mass on his chest and midsection. The joints on his limbs however sported jagged bones that shot out into the air past his elbows and above his knees. His claws and talons reached a short distance past his finger tips.

There were other patches and plates of the bone armor all Grimm sported, but she kept finding her gaze floating up to his head. Her silver eyes traced the proud horns that jutted in rows from the back of his head, flowing across the sharp canines that jutted past his maw. But mostly she found herself staring at his eyes.

They shifted between some shade of yellow and a brownish red. They lacked pupils, but it didn't take much to convince her that it was watching her closely. The way that its head was craned forward from its position against the wall and pointed straight at her was enough to convince her of that, let alone the way her skin crawled underneath his gaze.

"Can you not look at me like that?"

She looked at him for a few moments, only to receive no response to her question. Not from him at least. He had merely kept his gaze on her, the plated head expressionless as the red eyes bored into her. The Beowolves at least tilted their heads as her voice reached their ears; but that was it. The lack of any response brought a flush to her cheeks and filled them with air. Her brows scrunched together as she looked down towards the cave floor. She felt a bit foolish for voicing the complaint; even if it was an attempt to cheer herself up. It was a Grimm. Of course it wouldn't respond.

Only a few minutes passed by before boredom's clutches gripped her and she turned her head back towards the creature. Blowing a strand of hair from her face she narrowed her eyes at the creature, meeting his gaze and studying the unmoving form. His limbs didn't even sway or twitch slightest as he continued to watch her slumped form.

Her eyes were starting to hurt as she took in the details. The bone on his black body seemed slightly scuffed in certain places, the worst being a crack running down his shin.

A howl bounced through the tunnels, distorted and warped due to the twist and turns in the craggy walls that it had traveled down. She winced in response to the grating noise, her body shifting away from the noise. Her eyes flicked to the new Grimm as she saw him respond immediately. He took two large strider through and away from the two Beowolves, walking towards her left; where the noise had streamed into the room from.

And yet still, even as he responded to the call there was no movement on this strange Grimm's face. No tensing in the form's shoulders, no narrowed gaze or harsh growl rushing across his tongue to echo in the cave. He stayed expressionless, giving nothing away.

His foot steps grew heavier as he approached the tunnel entrance, turning from light steps to deafening stomps as the shadows themselves seemed to wrap around his form. The darkness slithered tight around him and sealed his figure in a dark cocoon, the surface bubbling and twisting as it morphed.. The pout on her face slid away and her eyes widened as she kept her gaze on him.

Moments later bone jutted from his back and shoulders with a squelching noise; shadowy skin splintering and spraying against the cave wall with a splatter that quickly evaporated. The armor was followed shortly after by a bone plate bursting out of his forehead. It slid down, compressing the shadows that twirled about into a canine shape as teeth jutted through the gaps. One by one the teeth burst through the shadowy flesh, completing a set of powerful jaws that snapped together once; twice, and then came to a rest; the jaw hanging open.

By the time he had reached the door the new type of Grimm had been wrapped within the form of an Alpha Beowolf; its claws flexing and scraping against the cave wall as it stepped through the entry way. Turning around, it howled at the two before crouching on all fours; running down the tunnel.

The damp cool air of the cave formed small droplets on his mask as he ran through the tunnel, condensation forming a thick layer and clinging to the wispy fur that his armor coated him in. The tunnel twisted and turned, and he found himself forced to at points scramble and shove himself off of the walls into order to keep his speed. The sprint through the winding tunnels did not last long before he burst though the yawning opening of the cave and into the forest that he had made as his home.

Another howl echoed through the trees from his right and he ran towards the disturbance; intent on figuring out what required his attention. After all; not even a day ago he had found that silver-eyed girl attempting to attack two of his Grimm. He had to put a stop to that of course.

Frankly; he would have killed her then and there if he had the choice in the matter. He didn't relish death like many of his brethren did; but she did attempt to harm what he considered his. And her silver eyes would all but assure that unless she was dealt with she would continue to do so.

That couldn't be allowed to happen; he had not gone to the lengths he had to keep his Grimm away from conflict just for some child to kill them with a passing glance and a sweep of her blade. He had not nurtured them and taught them and spent so much time helping them grow through the centuries just for them to die to a student.

A student; not even a full huntress! Why she had been sent after him by the man in the tower, he had no clue. Many teams of hunters had fallen to his might before when they attacked his brood; a student would never stand a chance. Not that the disturbance had disproved him wrong either.

Alas; her silver eyes were ironically what kept her alive. They were the reason that he had tied her up instead of killing her. His shadowy essence wrapping around her black dress until he was confident that she couldn't worm her hands loose and attempt to escape. As hard as those orbs were for him to look at he was under strict orders regarding those with silver eyes.

Salem wanted them.

For what; he had no clue. It wasn't his business, and he didn't care to find out. He would deliver the girl to Salem, as she wished of him. And then he would return to his cavern and grow his horde without any heretical orbs staring back into his own.

"This is where she landed right Jay?"

"Yeah, Ozpin thinks that she went down into a cave nearby. Something went screwy with the cams so hes not entirely sure."

His ears raised, swiveling on his head towards the noise of two male humans nearby that had dragged him from his thoughts and into the world. He crouched low to the ground, stalking around a tree trunk and hiding his bulk underneath the thick grass as the two humans moved further away towards the cave that they had been talking about.

He turned to the left, leaping across fallen trunks and craggy roots as he ran across the underbrush towards the only cave that they could be talking about. Normally he wouldn't particularly care about humans trekking through his forest. Let them do what they wanted; it wasn't his business and they never came close enough to anything of importance.

This was, unfortunately; an exception to the norm. The cave that they were heading towards had multiple off shooting tunnels. Just like most other caves in the forest. The difference was that this one had a tunnel that lead to to something more important than just another empty cave.

It led to one of his nests.

That discovery couldn't be allowed to happen. What was the point of apprehending the girl and preventing the death of his swarm if more experienced hunters just came by and finished the job regardless.

He ran into the cave long before the two hunters arrived, ushering the Grimm that had been slumbering inside off into the tunnel to warn those on the other side to collapse it from their end. The wide assortment of Grimm complied, marching through the tunnel one after another before eventually even the massive bulk of a young Goliath made its way through .

And then he waited.

And waited.

And waited…..

"This is the cave huh?"

"Yeah. It doesn't go too far in so we shouldn't have any problems extracting her if she is in there." Thee lower of the two voices responded. Jay, if he remembered what the other had called them correctly.

"Don't most caves here have offshoots that connect up elsewhere?"

"Yeah but this cave's old as dust Mag. Half of the tunnels are collapsed, the other half are making their way to being there. Besides, she was most likely attacked by a Beowolf; she she wouldn't have been dragged in too deep before managing to kill them."

"Why send two second years out then if she killed it? If its dead she can take care of herself" Mag responded.

"Probably because of this thing called injuries dumbass. My guess is that she got disarmed and had to take them out by hand; which she isn't very good at. Probably got hit a few times more than necessary and needed to take a breather."

He raised his head; turning towards the two hunters and creeping alongside the wall as they entered the cave; a flash of light just missing his tail as he pressed himself into the crags. The two hunters walked past him, pausing their chatter as their lights washed across the cave, revealing every crack and crevasse that time had clawed into the smooth stone.

Jay's deep voice was the first to speak up. "Figured she wouldn't be here. Girls probably dead; unfortunately."

"You don't seem surprised Jay."

"Im not." There was a sigh, followed by a scuff and rocks clattering across the cave floor. "Shes good, but I think Ozpin put too much expectations in her. She didn't seem all that impressive during initiation to me; and you saw the way the forests were teeming with Grimm when she had disappeared Mag. If she did get disarmed there's no way she stood a chance against that."

They walked further into the cave, lowering their flashlights to the ground as they stared at the wall opposite him, flashlights occasionally passing over the tunnels that ran off into the earth.

"Hey what about this one? Think she might've one down this tunnel?" Mag approached the tunnel he had ushered his Grimm into; waving his arm towards his companion to join him.

"Doubtful."

"C'mon man don't be like that. If shes alive we owe it to her to at least check."

There was brief moment of silence before Jay shook his head. "Fine. But after this we head back and tell Ozpin. Bad news or no."

"Fine by me."

The two hunters turned their backs to him as they approached the tunnel. He made his move.

Propelling himself from the wall he slammed into the legs of the smaller male; toppling them to the floor as Mag found their legs giving way underneath him. He raised a large fist into the air before bringing it down against the side of the hunter's head, talons ripping through their aura and leaving long gashes against the soft tissue of their cheek.

He followed suit with his other arm, raking his limbs down the Mag's torso, sparks forming as he scraped his talons against their chest armor before digging into the hunters midsection; skin peeling open as his talons shoved further in to the soft flesh.

"Shit!" He turned his head towards the other hunter, who was clenching a thin piece of metal with white knuckles. "Beacon we have an Alpha Beowolf, an old one! Mag's been compromised, requesting-"

He rocketed himself forward; slamming his face into the Jay's stomach and knocking them off balance. The metal fell out of Jay's hand and clattered on the stone floor, the blue screen fading away before he stepped forward, crushing it underfoot.

Jay looked at the crushed device with shrunken pupils; sweat beginning to form in droplets on their forehead. Their chest rose and fell as adrenaline began to course through their veins; before his talons whistled towards the hunters head, forcing Jay to lean backwards to avoid the strike.

Teeth grinding against each other, the hunter flexed his arms, the sound of gears reaching the Grimm's ears as something around their arms began to expand, wrapping around the hunter's forearms in a bulky embrace. Three straight, long talons swung open from the impromptu gauntlets; forming long serrated claws. They burst into flame, lighting up the cave proper, illuminating Jay's bulky frame properly.

The hunter kept their eyes on him as he crouched down to the ground, ready to lunge at a moments notice.

For a few moments, nothing happened. The two looked at each other; the Grimm with a blank expression and as motionless as ever; the hunter with hair clinging to their forehead and trembling limbs. The only sound filling the cave was that of the flames crackling along his makeshift talons and the shuddering wheezing of the human he had dug his talons into.

And then the hunter was flying towards him; bulky clawed armor outstretched and ready to return the marks that he had just left on their comrade. The talons scraped against the armor of his false form, before finding purchase in between the rib bones; digging into his shadowy flesh.

The metal scorched against his flesh, the force behind the blow driving the wind out of his frame as Jay pressed his assault. The legs collapsed, falling backwards onto the ground as the hunter knelt on his chest; driving the blades as deep in as possible.

His head rushed forward towards the hunter, jaws snapping at the head that was hovering above his chest. His snapping jaws met empty air, Jay having leaned back to avoid the strike. He was grinning as he dodged the strike, his chest rising and falling as he fought to keep the blades in his chest. "Not so tough now are you bastard!"

The Grimm responded with a swing from his right arm, slamming into the side of the mans head. The blow uplifted the hunter, toppling them off of his chest and into the air.

The Grimm pressed his advantage, legs shooting him forward as he pounced onto the males back, jaws reaching forward before closing around the hunters collarbone, crushing into the mans chest.

He paid no attention to the mans flailing form, choosing to press his jaws tighter together and bear the brunt of the kicks to his chest or the slashes accumulating on his arms. He could feel bone begin to give underneath the pressure; ribs creaking as they were caved in even as one of his paws was lopped off and fell to the floor below.

The burning light from the false talons reached his eyes long before the blade could, but the speed behind the desperate gamble still managed to land a hit as the hunter wormed away. His vision was halved, and he could feel something trickling from the empty socket before dissipating into smoke.

He whirled his head towards the hunter, swiping towards the mans prone form with a massive paw, wrapping it around the hunter's neck and beginning to squeeze; crushing the muscle and tissue underneath.

An urgent howl echoed through the forest, streaming into the cave and bouncing across the walls and into his perked ears.

His gripped around the hunters throat slackened. He tossed the comatose body to the side and lowered himself onto all fours, or all threes now; before sprinting out of the cave, leaving the two bleeding hunters behind to tend to each other.

It was pretty easy to get out of those bonds.

Or well, to escape at all rather she supposed. She did still have the tendrils wrapped tight around her midsection; restricting the usage of her hands severely; but still!

Once that strange shape shifting Grimm had made his exit she had been forced to sit there, leaning against the wall and tracing patterns in the cave ceiling. With nothing to do, she found boredom's talons sinking into her rather easily, and she began to fidget in place.

Her hands had scratched at the stone wall behind her, searching for a sharp rock or something to cut the bindings on her. When that failed, she began to look around for other options; doing her best to ignore the two Beowolves staring at her black clad body. Her legs began to kick up and down in the damp air of the cave, which was when she realized something very very important.

Her legs weren't tied.

She turned her silver eyes to the two Beowolves watching her. They returned the stare; their heads tilting to the side as they watched her fidget in place.

Her corset felt tight against her body as her chest rose and fell. She would only get one chance at this. From behind her body she felt along the floor, her fingers pressing against the damp stone and moving blindly before she felt something small and smooth bump into her hand. Her fingers closed around it, bringing the small pebble into her hands.

She scooted a short distance from the wall, putting just enough space between it and her back, and moved the pebble into her other hand; before proceeding to flick it.

It shot through the air, moving silently before it clattered to a halt down the tunnel opposite the one that the shape shifting Grimm had disappeared down. The Beowolves heads whipped around at the noise, ears perking and hackles raised as they waited for the intruder to make their appearance.

By the time their haunches lowered and their gaze turned back; she had been long gone.

Of course, it couldn't have been that easy for her. The tunnel she had ran down sloped downwards before turning to the left; and then right, sloping up before opening up to two large tunnels. She went down the right one, her combat boots stamping into the damp stone as she sprinted; putting as much distance between her and the Beowolves as possible.

Twisting and turning she made her way down the tunnels. A left, then a right. Another right, then down, then up, then spiraling her around until she had no idea where she was, or what direction she had originally been heading in. The air was chilly here, wrapping across her body and creeping underneath her corset and nipping at her exposed face. At least she had figured out why the caves were so bright. It turned out it was filled with dust as she had originally guessed; the substance glowing brightly in its crystal outcrops as she ran past and making her headache return with a vengeful force.

The tunnel she was in opened into yet another cavern. The dust here jutted out of the ground in massive outcroppings, sharp edges casting light throughout the room; filling the cave with enough light to make it seem like it was day.

There was mainly ice dust; giving the room a pale blue aura as she studied it. The cave stretched underneath the earth, the ceiling supported by smooth columns of rock that had formed randomly throughout, and numerous stalactites dripping towards the floor.

The sound of rushing water made her perk her ears and turn towards the source of the sound. Following the noise of the splashing river led her to the edge of the rock; the rest of the cave yawning out over a wide subterranean river that flowed lazily underneath. The water was crystal clear, showing the craggy rocks that, their tips occasionally reaching up through the depths to scratch the surface.

She closed her eyes and settled herself, her back pressing into the smooth floor as she closed her eyes and began to inhale, the cool air streaming down her throat and filling her lungs before she slowly let it out; the adrenaline in her veins thinning into nothingness as she calmed herself.

It probably wasn't smart to rest here no. A certain black haired member of her team might have rolled her eyes at the antic before dragging her to her feet to continue marching down the endless tunnels until they eventually stumbled to the surface.

But her feet hurt. Her chest fought to calm her heart and her lungs were burning from the sprint that she had just gone through to put distance between the Grimm and herself; and her wrists felt like they were beginning to chafe from the tendril wrapping around her. If she didn't calm down and collect herself it wouldn't do any good either. So she took the opportunity, closing her eyes and trying to relax the fibers in her body and regain some stamina before beginning to escape anew.

Of course, the Grimm that had captured her had other plans.

She never heard him coming, didn't realize there was someone else in the large cave before she felt a wispy grasp of something not quite solid wrap around her legs, pulling them together and wrapping just above and below her knees, as well as her feet.

Her eyelids shot open at the sensation of the tendrils immobilizing her; but it was already too late. Craning her head backwards she saw the two Beowolves peering down at her, their jaws hanging open and their teeth glinting in the light of the cave. In front of them was that strange Grimm yet again; staring at her passively.

She rolled onto her stomach, a grunt breaking through her lips as she fell onto the soft tissue, before looking up at the Grimm. "Don't suppose you would be willing to let me go huh?"

He remained motionless for a few moments, before reaching down and picking her up by the ropes that secured her arms, carrying her bound form back with a single limb.

That felt a little bit humiliating she had to admit.

The Grimm carried her through the cavern, leaning her against a column before stepping away and resuming his vigil over her.

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes; puffing her cheeks and blowing a strand of hair out of her vision. She stared up at the humanoid Grimm with furrowed brow. "You're a smart one aren't you."

He showed no sign of having heard her. Remained as still as a statue; his face expressionless.

"Well I mean, you are! You have to be in order to not kill a human that's just- bound up in front of you! Thanks for that by the way. Now I can enjoy my hands and my legs slowly loosing circulation!"

There was no response.

"At least as smart as a human, am I right?"

He stared at her, watching the way she was sure her brow was furrowing or how she flexed her limbs occasionally in a vain attempt to escape with an empty gaze.

That was the strangest part of this. Grimm….. well they didn't have souls of course. But they still showed emotion. At least she thought they did. Maybe not something that she wanted, but anger was still an emotion. A want to kill was still a readable expression that Grimm had. Even if she was wrong about the emotion bit the point was that they at least moved their face!

All of them, except for this one. This strange Grimm just stared at her. Flatly and uncaring. It never licked its jaws, its fingers never strayed towards her flesh, it just stood there with that empty gaze. It looked like it didn't care about her; but if that was the case then why was she captured by it?

"Where am I?"

No response.

"What are you? B-besides a Grimm I mean. Are you something else?" She wasn't entirely sure herself. He looked like a grimm of course. He had the black skin, the white boney plates and spikes jutting from his skin; the red swirling patterns that throbbed and glowed against those plates. But that was where the similarities to Grimm ended. Grimm are more than what they looked like.

His red eyes continued to stare at her.

"A-are we underneath Beacon?"

No response.

"Can you control Grimm?"

"Are you a Grimm?"

"Why havent you killed me yet?"

No response, no response, no response.

"Am I going to die?"

He looked away from her, turning his head and walking towards the lip edge of the rocky floor, staring down into the water far, far below.

The way the air heaved its way out of her body felt like a punch to the gut. Her heart thudded against her ribcage and her fingers and toes curled in on themselves. The black and white figure standing on the edge of the cliff became blurry, and she turned away, bringing her knees to her chest as she hid her face from the two Beowolves staring at her.

"Can I- can I at least get your name. B-before I d-die?" Her throat constricted, tight muscles scratching against each other as she fought to bring air in through her mouth and into her shaking torso.

"I don't believe I have a name, not like you humans do. But she calls me Myrh."

She craned her head upwards, resting her chin on her knees and staring at the figure through watery lashes and an awful tightness that gripped her cheeks and the skin around her eyes. She hadn't been expecting a response, not a verbal one at any rate. But she just couldn't quite find it in her heart to care; not faced with her death anyways. His voice was smooth and velvety. Her yellow haired teammate had once describe a passerby that had a similar voice as it being "fruity" although she wasn't sure how accurate that was.

"Who is 'she'?"

The Grimm, Myrh; turned towards her. "The person that wants you. Alive. For now anyways."

"Does-does she control the Grimm? Does she control you?"

"Yes and No."

She didn't have a response, her eyelids slowly closing and wiping away her tears as the air that escaped through her nose made tiny sniffling noises on its way out. She was going to be taken to this strange woman and then probably killed. It wasn't fair. Why did she want her? What did she do to warrant being kidnapped by someone she had never met, and then most likely probably killed?

She lowered her head, resting it in between her knees; the sight of the Grimm in front of her causing her throat to constrict and rub the aching muscles against each other.

"What is your name?"

"Summer" She croaked out, despite the way her throat scratched itself with every breath. "Summer Rose"