Ellie opened her eyes as the rays of the sun poured through her bedroom window. She smiled wide and jumped out of bed, a new day full of possibilities. Ellie stared out the window overlooking the river and Old Dawn, it all felt unreal for a moment. 

“Finally you’re awake, it’s so fudging boring here,” Skully grumbled. 

“I’m sorry, Skully. I think you might be even more bored today, it’s my first day at work. I mean it’s just training, but I can’t exactly bring you,” Ellie explained to Skully, her face still full of smiles. 

“What? I have to stay in here without you the whole day? Fudging fudge,” Skully shouted out. 

“You’ll be fine. Maybe I can somehow leave you in the living room? At least you can watch TV if anyone is watching,” Ellie giggled before she started rummaging through her boxes for something to wear. 

“I’m starting a riot,” Skully grunted, knowing full well that he had no choice but to stay behind. 

Ellie was not one to take long to get ready, she didn’t spend much time on her hair or even bother with make-up. She was even looking forward to getting a work uniform so she didn’t have to figure out what was good to wear to work. Ellie was quite clueless about social rules, her father was not one to teach her such things and she had barely showed up for school. The only one who had thought her anything remotely useful had been Skully, even though he was always grumpy and didn’t have many memories, he still somehow managed to give some useful knowledge to Ellie.  

Skully was not happy about being left behind, though somehow the apartment was empty and Ellie managed to leave him in front of the TV with a random channel turned on. He had wished she would have left something more exciting than the nature channel, he longed for some juicy drama to sink his teeth into. He couldn’t focus anyway, he kept thinking about what happened yesterday, how he had gone into Ellie’s body for a while. It was strange, yet it had also felt nice to be alive again, to physically feel something again. The darkness that followed kept haunting him, it was as if something wanted to pull him away. He could feel it tugging at him, a low hum, wanting him to comply and follow into the deep darkness. 

Skully’s chain of thought was broken as the front door slammed open. Artemis strutted inside with a bunch of shopping bags, she looked as if she had just gone to a party. Her short cherry pink dress sparkled with glitter, her aqua eyes were painted in lilac and her sharp red fringe bounced as she walked. She dropped all her bags and fell back onto the couch where Skully was. She glanced to the side and jumped slightly as she noticed Skully on the couch. 

“Oh, Ellie must have forgotten her skull out here. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a better look,” Artemis muttered to herself as she picked up Skully.

“I guess… Um… Fudge. I don’t mind if you take a look, it’s cool,” Skully grumbled, knowing she couldn’t hear him anyway.

Artemis looked closely at the skull, she turned him upside down and poked her finger inside his eye sockets, “I don’t know the first thing about skulls. I wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s real or fake,” she smiled to herself. 

“Ah, yes, stick your fingers into my eyes. Why do people always do that?” Skully grunted as loud as he could. 

Artemis straightened the skull, “These teeth look sharp though, I wonder if they are as sharp as mine?” She reached out her finger and poked one of Skully’s fangs lightly, “Ow, I guess it is,” Artemis giggled and glanced down at her bleeding finger. 

“Fudge. Why does everyone always do that as well,” Skully groaned. 

Artemis’ eyes widened, “Who- who said that?” She asked as she glanced around. 

“You could hear that?” Skully shouted, almost excited. 

“Who’s there? Show yourself.” Artemis got up from the couch and glanced around the empty room. 

“Relax, it’s just me, the skull,” Skully grunted. 

Artemis’ aqua eyes widened even more and she looked down at Skully who was still in her hands, “Y- you can talk?” 

“I can talk, and… well, that’s pretty much all I can do,” Skully said softly, trying to hide his excitement. 

“You’re a talking skull? What? How? Vampire?” Artemis asked as she placed herself back on the couch. 

“That part is obvious, I am a talking skull. Vampire skull. Don’t ask me how, because I have no memories,” Skully grumbled in Artemis’ hands. 

“I’m not even sure what to say. Does Ellie know? She does doesn’t she?” Artemis questioned Skully.

“She knows. We’re in Dawn to find my memories, and possibly my body. It seems quite impossible though if you ask me, but Ellie is annoyingly optimistic,” Skully explained, he felt a sense of relief having someone else to talk to. He felt even less alone, less lost in the darkness. 

“This seems wild, yet I find myself feeling very curious right now. If your skull is around, your body must be too. Vampires don’t leave skulls when they die, and they usually don’t survive getting the head cut off. You must be very powerful,” Artemis remarked, a smile formed on her face again.