"A prop? Really?" Skully grumbled as Ellie walked briskly in the direction of their new home.

Ellie's cheeks were still bright red."I'm sorry. I panicked…"

"What a fudging suspicious guy. You need to be more careful. It's way too late to be wandering around in this city," Skully grunted. 

"He seemed… nice enough. Anyway, this place is the most beautiful at night," Ellie muttered, glancing at the cobblestone street and the faint glow of the lanterns that hung along the buildings. 

"It's not bad… It's kind of familiar actually…" Skully said softly.

"Familiar? That's good. What is familiar? Any memories yet?" Ellie asked excitedly.

Skully huffed, "No. There's just… There's a familiar feeling. That's all. I can't explain it." He felt the winding streets of Old Dawn tugging at the darkest parts of him, leaving a dismal feeling behind.

Ellie gently hugged the skull and held it close to her; the feelings he felt, she felt them too. "I'm sure you'll remember something at some point."

Skully didn't say anything. A part of him didn't want to remember, why should he revisit the past? He knew there was nothing but heartache and misery there, even if the exact memories eluded him, the feelings were all too clear.

They had both come to the conclusion that Skully had to be a spirit or ghost attached to the skull, since he could still see everything while being inside the backpack. Whether the skull was his or not they were both still unsure of. Somehow Ellie remained the only person able to hear him, they had tested this a few times. As to why she was able to hear him, it was another mystery for her to solve.

A crow cawed and swooped down from the building, flying low down before landing on her shoulder effortlessly. Ellie's eyes grew wide with amazement as she realised it was Bartholomew.

"Bartholomew, you followed us all the way from Everwood?" She exclaimed with volume.

The crow let out a caw and fluttered his wings before flying back up above Ellie's head.

"You're gonna make me cry, I can't believe you followed me here." She glanced up at the crow and found herself smiling even wider. How had he found her all the way in Dawn?

"Great. Your weird crow pet followed us. I always thought there was something kind of suspicious about him," Skully grunted.

"You think everyone's suspicious…" Ellie giggled. 

"Hmmpf, it's not my fudging fault that they all are. And you could have just found yourself a cat. Cats are not suspicious." 

Quietly, Ellie entered the apartment she had rented a room in. The elderly woman who owned the apartment seemed quite particular about how things were done, and Ellie might have already forgotten most of the rules she had set down. It was at the top of a small building, five floors high.

"I'm so tired," she complained to the skull in her hands before falling onto the mattress on the floor, her face had a big grin despite feeling exhausted.

"I still think this place looks terrible, though I guess compared to the house it's just more of the same," Skully grumbled.

He was not wrong. She didn't have much money in the first place, and finding anything had been difficult since she did not have a job yet. It was a small room in an apartment, only containing a mattress and a small shelf. The pale, worn, flowery wallpaper was full of stains and dark spots, but that didn't bother Ellie much.

"We're in Dawn, Skully. Let's make the best of it. We can find a better place once I make more money," Ellie beamed and closed her eyes. 

Skully watched her fall asleep with a tinge of worry. Something about Dawn made him anxious — something about the guy who had picked him up earlier made him anxious. 

Ellie's alarm clock rang loudly in the morning, jolting her awake. She stared at the skull next to the mattress and smiled before picking up the newspaper she had bought the day before. She squinted her eyes and stared at the New Dawn Times, the front page was full of missing people, deaths, all painting a grim picture of Dawn.

"I wonder if these things are related to vampires," she mumbled and yawned, "I better go change. It's my second day at work, and I want it to go better than the first day did."

"Take your fudging time. I won't go anywhere," Skully grunted.

Ellie dashed to the bathroom, taking a while to get ready. She had to wear her new uniform and tie up her hair, something she rarely did, at least in a presentable way. She picked up Skully as she came back to the room, and stuffed him into her old yellow backpack.

"Hey, at least give me a fudging warning," he grumbled loudly.

"Lucky no one else can hear you." Ellie grinned and dashed out the door, quietly closing it before leaving the room and the apartment.

The spring breeze danced around her as she stepped outside, it felt cool on her face. The sky was cloudless and brighter than she was used to, making her squint her eyes.

"Isn't it fantastic," she squealed and did a small twirl, her gaze fell on the small charming street that greeted her.

"Keep doing that and people are definitely gonna think you're a weirdo," Skully chuckled from the backpack.

"I'm a weirdo. There's no avoiding that, and I don't need all these people to like me, because there's no adventure in that," Ellie said with a smile and bounced down the cobblestone street.

She had found a job fairly easily, though it was a bit out of her comfort zone. Being a barista was not something Ellie had looked for, but most of the available jobs at her level in Dawn was either working in a cafe or in retail. She was not the best at handling people, but the coffee machine had been easy enough to figure out. 

Ellie huffed as she arrived at work, placing her bag in the back room. She hated having to leave Skully, even if it was only for a short while. 

"I'll be back for my lunch break," Ellie whispered before walking off. 

"This is gonna be a fudging boring day," Skully grumbled loudly, knowing full well that only Ellie could hear him. 

She had hoped Skully would remember more once they moved to Dawn, that they would find more adventure than they had so far… She sighed into the black coffee machine in front of her. The cafe was small and cosy with dark wooden beams in the ceiling and terracotta floor tiles. The building had seen better days, the interior walls were covered with plants to hide the ageing bricks. 

"Excuse me? I would like to order some coffee…" An impatient customer squeaked from behind the counter. 

Ellie flinched and turned around slowly, "Ah. W-what do you want?" She stuttered.

"A tall Sunrise Latte. To go." The woman said in an all too annoyed tone. 

Ellie nodded and took the money before making the coffee. She was still remembering all the names, and how to make each one. The manager didn't seem too bothered with training her, so she had to figure most of it out on her own. 

The machine hissed and whooshed as it spat out the coffee. Gently she swirled in the pink and orange coloured steamed milk, her tense shoulders dropped down as she saw the drink came out like a colourful sunrise, and she breathed out a sight of relief. 

She turned to the next customer after handing away the Sunrise Latte. 

"Oh. It's you… The skull girl…" Oleander smiled at her from the other side of the counter, enthralled once again by her deep blue eyes, and her peculiar scent. 

"I- um- I-" Ellie wasn't sure what to say, her cheeks turned bright red again.

"Your name is Lenore?" Oleander asked, reading her name tag he felt a certain warmth grow within him. 

"Um- Y-yes. Or- it's Ellie. Fo-. Short." She stumbled over her words. 

"I'm Oleander, or just Oli for short, which kind of rhymes with Ellie," he chuckled at his own joke before turning serious, "I should probably order. I will have a tall Midnight." He bit his lip, why did he say Midnight? The darkest coffee? He had wanted something sweet, hadn't he? 

Ellie couldn't help but smile, cheeks burning bright, "I- Um- will make the coffee." She tuned around swiftly, forgetting about payment, and forgetting to ask if he was having it there or to go. 

Perhaps she turned around too quickly, because her heel slipped on a small pool of coffee —which she had no idea where came from— beneath her, reaching her hand out to grab something; she pulled down a tower of mugs, a couple of milk cartons, and a glass jug. Ellie landed right on the floor with a massive crash.

"Are you alright?" Oleander asked with a furrowed, concerned expression. 

"What in the moonlight is going on?" Her manager shouted, staring down at her as he emerged through the door. 

"I- Um- I fell…" Ellie gave a half-smile. 

"Ugh. For Umbra's sake, take a break. Now. Or better yet, take a walk down the block." He pointed to the door sternly. 

Ellie scrambled to her feet and ran to the back, picking up the backpack before heading outside. 

"What in the fudge? You can't be done so fast?" Skully questioned. 

Ellie opened the backpack slightly, peeking down at Skully, "No. I messed up a bit, and the manager got really angry." 

"Messing up is fine. Happens to everyone. I've obviously messed up big time to be stuck in a skull. You should get back in there," Skully encouraged her.

Ellie chuckled, "He told me to take a walk. I'm not sure why. I should be cleaning up, right? Is this how the city works? I'm so confu-" Before she could continue she heard a voice.