As soon as Dawn got back to her own team's clearing, she threw down the red flag. Almost immediately, those few teammates who were guarding the blue flag started to cheer. Amongst those was the leader of Athena cabin. Dawn went over and punched him in the arm.

"That was for not planning for an ambush," she said. He just rolled his eyes and muttered something about not being able to see the future.

Nika got back and bent over, panting quietly to regain her breath. "That... was harder... than I... expected..."

"You just beat almost your entire cabin into the ground," Dawn pointed out. "You can relax now, we won."

"Yeah." Nika snorted, rather bitterly. Now that her distraction was gone she wanted to leave. "I'm going back to bed. Wake me if the world is ending or someone needs their ass kicked."

"Oh come on, at least hang around for the first few minutes of the bonfire," Dawn wheedled. "Just a few minutes, one song."

"Oh, fine. One song." Nika sighed and headed back towards the main camp area. Food would be ready soon.

"Then you can go back to your regularly scheduled brooding," Dawn teased as she went with Nika towards the main camp.

Nika rolled her eyes but didn't bother to contradict Dawn, just going to get food. She was hungry.

Dawn went to get some food as well, and then sat down at her own table. That was one thing that was strictly observed: nobody mixed the tables.

Nika didn't sit at the Ares table, since they were all shooting her unfriendly looks. She went and sat on the ground a little ways away from everyone else. She wasn't really part of the camp, anyway.

After dinner was over, everyone started to gather around the fire like usual.

"Guys, I'll take the first song," Dawn said to her brothers as they went over as well. "After that, though, I want Alexander to lead."

"What?" Alexander yelped.

"You need the practice," Dawn replied. "Jason and I lead all the time, but we might only be here another year or two. Then it falls to you, so you need to be ready."

Alexander nodded reluctantly, and Dawn got ready to start. Once she was sure she had most of the attention of the other campers, she started to play the first song of the evening.

She pointedly ignored the utterly scandalized look that Jason was giving her.

Nika sat and listened, vaguely recognizing the song but unsure why. Seth, meanwhile, was biting his knuckles to keep silent.

Jason looked vaguely like he wanted to strangle Dawn with her own bowstring. Great, now the whole camp knew he had a crush on Nika.

Dawn couldn't help but glance at her brother once or twice, just to see his reaction, especially through the part of the song referring to 'green eyes.' Then she glanced at Nika to see if her friend caught the hint.

Nika was still half clueless, looking between jason and Dawn and trying to figure out what the song meant. Seth couldn't help his snickers, much as he tried to stay silent.

Dawn finished the song and calmly put her guitar away, letting one of her brothers take over from there. She glanced at Jason again and smirked a little. Jason looked like he was torn between strangling his sister and spontaneously combusting.

"That was for putting us through that for four days," she said to him.

"Bitch," Jason snarled at her. Dawn just shrugged, not denying it this time.

Nika still looked confused. Seth didn't feel like taking pity on her. Instead he just started laughing, keeping it quiet and watching Dawn.

Getting up, Dawn went over and sat next to Nika. She could tell her friend didn't quite get the 'joke.'

"Think about it for a few minutes," she said. "It'll come to you. It's all we heard for the entire time you were gone. I was going to truss him up and leave him on your cabin doorstep in a burlap sack."

It only took Nika a moment after that. Then her eyes widened and she grabbed Dawn's wrist, starting to tow her off. They needed to talk. Privately.

Dawn blinked, but followed. That wasn't quite the reaction she'd thought she would get.

"Your brother is an idiot," Nika growled. "The biggest idiot ever." Once she was far enough away from everyone else she let go of Dawn and started pacing.

"My brother's an idiot almost all the time," Dawn said. "That's nothing new." Stepping in front of Nika, she stopped the Ares girl from pacing. "What's going on?"

Nika sighed. "I tried to warn him off earlier. The story I told him." She shrugged. "I figured he would get the picture and leave me alone."

"Nika, sweetie, he was pining for you for four days," Dawn said. "Before whatever it was you told him. And really, it could be so much worse."

"Yeah, he could be a creepy stalker and then I'd have to kill him." Nika snorted.

"Nika..." Dawn sighed. "At least give him a chance."