"Probably," Dawn replied. "I should get back there at some point and make sure Asclepius isn't letting my brothers slack off the other parts of their training. Healing is good, but they need to be able to shoot properly."

Nika nodded. "I'll take my car over, then." She slipped her phone into her pocket and stretched out. "Okay, whenever you're ready."

Dawn pulled her keys out of her pocket, and made sure her phone was there.

"Alright, let's go," she said.

Nika nodded and went out to the parking lot, locking up her apartment as she went. She got in her car and waited for Dawn to lead the way.

Dawn went and got into her car. She still hated the color, but not as fiercely as before. Tying back her hair quickly, she rolled down the windows and turned up the radio. The drive from Nika's place to where her mother lived was a fairly long one.

Nika turned on her own music, following Dawn all the way to her mother's house. She didn't mind the drive; it wasn't as bad as going across the country, as she'd done before.

It was close to ten in the morning by the time Dawn pulled into the driveway. It was summer, so the day was already warm, and it didn't surprise her to see her step-brother out in the back yard. It did surprise her to see him with a bow in his hand, shooting at a bale of hay. He didn't seem to notice as she got out of her car.

"Elbow a little higher, Brian!" she called. "Up near your ears!"

Brain jumped and almost dropped the bow and the arrow.

"Dawn!" He blinked. "Why are you home?"

"Picking something up," Dawn replied. "Is Mom home?"

"Yeah, so is Dad," Brian replied. Then he noticed Nika. "Who's that?"

"Friend of mine," Dawn replied. She gestured to Nika, and then went inside.

Nika did a quick assessment of the area, looking around before looking at Brian. She nodded to him once before she headed after Rose.

"Mom?" Dawn called as she went inside. She didn't have to look hard, though. She could clearly hear a guitar from one of the next rooms. That was normal, though. Following the sound, she found her mother in the next room with her guitar. Dave was there too, just listening. Dawn just waited, tapping her fingers against the doorway. After a moment, Dave glanced over and saw her.

"Dawn?"

Her mother stopped playing and looked over too.

"Dawn, what brings you here?" she asked.

"I just wanted to pick up my old guitar," Dawn replied. "The one I used before. Do we still have it?"

"Of course, it's upstairs," her mother replied, setting down her own instrument and standing up. It was clear where Dawn got most of her looks from. Aside from the color of her eyes, Dawn looked just like her mother. "I'll go and get it."

Nika looked at the other two, noting the similarities between Dawn and her mother. She didn't quite relax; she never felt very comfortable around normal humans.

"I see you brought a friend with you," Dave commented as Dawn's mother left the room.

"Yeah," Dawn replied, moving aside slightly. "Nika, my step-dad Dave. Dave, my friend Nika, a daughter of Ares."

"Really, now?" Dave asked, looking intrigued.

"Yeah," Nika confirmed. "He's my dad. So if you have questions about his royal pain in the ass, feel free to ask."

Dave chuckled.

"Oh good, you have a sense of humor," he said. "Do you mind if I take some notes? This is all very fascinating for me."

"Sure," Nika said. "Take as many as you want. What would you like to know? I know all the embarrassing stories that never got into the myths and legends."

Dave looked very nearly ready to worship the ground she walked on. He ran to go and get a notebook and pen just as Dawn's mother came downstairs with an old, obviously well-cared-for guitar. There were two names etched into the back: Dawn, and Claire. Dawn blinked.

"That's not my old guitar," she said.

"I know," her mother replied. "It's one of mine, but it's in better shape than yours so you can take it."

Nika grinned, a somewhat sinister expression, while she waited for Dave to return. "I think I like him," she said to Dawn, still grinning.

"Yeah, he's cool," Dawn replied, a little distracted as she looked over the somewhat unfamiliar guitar. It looked like a typical acoustic, and a few experimental strums told her it was remarkably well-tuned for having been unused for a while. It didn't surprise her too much to see her own name and her mother's name etched on the back: it had been just the two of them for ten years, before Kevin was born. Dawn adjusted the tuning pins slightly to bring the instrument completely back into tune, and then handed it back to her mother.

"I'll take it on my way out," she said. "Do you mind terribly if we stay for a little while?" She grinned. "Brian is woefully in need of some instruction outside. I can't believe you let him set his hands on a bow without me here. And I don't think Dave will let us leave yet, anyways."

Claire laughed.

"No, I don't suppose he will," she said fondly. It was obvious she married Dave out of love, rather than to protect Dawn and Kevin. "That just means you and I can catch up while they talk."

Nika nodded and sat down after a minute. "I'll yell if I need something," she said to Dawn, already thinking what stories to tell Dave.

Dawn nodded as Dave came back into the room with his research notebook and went out to the back porch with her mother so they could keep an eye on Brian. Dawn had to admit that her step-brother wasn't half-bad with the bow. He was still a bit clumsy, and his aim was off, but his form was decent. He just needed work.

Nika was more than happy to answer Dave's questions, and told him everything he wanted to know plus some. She kind of liked being able to talk to someone else about it who didn't know everything she knew. Plus Dawn wasn't as suspicious or paranoid as she was.

After a few minutes of talking to her mother, Dawn ended up going into the yard to help her step-brother. Every so often, she would demonstrate with her own bow, and have him copy her so she could correct his form.

Nika stayed and talked to Dave for a few hours before she finally got up and stretched, figuring she should go find Dawn at some point. She paused when her phone rang. "Excuse me," she said to Dave, moving out into the hallway.

"The hell are you doing with humans?" Ares immediately snarled when she answered her phone. "I told you they're no good."

"I'm with Dawn," Nika said carefully. "What's up?"

"I have another job for you."

Nika nearly groaned. "Fine. Details." She pulled out a notebook. She jotted down everything she needed to know. "Talk to you in a few days." She hung up before Ares could respond and scowled at her phone before tucking it back in her pocket and going to find Dawn again.

About the same time that Nika got the phone call, Dawn paused her work with Brian as a vision blotted out her sight for a moment.

"Hold on," she told him distractedly as she paid attention to the vision. She saw Nika going back to camp, bruised and battered like usual after one of her assignments, and she could see the look on Jason's face. She knew he wanted to help, but couldn't. She blinked the vision away.

"What was that?" Brian asked.

"Don't worry about it," Dawn replied. "I think it's about time we left. Remember what I showed you, alright? You're actually not half-bad."

"Alright," Brian replied. "Say hi to Kevin for me."

"I will," Dawn said as she went back towards the house.

Nika found Dawn a few moments later. "Job," she said, rolling her eyes. "Ares called. I have to go take care of something killing off hikers over in Wyoming." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "So I'm going to head out before he has a hissy fit."

"Yeah, I saw something to that effect," Dawn replied. "I'll meet you back at camp, then." She grinned. "I think you just made my step-dad's month, by the way. I think he's slowly trying to put together files on all of the gods. I think this makes three, so far."