It's in the Genes

Another Dawn

"Don't you think it's weird that you're still sick?"

Niall looked at me. The shy light of dawn had yet to fully illuminate his face, making the curves of his muscles cast long shadows down his skin. His upper lip was dark and inflexible, while his eyes looked almost black. A single, watery flash of light reflected from each.

I shrugged. "I mean, sure, but it's just a cold. And it's not like there's much I can do about it anyway."

After three weeks, and my cold had yet to get any better. In fact, it had gotten a little worse, with a throaty cough joining my congestion. It was annoying, but nothing awful.

"Still, they usually don't last this long," Niall said, frowning a little. He didn't comment on the last part of what I said; doctors weren't an option for our family, and it was a reality neither of us liked.

"I'm sure it's just a stubborn virus," I told him. "It's not like anything crazy is happening. Just normal symptoms lasting longer than normal."

"It was pretty stubborn to be able to infect you in the first place, so even if it isn't doing anything else, it's still unusual," he replied, pursing his lips.

"That's true," I conceded. "But I'd rather not worry about it unless something more serious happens."

Niall nodded, but chewed his lip. "Fair enough."

I looked up, enjoying the dark, quiet peace of the morning. The sun had yet to creep over the horizon, but a tentative light came before it, leaving a light blue glow over everything. Around us, trees were tall, alternating between a pale blue hue where the light touched, and deep black shadows where it did not.

It was Sunday morning. Niall didn't have work until the afternoon, but had trouble sleeping late because of his normal schedule. Sometimes, I woke up early too because of the bat DNA—today, though, I woke up coughing.

We had greeted each other in the kitchen while it was still dark and had decided to go out, spread our wings, and watch the sunrise. We flew for a bit, but stopped when it became light enough to make us visible. Now, we sat by a creek under a canopy of trees. Perhaps fifty feet in front of us, the foliage was not so dense, and we could see the shades of pink of and yellow beginning to peak out.

Niall leaned back, his hands flat against the dirt. He had taken off his shirt and his wings were spread out on either side of him, the white feathers looking ethereal in the strange light. He rolled up his sweatpants and his feet dipped lazily into the creek.

"Isn't that cold?" I asked. It was still spring—the water had no chance to warm up yet. It had to be freezing.

Niall looked over and shrugged. "Not really."

Curiously, I dipped my hand in the creek. Goosebumps raced up my arm and I jerked away—the water was so cold, it felt like needles were pricking my hand.

Before I even looked back at Niall, I heard his laughter. I shot a glare his way. He was laughing into his hand, eyes glinting in the growing light.

"Oh, shut up, you!" I dipped my hand in the freezing water a second time and splashed it at him. He raised an arm to shield himself, with minimal success.

"I didn't mean for you—I meant for me," he said. Niall tolerated the cold better than I did. Since my DNA was spliced with that of a tropical animal, I was more sensitive to lower temperatures.

"Well, you could have stopped me," I replied, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Oh? Is that my responsibility now?" Niall asked, raising an eyebrow. Droplets of water on his wings reflected the light like tiny prisms.