Prompt 118 -- Void

Title: Realmspeaker
Genre: Urban fantasy
Characters: Lucia, Shellee
Prompt: 118 ~ Void
Word Count: Approx. 715
Rating: PG (just in case)
Type: Series
Summary: Lucia and Shellee have some girl talk.
Warnings: Stretched prompt, ridiculousness

*

August 5, 2059
Bridgeview Rise #3, Ashfall, New York

Lucia liked to think of herself as a fairly open-minded, easy-going person, but if ever there was a way to make her doubt herself in that regard--or any regard, for that matter--Farrel's father was sure to find one. Sending over unexpected house guests under the pretense of not having enough space to house her himself while secretly hoping that his son would see the visitor as a better prospective mate and kick Lucia to the curb? That did seem like the kind of stunt Brett would pull.

But that wasn't much of a concern. Farrel was extremely picky about who he surrounded himself with and Shellee was well beyond the boundaries of that type, so Lucia wasn't worried. What did bother her were the usual stresses with guests--sharing space, feeding an extra person, entertaining if time permitted. Whether he deemed her a suitable addition to the family genome or not, springing Shellee on them had been beyond tactless.

If nothing else, though, Lucia had hoped that maybe Shellee could help with the packing. The big move was coming up and there was still plenty to do.

Of course, within about two minutes of actually meeting Shellee, that idea had gone out the window.

"Oh my God, you guys only have three channels? Is this like, the Stone Age? Also, this screen is totally giving me a headache."

Funny. Your voice is totally giving me one. "Don't watch it, then."

"But there's nothing else to do here! You won't let me play the guitar!"

Lucia clicked the save button and sighed. So much for getting a jumpstart on her term paper. "That's Farrel's guitar. No one else is allowed to touch it--even if you know how to play." Which I kind of doubt. "Anyway, we have lots of books. You can read, right?"

"Duh." Shellee clicked her tongue; Lucia cringed. "Books are so boring, though. Do you have any magazines?"

"If we do, they've been packed."

"Can I open the boxes, then?"

"Oh God, no."

Shellee slumped, the hand-wash-only material of her top scraping against the couch's worn leather. "God, you're a drag. Is this why Brett doesn't like you?"

Well, at least she'd managed to figure out something. "No, Brett doesn't like me because he thinks Farrel should only date Walkers."

"Oh." Shellee's heel clicked against the floor. Any chance of concentration gone, Lucia shut down the computer and eased herself out of the desk chair. "So, is Farrel a Walker?"

Shaking her head, Lucia strode forward and fell back onto the couch. If they both had nothing else to do, she might as well answer any questions Shellee might have had--as painful as the prospect was. "Farrel's just a Speaker. Only women can be Walkers."

Shellee frowned. "Why's that?"

"It's a gene thing." God, she hoped Shellee had been conscious in biology class. "There's a gene on the X chromosome that codes for Speaking. One copy of the gene makes you a Speaker, two make you a Walker. Men only have one X chromosome, so they can't be Walkers."

It seemed almost inevitable that Shellee would ask for clarification, probably with a slack jaw and bulging eyes and a voiceless 'Huh?', but the reaction never came. Maybe Shellee actually understood. Or maybe she just couldn't be bothered to ask. "You're not a Walker?"

Lucia shook her head. "Not anymore."

"Oh, okay." And that was it. At least, until... "Wait, aren't these gene things permanent?"

Oy. Maybe she should have just finished up a little more packing. "It's a little more complicated than that."

"How so?"

"I don't want to get into it." Shellee's eyes hinted that she wasn't done with the questioning, but if Lucia had to list all the people she never wanted to talk about that with, the other girl wasn't far from the top. "Please just leave it at that."

Shellee sniffed. "God, you're boring."

"Well, I don't see you leaping at the chance to talk about your problems." Okay, maybe that had been a little harsh--but it seemed to get the point across?

Still... "Sorry, it's just... kind of a touchy subject."

"Fine." Defeated, Shellee plunged deeper into her seat. "Why does Brett even want Walkers anyway?"

That... well. That was actually a good question.