Weekend Writing Warriors: 8/19

This 8-10 sentence blog hop is hosted by The Weekend Writing Warriors. (Click the link for the list of participants, or rules if you want to join!)

This is a WIP, NaNoWriMo 2016, currently called River, Tree, Mountain. It’s science fiction, set on a colony planet, six generations in–with about 10% of the population born “marvels,” who have special abilities like dowsing, healing, or creating fire. The protagonist, Rekka, is a spark (fire), signed a contract with Brenton to provide him a child, moves in with him, and several weeks later, she overhears part of an angry phone conversation before he shuts the door–and goes to the park to paint, where she meets a pink-haired man.

 

“You’re done?” he asked, and his shoulders slumped, gaze fixed on her painting, then those violet eyes trained on her.

“Why, do you want me to paint you something? If it’s something quick…” Rekka placed a fresh sheet of paper on her board and offered an encouraging smile.

“How about me?”

“People are tough, just letting you know.” Rekka started with an outline of his face–a square chin, a straight, strong nose, and  eyebrows above deep-set eyes. She blended in gradients to indicate cheekbones and the coils of the ears, before tracing the sweep of his wavy hair, which was too tousled to capture completely, except in the sense of movement. A bit of mixing got the perfect pink to follow those lines, and then violet over the eyebrows and irises.

She added the start of a neck and shoulders, and pale blue in a rough oval behind the face for a little background, then she turned it so her audience of one could see his portrait.

*    *    *

Life on the colony planet of Kaibou was going uneventfully until the second generation of colonists was born on the planet, at some, at a young age, began showing various psychic abilities. When those people, called marvels, grew up, many of them formed companies, building compounds to live in and raise their children.  Due to population diversity issues, many colonists have children using genetic bank material, or choose a succession of partners. Now on the seventh generation, marvels are born both within and without company walls, and all must work together to use their gifts and make a living on a still wild land. Some of these outsider marvels sign contracts with company marvels, agreeing to give them a child raised within the company, in return for a permanent home in the company compound, a stipend, and other concessions.