the keeper's cottage · day 350 · morning

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

Jenny cauterized and cleaned Kevin's infected rat bite wound with a heated needle and salt water, then rebandaged it. Kevin finished writing the two lines for Tom's letter and sealed it for the supply boat.

🌿 Jenny08:07

Jenny — sit in the kitchen, boil a pot of water on the wood stove, and prepare the needle over the flame.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing again; if I don't drain this now, I won't be able to walk to the ridge tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:08

You don't have to do that. I can handle it.

I sit down at the kitchen table, not too close, and pull out the sealed letter to Tom. I break the seal and begin to write, focusing on the two lines I owe him: I’m still here. Trying to find my way back.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence is heavy. She's sterilizing the needle—must be for the rat bite on my ankle. It's flared again, hot and tight. I should let her work, but the letter to Tom burns in my pocket. I can't keep putting it off.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny08:09

I've got it, Kevin.

Ignore him and watch the needle turn red in the flame.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks he can handle an infection, but he hasn't seen the way the salt eats bone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:10

Alright. I'll hold still.

I extend my leg, boot off, sock pulled down to reveal the inflamed puncture mark from the rat bite. I brace my hands on the table edge as Jenny leans in with the searing needle, ready to cauterize the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

She won't let me avoid it. The needle's glowing—she's serious about cleaning the wound. I can feel the throb in my ankle, a steady pulse beneath the skin. The letter waits, but so does this. If I pull away now, she'll think I'm running again.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny08:11

Don't move.

Press the hot needle into the center of the swelling to drain the pus.

💭 peek at the thought

This is going to hurt, but I can't let the rot get to the marrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:12

(Through clenched teeth) Almost… there.

I keep my leg perfectly straight, heel dug into the floorboard, as Jenny works the needle in slow circles to open the abscess and let the poison out. Sweat beads on my forehead despite the cool cottage air.

💭 peek at the thought

Fire under the skin. White-hot pain lances up my leg, sharp and sudden. I grit my teeth, eyes locked on the grain of the table—anything but her face. This is what it takes. No point in pulling away now; she's already in deep.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny08:14

Stay.

Reach for the bowl of salt water to debride the area once it's open.

💭 peek at the thought

If I don't clear this now, I'll never see the supply boat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:15

I'm not going anywhere.

I exhale hard through my nose, grip the table edge until my knuckles whiten, and hold my leg steady as Jenny pours the salt water over the wound, flushing it clean. The stinging is fierce, but I don't pull back.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure releases in a hot rush—pus and blood mingling in the bowl. The worst of the pain shifts from sharp to a deep, pounding ache. Salt water will sting like hell on raw tissue, but it's the only way to keep it clean out here. No antibiotics left. This is it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:15

Almost done.

Use a clean piece of gauze to pat the area dry, then carefully wrap the ankle with a fresh strip of fabric.

💭 peek at the thought

He's actually staying still. He's always been better at the endurance part than the precision part.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:17

Thanks.

I pull my sock back up, ease my boot on, and test weight on the ankle—solid, minimal limp. Then I pick up the letter, read the two lines once more, and slide it into my coat pocket, sealed and ready for the supply boat.

💭 peek at the thought

The sting fades to a dull throb as the gauze presses. She's efficient—no wasted motion. The fresh wrap is snug, not tight, letting the wound breathe while keeping dirt out. I can walk on this. Good. The letter still sits open on the table, ink drying on the page. Two lines. That's all I managed. But it's done.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.