the old shrine · day 355 · evening

Preparing the evening meal

You meet back at the cottage porch as the tide begins to creep in. The smell of boiling limpets fills the humid air.

Kevin and Jenny ate boiled limpet soup at the table while watching the sky over the cliffs. They secured the cottage shutters against the coming rain as the atmospheric pressure continued to drop.

🔧 Kevin12:57

Broth's ready. Two bowls on the table.

ladle limpet broth into two wooden bowls, set them on the porch table, sit opposite Jenny with my own bowl

💭 peek at the thought

Good haul today. Jenny's ankle held. The broth smells clean — salt and sweet meat. Barometer's still steady at 998. Rain's coming but not yet. She's eaten. That's what matters.

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

🌿 Jenny12:57

Thanks.

Limp slowly to the table and sink into the chair, resting the swollen ankle carefully on the bench beside me.

💭 peek at the thought

I can smell the brine and the fat. My stomach is cramping, but the thought of moving that ankle to the table makes me want to scream.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:58

Eat slow. More in the pot.

blow across my spoon, take a mouthful, watch her eat

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving slower today. Ankle's not right yet. But she's sitting at the table, not the porch rail. Eating voluntary. That's progress.

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

🌿 Jenny12:59

It's good.

Take a small, tentative spoonful of the broth, savoring the salt and the warmth.

💭 peek at the thought

He's watching me like I'm a specimen. I can't tell if it's care or if he's just checking for a fever.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:00

Limpets were fat. Channel shelf.

keep eating, steady, not rushing her

💭 peek at the thought

She's tasting it. Really tasting. Not just swallowing. First time in days.

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

🌿 Jenny13:01

I bet they were. I saw some clusters near the tide pools earlier, but they were smaller.

Eat another spoonful, leaning back into the chair to take the weight off my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

The channel shelf is too steep for me right now. I can't even get to the ridge without shaking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:02

Lower shelf. Big ones hide deep. You'd know if you could get down there.

scrape the last of the broth from the bowl, set it down, reach for the pot to refill both

💭 peek at the thought

She was watching. From the shore. Even hobbled she sees the island.

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

🌿 Jenny13:03

I do know.

Go quiet and look away, staring at the darkening horizon over the cliffs.

💭 peek at the thought

That was a clumsy way to say it. I know exactly where they are; I just can't walk.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:04

Rain'll hit before full dark. Shutters need the last turn.

stand, take the bowls inside, pause at the door to check the barometer — 997 now, dropping slow

💭 peek at the thought

She's not talking about limpets. She's talking about the Bay of Biscay. Or Tom. Or the thing we don't name. The horizon's gone bruised purple. Rain's close.

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

🌿 Jenny13:05

I can do the shutters.

Attempt to push myself up from the chair, gripping the armrest tight.

💭 peek at the thought

997. The pressure is cratering. I can feel it in the joint of my ankle, a heavy, pulsing throb that matches the barometer.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:06

South side. I'll take north. Meet at the generator.

hand her the shutter bar, head for the north windows

💭 peek at the thought

She'll do it if I let her. Ankle'll swell double by morning. But she needs to move. Needs to feel useful.

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

🌿 Jenny13:07

Okay.

Limp toward the south window, clutching the shutter bar with white-knuckled fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always trying to be helpful in a way that feels like pity. I'm not a child, I'm just... inflamed.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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