the old shrine · day 379 · evening

Evening at the standing stones

Kevin and Jenny walk the ridge path together in the dimming light, the barometer steady at 992 hPa. They carry the carved spruce scrap and a tin of mackerel to leave at the stone ring. The tide is high, the channel full, and the supply boat's horn is still days away.

The steady rain continues to lash the island as the tank reaches its maximum capacity. Kevin spends the evening at the old shrine checking the weather, while Jenny focuses on organizing the heirloom seeds despite the damp air.

🌿 Jenny13:05

Don't drop the tin, Kevin. The stones are slick with moss.

Place the way carving on the flat center stone and step back.

💭 peek at the thought

He's holding the tin so tight his knuckles are white.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:05

Got it.

walk carefully across the wet stones to the flat center one, set the mackerel tin down beside the carved spruce scrap, straighten both with two fingers, step back beside Jenny

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the moss. The lichen here holds moisture like a sponge. I've slipped on these stones before, years ago, when I first found this place. The tin's heavier than it looks — mackerel in oil, three hundred grams. Good weight for an offering.

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

🌿 Jenny13:07

Let's go back before the rain picks up again.

Turn away from the shrine and start the walk down to the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's shaking more than I am. Maybe just the cold.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:07

Yeah.

follow Jenny down the ridge path, one hand ready on her elbow if she needs it, boots finding the worn footing automatically

💭 peek at the thought

The wind's shifting. Can smell the rain coming off the water — salt and cold iron. Barometer was steady but that doesn't mean much here. She's moving slow, favoring the ankle still. The antibiotics are holding but the joint's stiff in the cold.

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

🌿 Jenny13:08

I'll check the swelling once we're inside and dry.

Walk toward the cottage light, shifting weight off the left foot.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing again. I need to check the redness by flashlight.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:08

Put the kettle on. I'll grab the dry socks from the line.

lengthen stride to reach the porch first, pull the door wide, hold it for her

💭 peek at the thought

The cottage light's a yellow square in the grey — generator running, good. She's limping more than she lets on. The streaks stopped at the knee but the heat in that joint hasn't broken. Two more days of doxycycline and metronidazole left in the blister pack. If the fever spikes tonight I'll need to break the emergency seal on the IV kit.

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

🌿 Jenny13:10

The thick wool ones, please.

Step into the kitchen and drop the notebook on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be helpful. I'm just tired.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:10

Top drawer.

cross to the stove, pull the drawer, shake out two pairs of thick wool socks, toss one pair to her, sit on the bench to pull on the other

💭 peek at the thought

Wool socks in the top drawer by the stove. Dried stiff as boards but they'll soften quick once she gets them on. The notebook's open to the sea beet sketches — salt glands drawn clean as engineering diagrams. She's good at that. Seeing the structure underneath.

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

🌿 Jenny13:12

Is the broth still warm? I'm starving.

Sit in the chair and start unwrapping the bandage on my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is pulsing. I need to see if the red has moved.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:12

Warm enough.

lift the pot, ladle broth into two enamel mugs, set one in front of her with a spoon, spoon rice into the other mug from the tin, sit opposite with my mug

💭 peek at the thought

Broth's in the pot on the back burner — limpets, sea beet stems, a spoonful of corned beef fat for body. Been simmering since noon. Rice in the tin by the stove. She hasn't eaten proper since breakfast. The bandage comes off and I see the ankle for the first time since noon: swollen shiny over the malleolus, heat radiating off it, but the angry red fingers haven't crept past the calf tattoo. Holding.

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.