the keeper's cottage · day 413 · evening

Evening before the boat

The rain tapers to a drizzle as the tide rises. You meet in the kitchen to share a meal and finalize the arrival list.

The humidity is heavy as the cloud cover thickens, signaling a potential weather front. Kevin monitors Jenny's leg for spreading infection while they prepare for the supply boat's arrival tomorrow. They spend the quiet evening watching the barometer hold steady.

🔧 Kevin22:05

Barometer's steady at 979. If it holds through the night, the boat comes. Let's go over the list.

set out two bowls of limpet broth and the last of the corned beef on the kitchen table

💭 peek at the thought

The rain's easing. Good. Means the supply boat might actually make it tomorrow if the barometer holds. Need to run through the list with her — what we need, what we can spare, what the trust owes us. And the evacuation forms. She hasn't signed hers yet.

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

🌿 Jenny22:05

Give me a minute. I'm starving.

Sit down heavily at the table and start eating the corned beef.

💭 peek at the thought

My stomach is cramping. I can't think about lists until I've eaten something.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin22:06

Kevin — sit opposite her with my own bowl, eating slowly

💭 peek at the thought

She's worn thin. The infection's taking more out of her than she'll say. Let her eat first. The list can wait five minutes.

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

🌿 Jenny22:07

The mackerel's next. After that, we're down to the dry stores.

Eat quickly, ignoring the throb in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's watching me. I can feel his eyes on my leg under the table, probably calculating the distance the red lines have traveled since this morning.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin22:09

Two tins mackerel. Flour's questionable — rats got the last sack. Rice and beans in the sealed drums should hold.

sip broth, watching her ankle under the table

💭 peek at the thought

Two tins of mackerel left. Then it's flour, rice, beans — if the weevils haven't got them. The supply boat needs to show. She's calculating the same numbers.

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

🌿 Jenny22:09

I'm fine, Kevin. Stop staring at my leg and look at the list.

Shift my leg away from him and pull the medevac forms closer to the edge of the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's doing it again. Treating me like a specimen under a microscope. I can't stand the pity in his silence.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin22:10

Right. The list.

pull the notebook over, flip to the supply page

💭 peek at the thought

She caught me. Fair enough. The forms are signed on my end. Hers isn't. That's the conversation we're not having while we talk about mackerel and rice.

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

🌿 Jenny22:11

We need a full course of intravenous antibiotics. And more gauze. A lot more.

Point to the 'Medical' section of the list with a shaking finger.

💭 peek at the thought

I need more than just a refill on the basics. I need the high-grade antibiotics and a real diagnostic kit if we're going to stop this from hitting my bloodstream.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin22:13

IV antibiotics. More gauze. What else?

pen hovering over the paper, waiting

💭 peek at the thought

IV antibiotics means she's thinking past oral doxycycline. Means she's seen the red lines too. The finger shaking — could be cold, could be something else. Don't push. Just write it down.

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

🌿 Jenny22:13

Some antiseptic wash that actually works, and maybe some fever reducers if it spikes.

Write 'Antiseptic wash' and 'Paracetamol' on the paper.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm going to be too weak to even lift the seed tin. I need those supplies.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:15

Done. Food?

write 'IV antibiotics (full course), gauze (6 rolls), antiseptic wash, paracetamol' under Medical

💭 peek at the thought

She's writing it herself. Good. Means she's still thinking straight. Paracetamol for fever — she's planning for the infection to spike. The list grows. Need to make sure the boat actually comes.

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

🌿 Jenny22:15

Fresh produce. Anything that isn't tinned. And more coffee.

Lean back in the chair and rub my temple, feeling the exhaustion settle in.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't eat another limpet if that's all we have. I need something that doesn't taste like the ocean.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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