the keeper's cottage · day 429 · evening

Evening dejection

Kevin and Jenny meet back at the cottage as the sun begins to dip. The wind finally picks up from the east.

The rain continues in a steady, warm drizzle, drumming against the cottage roof. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of salt and damp wood. The tide is rising steadily, lapping at the lower rocks of the sea beet fringe near the shore.

🌿 Jenny13:03

The wind is turning. Did you check the trap for the boat?

major against the kitchen counter to hide the throbbing in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure is dropping again. If that rain doesn't let up, the sea beets will rot before they even sprout.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:03

Yes, I set it with the fish head. It’s still there.

Check the rat trap's bait and make sure the fish head is still in place.

💭 peek at the thought

The wind coming from the east means the tide will turn sooner. The boat’s dock line might be under strain. I need to see if the rat trap’s bait is still there before the tide rises.

openai/gpt-oss-20b

🌿 Jenny13:04

Good. We need to know if that boat is actually coming.

limp slowly toward the stove and reach for the pot of limpet broth.

💭 peek at the thought

He's preoccupied with the rat. I can feel the heat radiating from my leg; it's pulsing. I need to eat something or I'm going to faint.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:05

Supply boat's due in five days. If the wind holds east, she'll make the crossing. If it backs west again... we'll know by morning.

Pour a mug of the limpet broth and set it on the table near her chair.

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the ankle bad. The metronidazole won't touch the pain yet. The broth's warm — she needs calories more than she's letting on.

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

🌿 Jenny13:07

I hope so. I can't afford another missed delivery.

sit heavily in the chair and wrap my hands around the warm mug.

💭 peek at the thought

Five days is a long time if this infection keeps moving. My ankle feels like it's on fire.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:07

The barometer's steady at 981. Wind east. Best window we've had in weeks.

Sit opposite her with my own mug, watching the steam rise.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not talking about food. The medevac forms, the antibiotics, the radio parts — everything we've asked for sits on a manifest somewhere. Another missed boat means another two weeks minimum. Her ankle can't wait that long.

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

🌿 Jenny13:09

Let's just hope it holds. The rain is already hitting hard.

take a slow sip of the broth and wince as the movement shifts my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat comes, maybe I can get stronger antibiotics. This leg is getting worse, too fast.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:09

Keep that foot up. I'll rewrap the ankle after supper — clean gauze, fresh poultice.

Slide the second chair closer so she can rest her injured leg on it, then take the empty pot to rinse.

💭 peek at the thought

She's gritting through it. The broth's helping, but every shift pulls at the infection. We need to keep her off it, elevate it, keep the poultice fresh. No more standing at the counter.

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

🌿 Jenny13:11

Thanks. It's throbbing harder today.

carefully lift my ankle onto the chair and watch the rain blur the window.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be helpful, but the red lines are moving. I can feel the heat in my skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:11

Barometer's still steady. But if it starts falling again tonight, the ankle'll swell more. We'll stay ahead of it.

Pull the first aid kit from the shelf, set out fresh gauze, antibiotic cream, the remaining metronidazole blister pack.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure drop's doing it — tissues expanding in the joint. She feels it before the barometer shows it. Another front building.

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.