the keeper's cottage · day 559 · evening

The Squall Passes

The rain lulls to a drizzle, but the wind picks up from the north. Kevin returns to the cottage as the tide begins to turn.

The rain intensifies into a heavy tropical downpour, drumming against the cottage roof as the wind shifts sharply to the west. The tide is fully out, exposing the slick rocks of the tide pools, though the barometric pressure is rising despite the approaching storm.

🌿 Jenny23:35

You're back. Did the lines hold?

Lean back against the chair and gingerly lift the swollen ankle to check the dressing.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't even stand up. God, I'm starving, but the thought of those limpets makes me want to heave.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin23:36

Held. Chain fall took the load. Mortise didn't open further but the wedge is working loose. Got maybe one more tide cycle before it needs the sister plank.

Hang oilskin on the porch hook, walk to the stove and check the kettle.

💭 peek at the thought

Lines held. South piling's still breathing but the mortise didn't open further. Chain fall took the strain. Need to sister it proper at next low tide with the last greenheart plank — if the wedge holds that long.

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

🌿 Jenny23:36

The wedges are just a bandage, Kevin. We both know it.

Reach for the pot of boiled limpets on the stove and pull it closer, though the smell makes my stomach turn.

💭 peek at the thought

One more tide cycle. He's always calculating the decay, never the survival. I need to eat or I'm going to faint.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin23:38

Aye. Bandage. Got the last greenheart plank for a proper sister. Need low tide and water calm enough to drill. This blow might not give us the window.

Pull a tin mug from the shelf, pour coffee from the pot, set it on the table near her without asking.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Always is. Greenheart sister plank's the only real fix. Got one plank left, oak wedges, stainless through-bolts. Need low tide and calm enough water to drill the mortise clean. Storm's not giving us much window.

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

🌿 Jenny23:40

Thank you.

Take a slow sip of the coffee and reach for the metronidazole blister pack.

💭 peek at the thought

He doesn't ask. He just does. It's the only way he knows how to be kind when we're not speaking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin23:40

How's the ankle?

Sit at the table opposite her, wrap hands around my own mug, wait.

💭 peek at the thought

Four tablets left. She's been taking them regular. Course should finish tomorrow if she keeps the interval. Fever broke yesterday. Ankle's weeping clean. She's healing. Still won't let myself believe it until the blister pack's empty and she's walking without the brace.

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

🌿 Jenny23:42

Still hot. The redness is creeping up toward the calf.

Pull back the edge of the cloth wrap just enough to show him the inflammation, then let it drop.

💭 peek at the thought

He's waiting for me to say it's fine. It's not fine. It's throbbing in time with my heart.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin23:42

Red line tracking up?

Lean forward, reach for the first aid kit on the shelf, pull out the last doxycycline blister — empty — and the antibiotic cream tube, check the cream level.

💭 peek at the thought

Red line tracking upward. Lymphangitic spread. That's not good. Metronidazole covers anaerobes but if it's strep or staph we need the doxycycline too — and that course is done. Four metronidazole tablets won't touch a spreading cellulitis. Radio. Coast Guard. Medevac forms are filled. Monday they said. Today's... what day. Saturday. Two days. If she holds. If the storm doesn't cut the radio again.

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

🌿 Jenny23:46

No line yet. Just... a bloom.

Push the metronidazole blister pack toward him and point to the remaining tablets.

💭 peek at the thought

Don't touch it. Just look at it. If he sees how much it's actually swollen, he'll start talking about the medevac forms again.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin23:46

Four tablets left. If it's still hot tomorrow night, I'll try the radio at first light. See if I can raise the supply boat or Coast Guard. Medevac forms are in the drawer.

Stand, walk to the radio shelf, lift the tarp just enough to check the aerial — still taped, insulator shattered but held — then turn the radio on, tune to the maritime distress frequency, listen.

💭 peek at the thought

Not a line. A bloom. Early cellulitis or just intense inflammation from the wound? Either way, metronidazole alone won't stop it if it's spreading. Need the doxy. Course is done. No more in the kit. Radio. Need to raise the supply boat or Coast Guard for a medevac or antibiotics drop. Barometer's rising — storm's passing. Wind's north now, might ease enough for comms.

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

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