the keeper's cottage · day 695 · night

Evening Care

The tide is rising, and the supply boat is still nine days away as the evening settles in.

The air is heavy and still, the 28°C heat pressing down on the cottage. The tide is high, lapping rhythmically against the dock pilings. Jenny sits on the porch, her ankle throbbing in the heat, while Kevin prepares the final checks.

🔧 Kevin01:47

Eat something before it goes cold. Then we check the mooring at 0300.

set a tin mug of limpet broth and a spoon on the porch table beside her

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the horizon like it'll give her an answer. The barometer's steady but that heavy air won't hold. Nine days is a long way off when the infection's already crossed the line she drew herself.

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

🌿 Jenny01:49

I'll be awake.

Takes a slow sip of the broth, wincing as the heat of the mug mirrors the throbbing in her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a check will fix the world, but the salt is eating the wood from the inside out.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:49

Antibiotics next. Doxycycline and metronidazole. Don't argue.

pull the blister packs from my pocket and set them on the table beside her mug

💭 peek at the thought

She's running on stubborn and salt water. The broth's good calories but she needs the antibiotics down too. Watch her hand on the mug — tremble's slight but there.

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

🌿 Jenny01:51

I know.

Reaches for the blister pack, her fingers trembling slightly as she pops the first pill out.

💭 peek at the thought

He talks like he can command the infection to stop just like he can command the tide.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:51

Swallow it with broth. All of it.

watch her take the pills, then scan the treeline for the first bats — means insects moving, means air shifting

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She took it without a fight. The metronidazole's the one that matters for the anaerobic deep tissue — five tablets left after tonight. That's five days. Supply boat's nine out. Need to stretch it or find something else.

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

🌿 Jenny01:53

I've got it.

Swallows the pills with the warm broth, leaning back against the stone wall as the heat in her ankle pulses.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always looking for signs in the dark while I'm just trying to stay whole.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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