the keeper's cottage · day 817 · morning

Day 817 Morning

Kevin and Jenny meet at the cottage as the sun climbs higher. The sound of the rat in the pantry draws their attention before the morning meal begins.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🌿 Jenny02:13

It's in the pantry again. We need to check the tins.

Limps into the kitchen, clutching the table for support.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing in time with that scratching, and if that thing gets into the flour, I might lose my mind.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:13

Checked the trap line at dawn. Empty. This one's new.

Walk to the pantry door and pull it open, listening for the scratching location.

💭 peek at the thought

Rat's back. Caught one three days ago but there's always another. She's moving stiff — ankle's not right yet even with the antibiotics.

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

🌿 Jenny02:15

Check the flour sack first. I'll look at the seed tin.

Scans the floor of the pantry for droppings or grey fur.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's new, it's getting through the mesh, and I'm too weak to chase it today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:15

Flour's done. Threw it out last week. Tin's sealed.

Step into the pantry, crouch, and shine the headlamp beam along the baseboards and shelving feet to find where it's running.

💭 peek at the thought

Flour's already gone — chewed through weeks ago. She's checking the heirloom tin like it's the only thing that matters. It might be.

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

🌿 Jenny02:17

Look behind the stove. The heat might draw them there.

Leans against the doorframe, watching him search for any movement.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's not in the food, it's in the walls, and I'm too tired to tear them apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:19

Found it. Two droppings on the tin shelf. Not fresh — old ones. He's been here before.

Check behind the stove, feeling along the wall and under the wood stove base for any movement or warmth.

💭 peek at the thought

Behind the stove is warm, dark, perfect. But that's where it's at.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🌿 Jenny02:19

Then it's moving through the walls. Check the gaps in the stone.

Rubs her aching ankle, wincing as the movement shifts her weight.

💭 peek at the thought

If they're old, maybe I'm chasing ghosts, but that scratching is real and making my skin crawl.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:21

Gaps in the stone. Always have gaps.

Inspect the base of the kitchen walls where stone meets floor, probing visible gaps with my fingers and a small screwdriver to check for signs of rat activity.

💭 peek at the thought

Stone walls have gaps. Always have gaps. That's how they get in.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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