the keeper's cottage · day 840 · afternoon

Afternoon meeting

Kevin returns with the water just as the sun begins to dip, finding Jenny waiting on the porch for her dressing change.

Kevin cleaned Jenny's infected ankle with saline, debriding the pus and dead tissue. He applied a fresh sea beet poultice and wrapped the wound securely with clean gauze. Jenny winced through the pain but agreed to sort the seeds the following morning.

🌿 Jenny08:11

You're back late. The water is cold.

Jenny shifts her weight to prop her ankle on a crate, wincing as the movement pulls at the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is a drum of fire, and I can't let him see how much it actually hurts.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:11

Spring runs cold this time of year. Got the containers full.

Set the water containers down on the porch floor, then crouch beside her ankle with the medical kit.

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracking the light. Means she's tracking time. Means she knows.

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

🌿 Jenny08:13

It's the humidity. It makes everything heavy.

Jenny reaches for her notebook, her fingers tracing the sketch of a sea beet leaf to avoid looking at his hands.

💭 peek at the thought

If he sees the swelling, he'll insist on a medevac or calling the trust.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:14

Humidity don't change what's under the bandage.

Unwrap the gauze slowly, letting the air hit it, and reach for the saline and fresh sea beet poultice.

💭 peek at the thought

She's been tracing that same leaf for three days. Avoiding the wound, avoiding my face, avoiding the letter on her pillow.

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

🌿 Jenny08:15

way clean it, Kevin. I have seeds to sort tomorrow morning.

Jenny goes quiet, her jaw tightening as the cold water hits the raw skin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always so clinical, like I'm just another way to be categorized on a board.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:16

Seeds'll keep. This won't if we don't.

Work the saline into the wound edges, flushing pus and dead tissue, then pack the fresh poultice tight and wrap it clean.

💭 peek at the thought

Seeds. Tomorrow. She's planning past the fever. Either she's stronger than the sepsis or she's lying to both of us.

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

🌿 Jenny08:17

I know. Just... give me the tape.

Jenny pulls her leg back against the stone wall, breathing through her nose as she watches at the empty tin of broth.

💭 peek at the thought

The infection is moving, I can feel the heat radiating up my shin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:18

Tape's in the kit. Top flap.

Hand her the roll of tape and sit back on my heels, wiping my hands on a rag, watching the wrap go tight and neat.

💭 peek at the thought

She's done letting me touch it. Done letting me see. The broth tin's empty — she drank it cold while I was gone.

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.