the keeper's cottage · day 854 · night

Evening meal at the cottage

The heat finally breaks as the sun sets, and they sit together to eat the limpet meal.

The air in the cottage is thick with humidity, smelling of salt and crushed sea beet. Jenny sits on the edge, her fingers white and numb from the salt soak, while Kevin prepares the poultice on the wood stove. The heat from the kettle is the only warmth in the heavy, grey air, and the sound of the rising tide against the dock is felt through the floorboards.

🌿 Jenny06:10

They're a bit chewy. But they'll keep us alive.

Eat the limpets slowly, leaning back against the stone wall to keep the weight off my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

The limpets are rubbery, but the salt is good. I can feel the pulse in my ankle matching the rhythm of the rain starting again.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:11

Chewy's better than gone. Eat what's there.

eat limpets from the tin mug, watching her face in the lantern light

💭 peek at the thought

The limpets taste of salt and iron, same as always. She's favouring the ankle hard, leaning into the stone like it's the only thing holding her up. I should have made the poultice fresher. Should have checked the trench before the light went. The barometer's still falling and I've done nothing about either.

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

🌿 Jenny06:13

(quietly) The lantern's hot. Be careful with your fingers.

Set the tin mug down carefully, then slowly push myself upright using the cane, the salt water soak finally taking effect on my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's watching me too closely in this light, like he's trying to memorize the shape of my pain.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin06:14

Your fingers are white. Let me refill the bucket.

refill bucket with seawater from the galvanized tub and add more salt, then carry it back to the kitchen

💭 peek at the thought

Her fingers are shaking worse than mine. The soak helped, but she's still hunched over that ankle like it's on fire. I should have insisted she rest longer. Should have checked if the infection spread overnight.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🌿 Jenny06:15

(barely audible) Thank you.

Watch him work, the way his shoulders dip slightly when he thinks I'm not looking, then shift my weight back onto the cane when the bucket clangs against the floor.

💭 peek at the thought

He means well, but the bucket's already full of salt water. I can see him fumbling with the tap, trying to make it perfect.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin06:15

Heat water. Fresh poultice.

set the kettle on the wood stove and pull the mortar and pestle from the shelf, crushing fresh sea beet and mint from the damp cloth

💭 peek at the thought

She noticed the shoulders. She notices everything I don't say. The bucket's clang echoes in the quiet kitchen and I can't meet her eyes. The ankle's weeping through the gauze again — I saw it when she shifted. The antibiotics should have kicked by now.

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

🌿 Jenny06:17

(voice hoarse) You don't have to—

Let Kevin work, watching the steam rise from the kettle and the way he tears the cloth with careful precision, then reach for the clean gauze from the medical kit.

💭 peek at the thought

He's making the poultice again—every night these last two weeks. The mint's still damp from yesterday's batch, but it'll have to do.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin06:17

Neither do you. Drink the broth while it's hot.

spread the steaming poultice thick on the clean gauze and hold it out, waiting for her to lift her foot

💭 peek at the thought

She stops herself from saying "have to" because she knows I'll ignore it. The steam fogs the window. My hands know this rhythm — crush, mix, spread, wrap — better than words. The gauze roll is down to its last clean layer. We'll need to boil the used strips tomorrow if the supply boat doesn't come.

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.