the keeper's cottage · day 855 · afternoon

Afternoon Shelter

The steady rain continues to drum on the roof as the two of you gather inside to escape the damp.

The steady rain continues, filling the water tank to its 400-litre capacity. Jenny stays indoors to manage her swollen ankle while Kevin monitors the barometer drop, signaling an approaching storm.

🌿 Jenny06:48

I need to sit.

Limp slowly to the nearest chair and sink into it with a sharp exhale.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't even stand straight. The hunger is making me dizzy, and this ankle feels like it's being crushed in a vice.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:48

Kettle's on. Sit. I'll bring the broth.

Walk to the stove, lift the kettle off the hook, pour hot water into two tin mugs with the coffee grounds already waiting, carry one to the table and set it down beside her chair.

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the ankle bad. The poultice held through the morning but the swelling's back up. Need to get her off it and the leg elevated before the tendons lock.

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

🌿 Jenny06:50

Thanks.

Reach for the mug, fingers trembling slightly, and wrap both hands around the warm metal.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying. He's always trying to fix things with broth and coffee while the ridge is sliding into the sea. I'm too tired to even be angry about it.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:50

Drink it slow.

Pull the other chair out, sit opposite her, cradle my own mug, watch the steam rise without drinking yet.

💭 peek at the thought

Hands shaking. Not just cold. The infection's taxing her system hard. Antibiotics need time but the ankle's not giving it.

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

🌿 Jenny06:52

The barometer is falling. 992.

Take a small, cautious sip of the coffee, eyes fixed on the window.

💭 peek at the thought

He's watching me. He can see I'm shaking. I hate that he can see it.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:53

Front's sitting on us. Wind'll back southwest by dark. Gusts forty, fifty knots if the gradient tightens.

Set the mug down, stand, walk to the porch door, crack it enough to read the wind direction off the rain streaks on the rail.

💭 peek at the thought

She's reading the weather like she reads the ridge — looking for the break point. Barometer at 992 and dropping means the low's deepening, not passing. We've got hours, maybe half a day before the wind shifts hard.

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

🌿 Jenny06:55

The north ridge is already weeping. The clay is too heavy.

Set the mug down and lean back, lifting the swollen ankle onto the chair rung to dull the throb.

💭 peek at the thought

Fifty knots? If the ridge goes, the whole north slope is gone. I need to get those last marks in before the path disappears.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:55

I'll get the cold pack from the medical kit. You need elevation.

Rise, cross to the cottage storage area, retrieve the ice pack wrapped in the wool blanket, return and kneel beside her chair to place it under her calf, then gently lift her feet onto a stool I grab from the shelf.

💭 peek at the thought

Ankle's the shape of a thunderstorm now — swollen, hot, the skin stretched tight over the joint. Infection's tracking up, and with the barometer falling she's running every fever symptom. Need to get her legs elevated before the blood pools.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🌿 Jenny06:57

I should have finished the mapping today.

Reach for the notebook on the table, tracing the red wax lines of the fracture with a shaky finger.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so careful. Like I'm made of glass, but the island is breaking apart around us.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:57

You did good work today. The notes are solid.

Reach across the table, cover her hand with my own, give it a light squeeze, then slide the notebook closer so she can see the full sketch without having to reach for it herself.

💭 peek at the thought

She wanted to finish the map, wanted to capture the fracture before it moved again. But her hands won't cooperate, and the ridge doesn't wait for painkillers to take effect.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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