the keeper's cottage · day 896 · afternoon

The Receding Tide

The rain shows no sign of stopping as the tide pulls out, revealing more of the island's jagged shoreline. Inside the cottage, the atmosphere is damp and smells of wood smoke and medicinal herbs.

The steady rain keeps the humidity high, making outdoor work with the brush or the ankle impossible. Jenny remains inside as her ankle throbs, and the damp heat prevents any effective wound care. The water tank reaches its maximum capacity as the downpour continues through the afternoon.

🌿 Jenny13:06

I need to eat something.

limp toward the stove and pour the remaining limpet broth into a tin mug.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm starving, and this ankle is pulsing. I can't focus on the sea cave strata if I can't even stand up without seeing stars.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:07

Mug on the shelf. Spoon in the drawer. Eat slow.

Check the barometer reading and note it in the radio log, then put another stick on the stove.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving better than yesterday. The antibiotics are working. Still need to watch that ankle — swelling's down but the heat in it says the infection's not fully cleared. Broth's good. Salt, protein, easy on the gut.

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

🌿 Jenny13:08

Thanks.

take the mug and spoon, then sit heavily in the kitchen chair, sipping the broth.

💭 peek at the thought

He's in "fix-it" mode. Always managing the environment, never the silence.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:08

How's the ankle?

Pour myself a mug of the broth and sit opposite her, watching her face while I drink.

💭 peek at the thought

Hands steadier today. Colour coming back. The doxycycline and metronidazole from the buried cache — fifteen days of them — are doing their work. Still got fourteen doses of each left. Need to keep her on schedule. Storm's holding the supply boat off another day at least. Barometer says 975 and rising slow. That's something.

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

🌿 Jenny13:11

Sticky. The rain won't let it dry out.

take a slow sip of broth, wincing as the movement pulls against the swollen skin.

💭 peek at the thought

It's throbbing in time with the rain. The humidity is making the infection angry.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:11

I'll freshen the poultice after you eat. Leave it unwrapped for an hour. Air helps.

Finish my broth, set the mug down, and go to the medical kit for clean gauze and the sea beet leaves drying on the stove shelf.

💭 peek at the thought

Sticky means the wound's still weeping. Not closed. Humidity's killing the healing — can't get air to it, can't keep dressings dry. She's tough but this isn't something toughness fixes. Need to change the dressing again, let it breathe a bit before re-wrapping. Maybe try the sea beet poultice fresh tonight instead of the mint-honey mix. The salt glands on the beet leaves pull fluid. Worth a shot.

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.