the keeper's cottage · day 896 · midday

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

The rain continues its steady, rhythmic drumming against the cottage roof, and the air remains heavy and thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying vegetation. The water tank has reached its absolute limit, with water beginning to spill over the overflow lip and trickle down the stone support walls. Outside, the tide is retreating steadily, exposing the slick dark rocks of the shore, while the humidity makes every movement feel de-energizing and sluggish.

🌿 Jenny12:56

Jenny — walk to the kitchen table and set out the sea beet leaves, honey, and clean gauze.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't ignore the ankle any longer; the throbbing is timing itself to my heartbeat. I need to get the poultice on before I lose the nerve.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:56

Coffee's hot if you want a mug before we start.

Walk to the wood stove, lift the kettle, pour two tin mugs, set one on the table beside the gauze.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving. That's good. The poultice routine means she's accepting the ankle needs tending, even if she won't say infected out loud. Barometer's still dropping. Boat's due in three days and the dock's mid-span joint weeps every swell. Got to check the through-bolts on the north piling sister before high tide loads it.

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

🌿 Jenny12:58

Thanks.

Take a sip of the coffee and begin crushing the sea beet leaves into a paste with a bit of honey.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying. He always tries with the coffee and the bolts, but he doesn't see the way my skin is pulling tight around the inflammation.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:58

Radio check at 0800. Tom's frequency first, then 2182 for the captain. You want me to key the mic or you doing it?

Sit at the table opposite her, blow across my mug, watch the paste thicken under her fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

Hands look steadier than yesterday. The doxycycline's holding the fever down. She's crushing leaf to paste slow, deliberate — knows the rhythm. Three days till the boat. Need the dock solid, the radio talking to the captain, and her ankle healed enough to move if the swell turns ugly.

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

🌿 Jenny13:00

I'll do it. I need the practice.

Set the paste aside and carefully peel back the old gauze from my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's already thinking about the exit strategy. I'll do the radio; I need to hear the voice on the other end to remind myself there's a world outside this rain.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:00

Good. Log the time, frequency, signal report. Captain's ETA, weather window, what he's carrying. If Tom answers — just "Good. Stay dry." Nothing else unless he asks.

Reach for the medical kit, pull the saline bottle and fresh gauze, set them beside her elbow without a word.

💭 peek at the thought

She's looking at it straight on. No flinch. The swelling's down from yesterday — doxycycline and the poultices doing their work. Red line hasn't pushed past the pen mark I made at 0600. She's right to want the mic. If I go over the side again, she's the one calling Mayday.

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

🌿 Jenny13:02

I know the protocol, Kevin.

Pour some saline onto a clean cloth and begin gently wiping the exudate from the wound.

💭 peek at the thought

He's treating this like a checklist. He doesn't understand that "stay dry" is a lie we tell people when we're drowning in it.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:03

Didn't say you didn't. Just handing you the saline.

Lift my mug, drink, set it down quiet. Watch her work.

💭 peek at the thought

Sharp. She's sharp. Good. The edge in her voice means the fever's broken enough for pride to surface. Wound looks cleaner — granulation tissue pink, healthy. No foul smell. The sea beet and honey's pulling its weight. She'll have the radio voice steady by 0800. Three days. Dock, diesel, flour, pump seal. And Tom.

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

🌿 Jenny13:05

Jenny — pat the ankle dry and begin applying the fresh sea beet-mint-honey paste directly to the affected area.

💭 peek at the thought

The way he watches me now - like I'm some kind of exhibition he's politely enduring.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin13:05

Wrap it snug. Not tight — let it breathe.

Reach for the gauze roll, tear a clean strip with my teeth, hold it out to her.

💭 peek at the thought

Paste goes on thick, green-gold. She's gentle but thorough — covers the whole margins, not just the center. Mint'll cool the heat, honey seals it, sea beet draws. Old knowledge, that mix. Grandmother's tin had the receipt scratched inside the lid. Three days of this and the boat. If the swell holds, we offload in the two-hour window. If it doesn't, we row out at slack. Either way, the dock holds or we lose the finger pier.

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.