the dock · day 127 · morning

Morning Check

You meet at the dock by noon, both of you coming from your respective tasks. The dock is quiet except for the sound of the tide and the occasional chirp of the seabird chick.

Kevin carried the seabird chick to the shed and placed it in a box on the top shelf with a towel for warmth, then patched the rat hole in the north wall. Jenny planted the heirloom pepper seedlings in the garden under the shade cloth, checked the rat trap in the pantry and found it sprung with a dead rat, and sketched the wild mustard and purslane samples.

🌿 Jenny12:50

Look at this little thing. It's a miracle it hasn't been swept off yet.

Kneel beside the seabird chick and gently shield it from the wind with my body.

💭 peek at the thought

God, I'm starving. My hands are still stained with soil, but that chick is barely holding on.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:50

It’s exhausted. We need to get it somewhere dry and warm, or it won’t make the tide.

kneel opposite Jenny, cup my hands under the chick’s body, and lift it gently onto my palms, shielding it from the wind with my jacket.

💭 peek at the thought

The chick’s down is soaked through, its chest rising fast. It won’t last another hour out here. I’ve seen fledglings this weak before—they either make it to cover or they don’t. No point in false hope.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny12:52

We can't just leave it in the cottage—the cat would have a field day. Maybe a box in the shed?

Stand up slowly and gesture toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being gentle. I wonder if he's thinking about the boat or the bird.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:53

Shed's better. Rat hole in the wall though. Box on the top shelf, towel for warmth. I'll fix the board after.

walk toward the cottage with the chick cupped against my chest, jacket pulled tight, boots careful on the slick planks.

💭 peek at the thought

The shed has a loose board on the north wall — rats get in. But it's drier than the dock, and the cat doesn't go near it since the trap snapped. A cardboard box with a towel, set high on the shelf, might buy it a day. That's all we can do.

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

🌿 Jenny12:54

I'll get a box and some old towels ready.

Walk briskly toward the cottage, ahead of Kevin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's already planning the repair. Typical. But he's right about the rat hole.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:54

Kevin — follow her up the path, keeping the chick sheltered, scanning the shed's north wall for the rat hole as we approach.

💭 peek at the thought

She moves fast when she decides to. Good. The chick's head lolls against my thumb — body temperature dropping. Every minute counts.

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.