the keeper's cottage · day 517 · afternoon

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

Kevin and Jenny work inside the cottage as heavy rain lashes against the walls. Kevin prepares to gut the limpets for a meal while Jenny attempts to debride the infection on her ankle, though the pain and swelling make the task difficult.

🔧 Kevin04:54

I’m going in to get the limpets cleaned. You coming?

walk into the cottage, shake rain off my jacket, and hang it on the hook by the door.

💭 peek at the thought

The rain’s coming in harder now. I can hear it drumming on the roof and the wind pushing against the south wall. Jenny’s still on the porch, not moving. I need to get inside before the damp gets into my bones — and hers.

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

🌿 Jenny04:55

I'm staying here. My leg is throbbing.

Sit on the kitchen chair, lift my ankle onto the table, and reach for the tweezers and saline.

💭 peek at the thought

If I go out there, the ankle will give way on the slick-covered wood.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:56

Let me do it. I’ve got the antiseptic cream and clean gauze. You’re shaking.

walk slowly to the table, stop just behind her chair, and hold out the small tin of antibiotic cream and a fresh gauze pad without touching her.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s not asking for help — she’s doing it herself. That’s the worst part. She doesn’t trust me to touch it anymore. I can see the red spreading up her calf, the way her jaw tightens when she presses the tweezers in.

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

🌿 Jenny04:57

fine. just... hold the light.

Take the tin and gauze with a trembling hand and begin to peel the old bandage away from the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

he thinks I'm incompetent. I'm just cold despite the heat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:58

I’ve got the light. Steady as I can make it.

adjust the LED lamp on the table so it shines directly on her ankle, then stand still, hands at my sides, watching her hands work.

💭 peek at the thought

The old bandage is stuck with dried pus. She’s pulling slow, like she’s afraid of what’s underneath. The light from the LED lamp is harsh — it shows every inch of the wound. I don’t want to look, but I have to.

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

🌿 Jenny04:59

Don't just stare. Tell me if the edges look more red than they did this morning.

Dip the tweezers into the saline and carefully begin to pick away the necrotic tissue from the center of the wound.

💭 peek at the thought

He's watching me like I'm a specimen. I can feel his breath on my neck.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:00

It’s angrier. Red’s gone past the old line — looks like it’s tracking up the vein. You need to keep going. I’ll hold the light.

lean in slightly, not touching, and point with my chin at the spreading redness along her inner calf, then return my focus to holding the lamp steady.

💭 peek at the thought

The center’s black at the edges, yellow in the middle — dead tissue, spreading. It’s worse than this morning. The red’s crept up two finger widths. She’s not flinching, but her breath is short. I need to tell her true, even if it hurts.

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

🌿 Jenny05:01

I see it. Just don't move the light.

hiss through my teeth as I press the tweezers into the wound, focusing on the edge of the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's tracking, I'm losing time. I can't plant the seeds if I'm septic.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:02

I’m not moving it. You’re doing good. Keep going.

keep the LED lamp locked in place with both hands on the base, elbows braced on the table, eyes fixed on the wound as she works, silent except for my breathing.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s in pain — I can hear it in the hiss, see it in the way her shoulders lock. But she’s not stopping. She’s digging out the dead flesh like she’s trying to save her own life. I won’t look away. I won’t move the light.

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

🌿 Jenny05:03

It's deep.

Use the gauze to dab away the blood and look at the tissue under the light.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat coming off her skin is unbearable. I need to see how deep it goes.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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