the keeper's cottage · day 523 · morning

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

Kevin inspected and cleaned Jenny's infected ankle, applying a poultice of sea beet and mint. Jenny winced at the pain but allowed the treatment. Both prepared for their separate tasks: Kevin to repair the shortwave radio insulator and check the Yanmar fuel filter, Jenny to tend the ankle and check the water tank.

🌿 Jenny10:17

(Quiet, a sharp intake of breath)

Sit on the edge of the bed, peeling back the gauze on the ankle to inspect the wound for new red streaks.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing in time with the tide; I need to check the dressing before the heat becomes too much to handle.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:17

Let me see that. I’ll clean it and put on fresh sea beet and mint.

walk to Jenny, take the gauze gently, inspect the wound for red streaks or heat.

💭 peek at the thought

Her ankle’s angry again—red’s climbing. I should’ve changed the poultice sooner. Now she’s checking it herself, quiet as stone.

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

🌿 Jenny10:19

Be careful. It's pulsing today.

Wince slightly as he removes the bandage, watching his face for any sign of panic.

💭 peek at the thought

He touches it like I'm a fragile specimen, but the infection is still there, under the surface.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:19

I’ve got it. Just hold still. Warm water first, then the poultice.

fetch clean water from the kettle, pour it into the basin, add sea salt, soak a clean cloth, and begin gently cleaning the wound around Jenny’s ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

It’s throbbing—bad sign. She’s watching me close, waiting to see if I’ll lose it. I won’t. Not now.

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

🌿 Jenny10:21

(Gritting teeth) It's deeper than yesterday.

Lean back against the headboard, watching the water turn cloudy as he works on the skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The salt stings, but I need the rot out before I can't walk to the garden.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:21

Let me get a better look. I’m going to clean it all the way up to the calf—tell me if it burns.

continue cleaning the wound with salted water, moving upward along the ankle and lower calf, watching for red streaks or swelling in the tissue.

💭 peek at the thought

It’s tracking—deeper, angrier. The water’s dirty fast. If it’s in the tendon sheath, we’re running out of time. I need to see how far it’s gone.

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

🌿 Jenny10:23

It's burning. Just... go.

Tighten my grip on the bedsheets, own white, as he moves the cloth higher.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is radiating, I can feel it in the air between us.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:23

Almost done. Just a little more to check the spread.

finish cleaning the wound up to mid-calf, then pause, inspect the skin for red streaks, heat, or swelling, and assess how far the infection has tracked.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s in pain but not stopping me. That means she trusts me to see it through—even if it hurts. I won’t waste that.

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

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