the keeper's cottage · day 560 · evening

Evening meal and supply boat watch

They sit on the porch steps as light fails, sharing corned beef and limpet broth from tin mugs. The barometer has fallen to 976 hPa. The shortwave crackles with static on Tom's frequency — no voice yet. The supply boat is due in three days, weather permitting.

Kevin and Jenny finished their broth and discussed the approaching storm and supply boat. They moved the heirloom seed tin from the porch into the cottage to protect it from the rising wind and damp.

🔧 Kevin00:24

Broth's holding heat. You want the last of the corned beef fat in yours?

sip from tin mug, watching the shortwave aerial whip in the rising wind

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's still falling slow. Three days if the window holds — same promise as last month, and the month before. Broth's good though. Salt and fat and something hot in the belly.

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

🌿 Jenny00:25

Yes, please. Pour it in.

Lean back against the stone wall and stare at the aerial, clutching the warm mug.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be kind, but the static is the only thing I can actually focus on. 976 hPa is low. Too low for my liking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:26

Here.

tip the skillet, letting the rendered fat glisten into her mug, then set the pan aside and wrap both hands around my own mug

💭 peek at the thought

She's quiet tonight. The letter from Tom sits in her pocket — I saw the corner of it when she moved. Hasn't said a word about it since the storm.

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

🌿 Jenny00:26

Thanks.

Sip the broth slowly, feeling the warmth hit my chest, then glance down at the poultice on my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The fat is the only thing with real calories. I can feel the hunger clawing at my stomach, making me lightheaded.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:28

Ankle holding?

glance down at the wrapped ankle, then back to the aerial thrashing against the darkening sky

💭 peek at the thought

Ankle's looking cleaner. No heat in it yesterday. The sea beet and mint did their work. Metronidazole course finished too. She's healing.

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

🌿 Jenny00:28

It's quiet. For now.

Shift the leg slightly and take another long sip of the broth.

💭 peek at the thought

It's a dull throb now, not a scream. I don't want to jinx it, but the red line hasn't climbed.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:30

Good. That's good.

drain the last of my broth, set the mug on the step, and pull the collar of my jacket tighter against the wind coming up the hill

💭 peek at the thought

Quiet's good. Quiet means the infection's beaten back. She's got color back in her face too. Three days to the supply boat — antibiotics if she needs another round, mail, maybe the rest of the letters from the trust.

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

🌿 Jenny00:30

We should probably bring the seed tin inside.

Set the empty mug down and gesture toward the tarped tin on the porch.

💭 peek at the thought

He's already thinking about the wind. The barometer is still low. We need to get the porch clear before the rain turns into a gale.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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