the keeper's cottage · day 645 · night

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

Kevin prepared a hot salt soak and fresh sea beet poultice for Jenny's infected ankle, but his trembling hands made the work clumsy. Jenny examined her wound and found the inflammation spreading up her calf, the skin tight and hot.

🌿 Jenny10:47

The water's not ready yet?

Sit on the edge of the kitchen chair, pulling the sock down to look at the swelling.

💭 peek at the thought

The pulse in my ankle is like a drummer. I can feel the heatradi off the skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:47

Kettle's on. Two minutes.

walk to the wood stove and lift the kettle lid, checking the water, then set a clean cloth and the mortar beside the basin

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the ankle, not me. The red line's crept past the calf now — saw it when she lifted the blanket. Water's still cold. Need to get the kettle on the stove, let it come up proper. Salt in the basin, sea beet crushed fresh. She'll want it hot as she can bear.

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

🌿 Jenny10:49

It's getting tighter today. The skin feels too small.

Trace the edge of the redness with a trembling finger, wincing when it touches the inflamed area.

💭 peek at the thought

He's too quiet when he's being this. It makes the silence louder than the rain.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:49

Hold on.

lift the kettle from the stove, pour steaming water into the basin, sprinkle coarse salt from the tin and stir with the wooden spoon until it dissolves

💭 peek at the thought

The tracking's moved. Yesterday it stopped mid-calf. Now it's kissing the knee. She's not saying infected but her finger's trembling and the skin's shiny-tight. Antibiotics are done. We've got sea beet, salt, heat, and the knife if it comes to that. Water's singing in the kettle — good.

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

🌿 Jenny10:51

Okay. Please.

Lean back against the stone wall, watching the steam rise in the dim light.

💭 peek at the thought

The smell of the salt and steam is making my stomach turn. I hate how much it hurts to move.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:51

Ready when you are.

crush fresh sea beet leaves and mint in the mortar with the pestle, drizzle in the last of the honey, work it into a thick green paste, then spread it generous on the clean cloth

💭 peek at the thought

She's trusting me with this. The steam carries salt and heat — old remedies, but they've held the line so far. Need the sea beet crushed fine, mint worked in, honey if we've got any left. The poultice has to go on hot, bound tight, changed every four hours. Her fever's still climbing. I felt it when I brushed her forehead earlier.

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.