the dock · day 692 · dawn

High tide structural check

Kevin is crouched by the south piling inspecting the rot line as the tide reaches up. Jenny sits on the edge of the dock, her ankle propped up on a crate while she watches the trade wind.

Kevin inspected the south piling sister brace at high tide and confirmed the rot line has advanced another handspan. Jenny debrided her ankle and applied a fresh sea beet poultice, noting the infection boundary has not advanced past the marked line.

🔧 Kevin21:07

Sister brace is solid. Rot line's crept up another handspan since the storm. We'll need to sister the next section before winter.

Wipe salt from the stainless through-bolt head, check the tell-tale mark I scratched on the greenheart last month — still aligned. Stand, brush wet knees, walk back toward Jenny and the crate.

💭 peek at the thought

South piling's holding. The greenheart sister brace took the last swell clean — no movement at the bolt, no weeping at the mortise. Tide's high enough to see the full waterline rot band. Another six inches up from last month. She's watching me work instead of the horizon. Good. Means she's not scanning for the supply boat.

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

🌿 Jenny21:11

The tide is coming in fast. Is the ankle throbbing again?

sit down next to her, reaching out to touch the edge of the bandage without removing it.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer is dropping again and he's worried about wood while the whole island is shifting under us.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:11

Tide's turning. Slack in ten minutes. Your ankle — what's the heat like?

Crouch beside her, not sitting. Hand hovers near her calf, feeling radiated warmth without touching the bandage. Eyes on the swell line past the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

She's deflecting. Asking about my ankle when hers is the one propped on a crate, bandage stained at the edges. The tide's not coming in fast — it's high slack, near the turn. She knows that. She's giving me an out from the conversation I said I'd have on the north ridge.

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

🌿 Jenny21:12

Hot. The sea beet is doing something, I think.

lean back on my hands, closing my eyes for a second to let the wind cool the sweat on my face.

💭 peek at the thought

It's pulsing like a second heart. The fever is making the world feel too bright and vibrating.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:12

Keep the poultice on through tonight. Change it at first light. If the red line doesn't advance past where I marked it, we're winning.

Reach into pocket, pull out the pen I used to mark the infection boundary. Cap it, set it on the dock plank between us. Don't look at her face — watch the water instead.

💭 peek at the thought

Sea beet poultice drawing heat — good. Means the infection's still fighting its way out instead of settling deeper. She's tired. The fever broke three days ago but the fatigue lingers. She leaned back on her hands like she's bracing for something. Or waiting.

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

🌿 Jenny21:13

If it moves, I'm moving to the high ground.

reach down and touch the cold metal of the seed tin, fingers tracing the rusted edge.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a pen mark is a battle plan, but the rot doesn't care about ink.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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