the old shrine · day 78 · evening

The Cold Start Test

The humidity in the cottage is thick as Kevin prepares to prime the Yanmar, while Jenny watches the sky for the first sign of rain.

The air grows heavy and humid as the first fat drops of rain hit the dust at the shrine. A sharp wind picks up from the southwest, carrying the scent of salt and approaching surf. The low tide has exposed the kelp and the slick rocks of the tide pools under the darkening sky.

🌿 Jenny10:02

It's coming. I can feel it in my joints.

Walk slowly away from the weathered stones, glancing back at the carvings one last time.

💭 peek at the thought

The air is too heavy. If it rains now, the shrine stones will slick over and the ridge will be a mudslide.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:02

Barometer's holding 1022. But the swell's been building since noon.

Walk back toward the cottage, checking the sky to the southwest.

💭 peek at the thought

She reads the pressure drop in her bones before the barometer shows it. Knew that about her before I knew her name.

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

🌿 Jenny10:04

The glass is lagging, Kevin. Look at the clouds, not the needle.

Follow him back toward the cottage, stepping carefully over the uneven ridge.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trusting the glass again. The barometer is a liar when the humidity is this thick.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:04

Clouds are punching through the inversion. If it breaks, we've got twenty minutes before the squall hits the lee.

Quick-step to the cottage door, shove it open, and start hauling the plastic sheeting and diesel heater from the porch into the kitchen.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the aneroid's slow, but the sky's already lying to us. Cumulus boiling up hard from the southwest, base dropping.

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

🌿 Jenny10:06

Help me with the seed trays first!

Hurry inside and grab the edges of the heirloom trays to move them further from the drafty window.

💭 peek at the thought

Twenty minutes isn't much, but it's enough to save the trays if I move fast.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:06

Trays first. Engine waits.

Grab the far end of the seed tray rack and carry it to the table by the stove, clear of the window and the door swing.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving the life we're growing before the engine that might get us off this rock. Right order.

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

🌿 Jenny10:08

Thanks. Grab the tarp while you're out there.

Lean over the trays to ensure they didn't shift during the move, then glance toward the open door.

💭 peek at the thought

Thank god he's actually listening for once. Now the seeds are safe, but the porch is still a mess.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:08

Got it.

Step back onto the porch, snatch the folded tarp, and haul it inside, kicking the door shut behind me.

💭 peek at the thought

Tarp's still on the porch where I dropped it. Rain's going to hit sideways in five minutes.

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

🌿 Jenny10:10

Good. We're in.

Lean back against the kitchen counter and let out a long, shaky breath, listening for the first drop.

💭 peek at the thought

The sound of that door closing is the only thing that makes me feel safe. Now we just have to wait for the hit.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:10

You all right?

Lean the tarp against the wall, then set two mugs on the table and pour coffee from the pot on the stove.

💭 peek at the thought

The breath she let go wasn't about the storm. It was the shrine, the names carved soft, whatever she read in them that she hasn't said.

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

🌿 Jenny10:12

Just... a bit lightheaded. I forgot to eat breakfast.

Reach for one of the mugs, wrapping both hands around the warm ceramic.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm starving, and my leg is still throbbing, but I can't think about that while the sky is falling.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:12

Eat the rat. It's in the pan on the back burner. Cold but clean protein.

Slide the cast iron skillet off the stove's cool edge and set it in front of her with a fork.

💭 peek at the thought

Lightheaded from hunger, not the shrine. She forgets to eat when her mind's elsewhere. I forget she forgets.

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.