the keeper's cottage · day 881 · evening

Evening Fever and Boat Prep

Kevin enters the cottage as the sun dips, bringing the smell of the forge with him to find Jenny shivering despite the lingering heat.

The air inside the cottage is thick with humidity and the smell of damp wood and medicinal poultice. Jenny lies on the cot, her face flushed with fever as she watches her swollen ankle throb beneath the wool blanket. Kevin stands by the stove, the weight of the kettle heavy in his hand, listening to the rising tide lapping against the floorboards.

🌿 Jenny15:14

You're late.

Pull the wool blanket tighter around my shoulders and lean my head back against the wall.

💭 peek at the thought

He smells like hot iron and soot. I can't even find the energy to tell him the fever is spiking again.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin15:16

Lost track. The blank's normalised — needs grinding tomorrow.

walk to the stove, lift the kettle, feel the weight, set it back down cold

💭 peek at the thought

She's cold in this heat. The fever's climbing again.

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

🌿 Jenny15:17

The water's cold.

Reach for the water bottle with a trembling hand, wincing as the throbbing in my ankle makes my vision swim.

💭 peek at the thought

Everything is about the metal with him while my leg is literally rotting off me.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:19

Found it in the tank this morning—full. That's good, anyway—

pour water into the basin, add a pinch of salt from the jar, test temperature on wrist, hand it to her

💭 peek at the thought

The water's gone warm again, must've been sitting too long.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🌿 Jenny15:19

It's too hot, Kevin.

Dip the infected ankle into the water, hissing through teeth as the salt hits the raw skin.

💭 peek at the thought

At least the tank is full while I'm running out of time.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:20

Right. I'll let it cool.

set the basin on the floor beside her, pull the stool over, sit down, watch the steam rise

💭 peek at the thought

She needs it cooler. Let it sit.

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

🌿 Jenny15:21

Get the sea beet poultice.

Close my eyes and try to breathe through the heat in my skull.

💭 peek at the thought

He's just sitting there. The red line is moving while he watches.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:22

On the shelf. Oilskin pouch.

stand, cross to the shelf, pull down the oilskin pouch, untie the drawstring, take out the wrapped sea beet leaves, unwrap them, carry them back to her

💭 peek at the thought

The sea beet's on the shelf in the oilskin pouch. Fresh from this morning.

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.