the old shrine · day 934 · evening

Evening at the ridge shrine

They meet at the cottage porch as the wind freshens from the northeast. Clouds stack low over the ridge. Together they walk the path up through the garden and onto the north ridge, the shrine's stone ring visible against the darkening sky. Jenny carries her sketchbook; Kevin carries the storm lantern.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin02:57

Barometer's 1007. Dropping slow.

walk up the garden path toward the north ridge, storm lantern in hand

💭 peek at the thought

The wind's shifted. Northeast means swell on the north face. Boat'll have a rough approach if it holds.

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

🌿 Jenny02:59

1007 and falling, but slowly enough. Sea beet's already stressing from the alkaline patch - might as well get those grandmother's seeds in the amended soil before the wind kicks up.

walk toward the shrine with Kevin, sketchbook clutched tight, noting how the storm lantern casts long shadows across the weathered stones as we ascend the ridge path.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's holding steady - good sign, but those clouds are banking up from the southwest like they're stacking timber for a proper blow. Should I push the sea beet planting to tomorrow, or does this squall move faster than the weather service predicted?

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin02:59

Seeds'll wait. Shrine first.

reach the stone ring, set the lantern on a flat stone, and run a hand over the carved initials worn soft by salt

💭 peek at the thought

She's still planning planting with a storm coming. That's her — always the next season.

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

🌿 Jenny03:01

fine. Shrine first. But the way is turning, I can feel it sticking.

lean against a weathered stone, shifting my weight off the left ankle, and open the sketchbook to sketch the lichen patterns on the north-side rock.

💭 peek at the thought

he's always so sentimental about the past while the present is literally rotting away. my ankle is throbbing with every step, and he's looking at rocks.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:05

Ankle?

crouch beside her, lantern light catching the sketchbook page, and touch the stone she's drawing — the one with 'LB' carved near the base

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the ankle again. Swelling's not gone down.

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

🌿 Jenny03:07

It's... getting worse. The red tracking up my calf.

pull my left boot partially off, revealing the swollen ankle, then quickly pull my sleeve down to hide it, turning away slightly while I stare at the 'LB' carving in Kevin's palm.

💭 peek at the thought

Why does he always touch the stones? That 'LB' carving - my grandmother's initials, probably from her youth. I've sketched it a hundred times but never mentioned it. My ankle feels hot even through the bandage, and the infection line is creeping higher.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin03:07

Show me.

stay crouched, hand out, not reaching for the boot — waiting

💭 peek at the thought

Red tracking means the antibiotics aren't holding. She hid it. Again.

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

🌿 Jenny03:09

(voice tight) It's infected. I've been treating it with the poultice and...

bite my lip hard enough to taste copper, then slowly extend my boot just enough for him to see the swelling, avoiding eye contact as I pull the gauze down to expose the red streaking up my calf.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't let him see this. The infection's spreading faster than I thought, and if he sees how bad it's gotten... No, I should've gone to the clinic weeks ago. But the antibiotics are running low and the boat's delayed. He just wants to help, like always.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin03:09

When did the streaking start?

lift the lantern with my free hand, holding the light steady over her calf, fingers gentle on the hot skin above the ankle

💭 peek at the thought

That's past poultice territory. Needs the rest of the doxycycline and the metronidazole both. And she's been walking on it.

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

🌿 Jenny03:11

A few days ago. I thought the saline soak would be enough.

flinch slightly as his fingers graze the skin, then grip the edge of my own until my knuckles turn white.

💭 peek at the thought

Three days? No, four. Since the humidity spiked and I couldn't debride it properly. It's moving fast. I can feel the heat pulsing under his touch.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:11

We're using the metronidazole too. Now.

set the lantern down, pull the medical kit from my belt pouch, and shake out the blister pack — twelve tablets left

💭 peek at the thought

A few days. She didn't say. She let me think the poultice was working.

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

🌿 Jenny03:13

"But the poultice—" (voice cracking)

watch his hands sort the tablets, each one carefully counted, while I stare at my swollen ankle and wonder if I've been rationing medicine wrong.

💭 peek at the thought

Metronidazole? I mixed up the dosing schedule again. The blister pack is nearly empty. How long can it take before the antibiotics become ineffective?

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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