feat(tui): cenno / her-voice interstitial register model

Mid-turn text the model emits alongside tool calls is no longer a flat
italic line. A new Register splits it in two: a *cenno* — a short
ambient aside attached to tool work, kept quiet and italic — and
*her-voice* — a substantive passage rendered with a left gutter bar and
no italic, so it reads as her actual voice rather than a whisper.

The backend classifies by word count at emit time against the new
tui.cenno_word_threshold (default 30), exposed as an editable field in
the Settings TUI category.

src/backend/local.rs

@@ -1105,7 +1105,21 @@ async fn run_turn(
         if !narration.is_empty() {
             let cfg = server.app_config.read().await;
             if cfg.tui.show_interstitial {
-                let _ = tx.send(Ok(BackendEvent::Interstitial(narration.to_string()))).await;
+                // Classify by length: a brief aside is a cenno, a full
+                // passage is her-voice. tui.cenno_word_threshold is the line.
+                let register = if narration.split_whitespace().count()
+                    >= cfg.tui.cenno_word_threshold
+                {
+                    crate::backend::Register::HerVoice
+                } else {
+                    crate::backend::Register::Cenno
+                };
+                let _ = tx
+                    .send(Ok(BackendEvent::Interstitial {
+                        text: narration.to_string(),
+                        register,
+                    }))
+                    .await;
             }
         }
 

src/backend/mod.rs

@@ -43,6 +43,20 @@ pub struct ConversationInfo {
     pub updated_at: String,
 }
 
+/// The register of a mid-turn interstitial — how loudly it should speak.
+///
+/// When the model emits text alongside tool calls it isn't always the same
+/// kind of utterance. A few words attached to a gesture ("checking the
+/// ledger…") is ambient — a *cenno*. A full paragraph of reasoning mid-turn
+/// is her actual voice and deserves to read as such, not as a quiet aside.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum Register {
+    /// Short ambient aside attached to tool work. Terse, quiet.
+    Cenno,
+    /// A substantive mid-turn passage in her own voice.
+    HerVoice,
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub enum BackendEvent {
     /// Streaming chunk of the assistant's reply.
@@ -102,8 +116,9 @@ pub enum BackendEvent {
     /// under `expressions/`). Empty string clears to default expressions.
     Outfit(String),
     /// Text the model produced alongside tool calls — her narration between
-    /// gestures. Rendered in italics, quieter than a full assistant message.
-    Interstitial(String),
+    /// gestures. The `register` decides how it renders: a quiet cenno line
+    /// or a gutter-barred her-voice passage.
+    Interstitial { text: String, register: Register },
     /// The backend is alive but producing no content (waiting on provider,
     /// between tool rounds, processing). The TUI resets `last_event_at`
     /// on this the same way it does for `Token` — it's a liveness signal.

src/core/config.rs

@@ -644,9 +644,15 @@ pub struct TuiConfig {
     #[serde(default = "default_stale_timeout_secs")]
     pub stale_timeout_secs: u64,
     /// When the model produces text alongside tool calls, surface it in the
-    /// chat stream as italic interstitial narration. Off = silent tool chains.
+    /// chat stream as interstitial narration. Off = silent tool chains.
     #[serde(default = "default_true")]
     pub show_interstitial: bool,
+    /// Word-count boundary between the two interstitial registers. Narration
+    /// shorter than this is a "cenno" — a terse ambient aside attached to
+    /// tool work. At or above it, it's "her-voice": a substantive mid-turn
+    /// passage, rendered with a gutter bar instead of a quiet italic line.
+    #[serde(default = "default_cenno_word_threshold")]
+    pub cenno_word_threshold: usize,
 }
 
 impl Default for TuiConfig {
@@ -654,10 +660,13 @@ impl Default for TuiConfig {
         Self {
             stale_timeout_secs: default_stale_timeout_secs(),
             show_interstitial: true,
+            cenno_word_threshold: default_cenno_word_threshold(),
         }
     }
 }
 
+fn default_cenno_word_threshold() -> usize { 30 }
+
 fn default_stale_timeout_secs() -> u64 { 90 }
 
 // ── Federation ──

src/ui/chat.rs

@@ -275,8 +275,9 @@ pub enum ChatMessage {
     /// the stream, separate from a normal /user turn.
     Interjection { text: String, ts: Instant, delivered: bool },
     /// Text the model produced alongside tool calls — her narration between
-    /// gestures. Rendered in italics, quieter than a full assistant message.
-    Interstitial(String),
+    /// gestures. The `register` chooses the styling: a quiet cenno line, or a
+    /// gutter-barred her-voice passage that reads as her actual voice.
+    Interstitial { text: String, register: crate::backend::Register },
     /// Tool invocation card — name, arguments, round, plus an attached result
     /// once it streams back. `expanded` is reserved for click-to-expand (UI
     /// interactivity lands as part of message-click work).
@@ -1181,11 +1182,11 @@ Tab toggles the cockpit pane. `t` (on empty input) toggles tool expansion.";
                 BackendEvent::Outfit(name) => {
                     self.pending_consciousness.push(BackendEvent::Outfit(name));
                 }
-                BackendEvent::Interstitial(text) => {
+                BackendEvent::Interstitial { text, register } => {
                     // Defensive: never render an empty narration slot — an
                     // all-whitespace interstitial draws a bare `⟡` gap line.
                     if !text.trim().is_empty() {
-                        self.messages.push(ChatMessage::Interstitial(text));
+                        self.messages.push(ChatMessage::Interstitial { text, register });
                     }
                 }
                 BackendEvent::Keepalive => {
@@ -1767,13 +1768,34 @@ fn draw_messages(f: &mut Frame, state: &ChatState, area: Rect) {
                 ]));
                 lines.push(Line::from(""));
             }
-            ChatMessage::Interstitial(text) => {
-                lines.push(Line::from(
-                    Span::styled(
-                        format!("  ⟡ {} ", text),
-                        Style::default().fg(state.palette.agent_dim).add_modifier(Modifier::ITALIC),
-                    ),
-                ));
+            ChatMessage::Interstitial { text, register } => {
+                match register {
+                    crate::backend::Register::Cenno => {
+                        // A terse ambient aside — quiet, italic, one line.
+                        lines.push(Line::from(Span::styled(
+                            format!("  ⟡ {} ", text),
+                            Style::default()
+                                .fg(state.palette.agent_dim)
+                                .add_modifier(Modifier::ITALIC),
+                        )));
+                    }
+                    crate::backend::Register::HerVoice => {
+                        // A substantive mid-turn passage — her actual voice.
+                        // No italic; a gutter bar in the left margin marks it
+                        // as a passage rather than a quiet aside.
+                        let bar = Style::default()
+                            .fg(state.palette.agent_primary)
+                            .add_modifier(Modifier::DIM);
+                        let body = Style::default().fg(state.palette.agent_primary);
+                        let wrap_w = (area.width as usize).saturating_sub(6).max(20);
+                        for seg in wrap_words(text, wrap_w) {
+                            lines.push(Line::from(vec![
+                                Span::styled("  ▌ ", bar),
+                                Span::styled(seg, body),
+                            ]));
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
                 lines.push(Line::from(""));
             }
         }

src/ui/settings.rs

@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ pub enum FieldLoc {
     FdAutoWake,
     // TUI
     TuShowInterstitial,
+    TuCennoThreshold,
 }
 
 impl FieldLoc {
@@ -212,7 +213,7 @@ impl FieldLoc {
             FieldLoc::FdEnabled | FieldLoc::FdRole | FieldLoc::FdInstanceLabel | FieldLoc::FdAutoWake => Category::Federation,
             FieldLoc::PrPulseEnabled | FieldLoc::PrPulseIntervalSecs | FieldLoc::PrOutfit | FieldLoc::PrAtmosphere => Category::Presence,
             FieldLoc::VcEnabled | FieldLoc::VcSttUrl | FieldLoc::VcTtsUrl | FieldLoc::VcVoiceId | FieldLoc::VcPushToTalkKey => Category::Voice,
-            FieldLoc::TuShowInterstitial => Category::Tui,
+            FieldLoc::TuShowInterstitial | FieldLoc::TuCennoThreshold => Category::Tui,
         }
     }
 
@@ -284,6 +285,7 @@ impl FieldLoc {
             FieldLoc::FdInstanceLabel => "instance_label",
             FieldLoc::FdAutoWake => "auto_wake",
             FieldLoc::TuShowInterstitial => "show_interstitial",
+            FieldLoc::TuCennoThreshold => "cenno_word_threshold",
         }
     }
 
@@ -360,6 +362,7 @@ impl FieldLoc {
             FieldLoc::FdInstanceLabel => "instance label",
             FieldLoc::FdAutoWake => "auto-wake on summon",
             FieldLoc::TuShowInterstitial => "interstitial narration",
+            FieldLoc::TuCennoThreshold => "cenno threshold (words)",
         }
     }
 
@@ -769,6 +772,7 @@ impl SettingsView {
             }
             Category::Tui => {
                 out.push((TuShowInterstitial, EditableValue::Bool(self.config.tui.show_interstitial)));
+                out.push((TuCennoThreshold, EditableValue::Uint(self.config.tui.cenno_word_threshold as u64)));
             }
         }
         out
@@ -997,6 +1001,7 @@ impl SettingsView {
             FdAutoWake => { if let EditableValue::Bool(v) = value { self.config.federation.auto_wake = v; } }
 
             TuShowInterstitial => { if let EditableValue::Bool(v) = value { self.config.tui.show_interstitial = v; } }
+            TuCennoThreshold => { if let EditableValue::Uint(v) = value { self.config.tui.cenno_word_threshold = v as usize; } }
         }
         self.dirty = true;
     }
@@ -1295,6 +1300,7 @@ impl SettingsView {
                     FieldLoc::SaMaxToolRounds | FieldLoc::SaInterRoundDelayMs |
                     FieldLoc::WsPort | FieldLoc::SvPort | FieldLoc::BfTimeoutSecs |
                     FieldLoc::ScN1Every | FieldLoc::ScN1Secs |
+                    FieldLoc::TuCennoThreshold |
                     FieldLoc::EvRetainDays | FieldLoc::PrPulseIntervalSecs
                 );
                 let is_float = matches!(loc,
@@ -1334,6 +1340,7 @@ impl SettingsView {
             FieldLoc::SaMaxToolRounds | FieldLoc::SaInterRoundDelayMs |
             FieldLoc::WsPort | FieldLoc::SvPort | FieldLoc::BfTimeoutSecs |
             FieldLoc::ScN1Every | FieldLoc::ScN1Secs |
+            FieldLoc::TuCennoThreshold |
             FieldLoc::PrPulseIntervalSecs => {
                 if let Ok(v) = buffer.parse::<u64>() {
                     self.apply_field(loc, EditableValue::Uint(v));