I don't think that I'll ever get over how absolutely outstanding the opening scene is where you can kill a man in cold blood, awkwardly hand the victim your blade to defend herself in the future with and then rob the corpse for change so she can buy herself a meal down the road--all because you can't comfort a person normally.
Especially since the woman is both terrified and baffled but just goes along with it anyway. Lol.
Honestly, this is one my my favourite IF's, but that scene??? It is definitely my favourite over any other I have EVER read. Well done. And thank you for sharing this masterpiece. It's good to see you back again.