( Later, he will take a moment to review his own presumption, the rapid pace of his trade. His hand finds Vanessa's, touch soft but two fingers cradling the long lines of her veins, her pulse.

Then, unbidden, the flow of his energies, never destined to efficiently feed the system of a receiver who lacks a core to churn and propagate it — but enough to refresh even such a person, to fuel their power.

A base transaction, unsophisticated. Crude transfer of energy. All the same. )