DATE:  Saturday, June 13, 1998
Place:  Silverton Apartment, Apt. #101


---- Recall start ----

JJ Malone admits Cutter in with the smell of chicken chow mein and something 
   spicy sending out greasy tendrils of smell, closing the door behind the 
   theurge with his gun-filled left hand. He returns to the dining room table 
   and slips the gun back in the holster slung over his chair, returning to 
   food. "I was starving," he explains unapologetically.
Cutter shrugs. "Not a problem. Now, let's gimme my share an' you can fill me 
   in while I fill me in."
"Help yourself," the ahroun offers, and examples. After swallowing with little 
   time to chew, he begins filling Cutter in. "I need you to do a Summoning 
   for me, of a gremlin spirit. There's a gift someone in the Glass Walkers 
   needs to learn, and I'm the only one with the rank to learn it. 
   Unfortunately," he adds with a bitter scowl.
Cutter smirks as he fills a plate. "Ah, the trials of those who must lead. So 
   my job's t'make nice with this thing an' make it wanna help out?"
JJ Malone gives Cutter an acidic glare for his comment, but then fights down a 
   different response to nod. "Basically."
Cutter nods. "Sounds like I could do that easy enough." He takes a large 
   forkful of something wiggly and stuffs it into his mouth.
JJ Malone turns suddenly cautious. "Can you do it tonight?"
Cutter rolls his shoulders and, through a mouthful of noodles, says "S'why I'm 
   here, yeah?"
JJ Malone's mouth twitches with a smirk. "Could've been for the food. 
   Alright." He begins to eat more rapidly, not realizing he's doing it, 
   nervous tension beginning to fill him.
Cutter says "Food's fine. You got the vodka?""
JJ Malone points at the counter, where the bottle of Smirnoff's sits torch 
   like in the middle of it unsurrounded.
Cutter nods. "One shot's f'you, t'calm you down before you ignite. The rest is 
   f'me. Makes the blood flow a little easier."
JJ Malone shakes his head subtly if vigorously. "I'm more likely to lose it if 
   I drink that under this moon. I'm fine." Dinner apparently done, he 
   immediately reaches for the cigarettes and Bic on the table and lights up.
Cutter nods without hesitation, then grabs the bottle and uncorks it. "Where 
   we gonna do this thing? The house'd be good, I assume it's fairly safe even 
   on a fat moon."
JJ Malone leans back in his chair, exhaling a bluish plume of smoke upwards 
   into the air. "As safe as I can make it. Here's not too bad though, either. 
   I usually patrol it along with the realmside as part of my job."
Cutter nods. "That's what I meant. Crossin' over is gonna be more likely t'be 
   successful f'makin' contact." He looks around. "Mirror in th'bathroom?"
JJ Malone snorts, smiling with anger behind. "May not be a seer, but I'm not 
   an idiot about spirit matters." Without answering the question, he rises to 
   his feet, stuffing out what's left of his cigarette, and leads the way into 
   the bedroom and the full length mirror there. Provided Cutter follows, he 
   reaches through still wordlessly.
Cutter follows along, politely waiting for JJ to cross over completely before 
   slipping through effortlessly.
JJ Malone shifts up to glabro immediately after reaching through, drawing his 
   gun. Only then does he turn to look back at Cutter. ~Tell me what you want 
   me to do.~
You have shifted to Glabro form.
Cutter looks around. "Firstly, if it looks safe, holster. Second, have a seat 
   an' I'll see what I can come up with."
Shades takes the seat reluctantly, but doesn't holster. ~It looks safe, but 
   it's not. I usually wind up driving out at least one thing every night.~
Cutter nods. "Then watch m'back if ya would?" he asks, settling cross-legged 
   on the ground and tugging out a small knife.
Shades snorts, genuinely bemused, and nods. ~Of course.~ He sets about keeping 
   half an eye on the Umbral reflection of Silverton, the other on Cutter.
Cutter lets his eyes slide closed, and begins to recite a chant in a language 
   with lots of aspirants. The knife waves in the air, carving intricate 
   patterns. Occasionally, the word 'gremlin' is audible.
Shades tries to sit patiently. Really, he does. But as Cutter's Ritual goes 
   on, he's up on his feet again and prowling around watchfully.
Cutter fails to notice the Walker's impatience. Without warning, the chanting 
   pauses and he slashes the blade across the palm of his hand and then makes 
   a fist around the wound, squeezing droplets of blood onto the floor.
Shades mutters something under his breath, the only thing recognizable being 
   "Rangers" which sounds as if it's audible only because it was stressed as 
   he mutters, continuing to pace. His attention outwards increases, though, 
   expectation of an arrival rising.
There is a crackle and the faint smell of ozone, and a high-pitched grunt from 
   near Cutter.
Shades's nose wrinkles at the acrid-sharp smell of ozone, and he glances back 
   quickly at the grunt to make sure the Shadow Lord is still in one piece.
Clambering out of the blood pool before the Lord is a three-inch long 
   creature, glistening black in the moonlight. It looks like an unfortunate 
   cross between a spider and a brownie.
Shades startles, but recovers quickly. Tension squares the ahroun's shoulders. 
   He gives on last sweep of the horizon before turning more towards Cutter 
   and the summoned spirit, balancing on the balls of his feet restlessly. A 
   mirror-shaded gaze rests on the theurge.
Cutter leans forward slightly, offering a finger for the thing to clamber up 
   on. once it's securely fastened to him, he lifts it up until it's level 
   with his face.
Shades's mouth compresses as he holds back impatience, but it's clear from how 
   often he keeps shifting his weight and looks at Cutter and the gremlin that 
   he is.
Cutter lifts his eyes briefly to look at JJ. "He says he .could. help." Then 
   he turns back to his silent conversation.
Shades waits for a few seconds before words finally escape him. "Does he want 
   anything in return?"
Cutter bobs his head. "Mm hm. You got any home appliances y'ain't usin'?" he 
   asks quietly, not losing eye contact with the spirit.
Shades grimaces, going thoughtful momentarily to think. ~He can have my 
   toaster.~
Cutter bobs his head again. "Go get it?"
Shades looks towards the kitchen. ~I can show you both where it's at in the 
   realm. I doubt it's over here.~
Cutter stands slowly and carefully, then deliberately walks toward the 
   kitchen, still watching the spirit carefully.
Shades leads the way, then points to a lower cabinet door. ~It's just in 
   there.~
Cutter crouches down, and the thing leaps off his finger, scuttling into the 
   cupboard. After a moment, Cutter looks up. "He says it'll do. And his name 
   is Zzats."
Shades smiles thinly but his expression is grim, relieved the spirit agreed 
   but already realizing the daunting task before him. ~Ask him, for me, what 
   he wants me to do first. And, if he's going to make himself understandable 
   to me for this, or if I'm going to need a translator every night.~
Cutter looks down again. "He says it should become obvious. Very soon. And the 
   first thing you should do is plug this in."
Shades grimaces again, realization of what will probably happen when he does 
   already in his expression. But, he nods. ~Alright. Should we go back, 
   then?~ he asks, with a trace of reluctance.
Cutter nods. "Nothing more t'be done here," he announces, standing and 
   brushing off his knees. "You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din."
Shades shakes his head, as he makes his way back to the mirror in the bedroom. 
   ~I wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't need,~ he admits, reluctance 
   greater now, the image of a child dragging its feet after being called to 
   task by a parent.
Cutter nods. "Lemme know if you need... help or somethin'."
Shades pauses at the mirror, shifting down then turning back to the Shadow 
   Lord to nod. "Later, I will. There's also some talens Jayson needs made. 
   And, I should ask Nigel or Jayson about possibly having you teach them how 
   to Summon themselves."
Cutter nods. "We'll talk. Uh, for folks I'm not attached to, like ex-packmates 
   or somethin', there may be an obeisance."
You have shifted to Homid form.
JJ Malone's mouth twitches. "That's fine. Someone'll work it out." He turns 
   back to the mirror and reaches through, waiting for Cutter before heading 
   to the kitchen. There, he takes a slightly deeper breath and pulls the 
   toaster out of the cabinet right where he'd indicated it would be, then 
   clears a big a space on the counter as he can before settling it on it. A 
   piece of whole wheat bread goes into the slot marked 'One Slice' a moment 
   afterwards. He pauses then, and mutters, "Here goes." Then plugs it in.
That whiff of ozone drifts through the room, but quickly vanishes. Apart from 
   that, nothing seems to have happened. Cutter watches placidly.
JJ Malone's nostrils twitch, picking the scent up, and tension increases. 
   Another breath, this time deeper, and he pushes down the lever to start the 
   bread toasting.
The smell of hot bread now fills the room. The tension builds as nothing seems 
   to continue to happen. The sound of the toast popping is loud in the quiet 
   room. Cutter slowly reaches out to take hold of it, and displays it to JJ. 
   On both sides, a delicately shaded portrait of a cherubic smiling face in 
   charred bread.
JJ Malone looks startled. He takes the bread from Cutter and examines it 
   slowly, before saying, "I can only hope this is the worst it does with it."
Cutter eyes JJ skeptically. "I don't guess the phrase 'livin' in a dream 
   world' means anything to ya."
JJ Malone snorts. "I can hope, can't I?" he retorts acidly, then puts the 
   bread aside. "Anyway, thanks, Cutter. I'll catch up with you later about 
   the talens."
Cutter nods. "Thanks f'dinner. I'll check in on ya if I don't hear anything."
"Thanks," the ahroun says again. "Give me a call if you need a hand with stuff 
   down by the river. Night."

---- Recall end ----