Raging Lights [Irvine Work Thread]

Today was business as usual at High Spirits. Customers were coming in, trays were being propelled towards their tables by unseen forces, and overall, things were going nicely.
There was just one hitch in the day so far, and that hitch happened to be a party of six that were making one hell of a ruckus at their table. They weren’t even drunk – that table just so happened to be full of some of the most belligerent assholes that Junction had to offer.
It had been tolerable to a point, but it was getting pretty clear that they weren’t going to be welcome much longer, between the way they grated on the patron’s nerves, and the way they were grating on Irvine and Alice’s as well.
In fact, the white haired woman stomped off to the party’s table looking none too happy with them.

“Listen here, the lot of you!” She looked across the group, with a dangerous shine to her eye. ”Either you all calm your asses down, or you’re going to have to leave. Right. Now.”
They looked amongst themselves, and then burst out laughing, before going back to what they were doing before. Only this time, they were even louder, openly mocking her and her warning.
Narrowing her eyes, Alice took a sharp breath in through her teeth, making a visible effort not to hit them.  ”…fine, then. Clear the table.”
Suddenly, the lot of them found themselves trying to wrestle their dishes back to the table as they took off all of a sudden, straining themselves against the grasping hands of the belligerent party in an attempt to get themselves out of their reach. “The hell are you doing!? We aren’t done yet, you stupid bitch!”

It’s at this point Irvine approaches, and the lights seem to dim around him a moment. “I’d watch your language.” The smirk on his face has just as much of an edge to it as Alice’s gaze had before. “She told you before. Either the lot of you braindead assholes behave yourselves, or you don’t get the privilege of eating here any more.”
“Fuck you!”

One of them stands to take a swing at Irvine-
And find themselves suddenly hit in the back of the head by a tray moving far faster than it should.
With the sudden blow, their punch falters and falls short, and their legs wobble for a moment before giving out from beneath them, leaving them to simply collapse unconscious over the back of their chair.

Irvine can only give a victorious smirk at the swift comeuppance. “The rest of you want to try anything?” They glare at Irvine hatefully as he gives them the most shit eating grin he’s able to muster at that moment, and similarly harsh stares are sent at his co-worker and old friend, but in the end they just grumble and settle down without making a move. “Very nice! Now, let’s tally up what you owe us, and then you can leave with your idiot of a friend here without any more hassle. That sound good to the lot of you assholes?”
They grit their teeth, but nod their assent.
“Good! Then let’s get this all done already. After all – you don’t want to look like even more a set of fools than you already are, and I just don’t really want to deal with a cocky lot like you who think the rest of the world bends to your whims."

The following moments are decidedly tense, and at a few points it looks like a fight might actually break out in the restaurant after all, but in the end the group decides it’s not worth the hassle – or the risk of tray based injuries - and pays up, dragging their unconscious friend out with his arms over their shoulders.

Throughout all of this, Alice is still seething with anger, and it’s yet to simmer down even after they’re out the door. Even as she turns around to speak with Irvine, every word is coming out through gritted teeth. “Irvine…do you think you can handle it out here for a while? Because if there’s any more fucking pricks like those bastards, I’m pretty sure I’m going to deck them.”
Irvine just gives her a nod, grinning wide. “Go on, I’ve got this.”
“Thanks. I think I’m going to go help out Raymond for a while.” She stomps off, the sound of metal clad feet marking her exit into the kitchen, while Irvine waves her off. Once she’s gone, Irvine sighs, a wry smile on his lips.
”Don’t change, Ally. Don’t change.”

Thankfully, nothing of note happens from there. The operations of High Spirits run on like clockwork, customers being ushered in, seated and fed, before being given their bill and left to leave once they’ve paid. It was a little harder for Irvine to handle things until Alice had recovered enough to get back to working, admittedly, but the fact their spectral help did most of the work in making sure everything was where it needed to be really did a lot to take the load off.

As the restaurant is closing up, Irvine approaches Alice, giving her a quick wave as he comes closer. ”You holding up alright? Been a while since you’ve had to go cool off like that.”
She brushes it off, shaking her head and giving Irvine a weak smile. ”I’m fine, alright? I was just…just thinking about things before. Had stuff on my mind.”
His face falls a little as he hears that. ”…you don’t have to worry yourself about that. You know that, right?”
”Yeah…I just…”
“Come on, you two, no time to be miserable.” The pair turn to see Raymond approach, letting his hair down. “Been a bad day, but it’s done now. We can wrap this up, head home, and grab some Luractican Cream on the way.” Alice gives Raymond a hopeful look, a question lingering on the tip of her tongue. “Yes, they’re open again. Renovations finished a bit ago, and I have to admit the place is looking good.”

”You went without me?!” Alice shakes her head, her prior melancholy shaken off as she bounces in place. ”No, not important! They’re open! They’re FINALLY open!” She rushes to the door, half in and half out as she waves at her friends. ”What are you waiting for? Let’s go, now now now!”

The sound of friendly conversation travels down the streets as the trio lock up and get going.