A Polka-Dotted Wrapup [Irvine Work Thread]

Closing time. Another day of work, another batch of satisfied customers.
Hell, Raymond even got to experiment a little today. A woman that looked like some sort of cross between a starfish and a mole came in and ordered a chef’s special using one of the lesser used ingredients that’s kept in stock just in case of dietary needs. Much as you can get away with using a lot of the same ingredients for most of the species on Junction without risking their health (or offending their palettes), there were some niche dietary needs just common enough that you would be a fool not to make certain you were prepared to cater to them when you made a living off the food you served.
Even as a niche though, Regula was seriously uncommon. The…fish, apparently, looked like a green, hairless rat with fins, its body encased in some sort of external ribcage that was fused with its annoyingly tough flesh. Needless to say, it was unattractive, and somewhat tricky to prepare. Then there was the fact it tasted like some unholy cross between sardines, sourballs, and Irvine’s attitude to Junction’s high-lifers.
An acquired taste at best for most – and that was just if you could eat the thing without your stomach initiating immediate revolt. But Raymond worked with it, and the lady loved the result.

The curious folks that saw her appreciation of the dish and decided to try despite the warnings they were given? Not so much.
It was the sort of moment that made you glad you didn’t have to do all the cleaning yourself.

Trying distinctly to get her mind off all the vomiting that had been happening that day, let alone the altogether too enthusiastic reactions of the day’s special customer to the events, Alice returned to doing the last checks before they locked up and left for the day. Nothing had been left about, everything was either put away or left in its proper place, and there wasn’t anything particularly stubborn to clean up. Derrick and Muriel were complaining that nobody else had gone to deal with the vomit, but she knew them well enough to know they were leaping ahead of everyone else to do the task just so they could whine about it later.
The ways people occupied themselves once they had left their mortal bodies were certainly curious sometimes.
Happy with her findings, she calls over to Irvine. “All done over here! Gonna check in on Ray, see if he needs a hand!”
“Gotcha! I’ll be fine out here!”
Nodding with a satisfied smile on her face, she heads to the back and hurdles over the display zone into the kitchen area.

Back in the place where all the cooking happens, things seemed far more busy than they were out front. Dishes floated to sinks that were practically alive, water driving into their contours as little brushes made with porous stone worked away at the more stubborn remnants of dishes long past. Once they were done being cleaned to a pristine shines, they were floated out only to be subject to hot, dry winds, evaporating and blowing away the droplets that clung to them. Only then once they were closed did they find their ways to cupboards that opened and closed to meet them. A couple of the menus were even floating through the air in some bizarre game, bouncing from point to point in the air and being sent from surface to surface.
And that was just what everyone else saw. Alice’s eyes were privy to the childlike bodies of gentle wind that tossed about the menus, her ears privy to the efforts of coordination between the tempestuous form and the searing pillar coordinating to make some of the harsh gales that managed to get things dry without breaking anything in the process. Alphonse seemed to be on cupboard duty today, much to his displeasure…he’d probably be bugging Irvine for a spot on his next trip.

Walking through the ethereal bodies that clogged the room, Alice strode up next to Raymond, whose bespectacled eyes seemed to be peering intently into the freezer. “Alright, what’s the problem now?”
“Nothing to be concerned with. Just short more icecream than expected. Nothing to be concerned with, but we will need to get more with the rest of our ingredients.” He closes up the freezer, and turns his head to the white haired girl beside him. “We should be fine until we next stock up. Are you done out front?”
“I was. Irvine was still going when I left him. Probably should…” Out in the front, the sound of the door opening and closing can be heard. “Great…somebody can’t read a sign.”
Raymond sighs, and looks around as the sound of Irvine talking to the late visitor reaches their ears. “I think I was done here anyway. Let’s go see what’s going on.”

“…simply must know who that angel was!”
“You really want a chance with her, you can-“
“The woman? Ye gods, no! I would sooner streak through the Top Ward!”
As the pair came in the front, Alice was already pissed off at what she had heard, and a glare was soon turned the way of this tasteless intruder. By the door was a garish sight – a pale skinned baseline male with bright green hair styled into a pompadour, dressed in a yellow suit covered in large, blue polka dots. Her words came as a snarl as they were directed his way. “Hey! If you have something to say, say it to my face!”
The man glanced her way, just to dismiss her in the following moment, tutting. “You see? This is what I mean. So angry. So touchy. Not like-“ His eyes widen in realisation, and his gaze snaps onto Raymond next to her, licking his lips. “You…”
To his credit, Raymond seemed unfazed. “And to what do I owe the pleasure?”
A sensuous smile on his face, the man struts over to Raymond. “I just came here for the pleasure of your name. Call me Eraqus. And you~?”
He only receives a somewhat flat look in return. “Raymond.”
“Oh, so cold, so cold…but I like that. After all…it’ll make it all the better once you finally warm up. I’ve seen you at work…and I can’t wait to have that heat for myself.” Eraqus struts back to the door, before turning back to look at the object of his desire, raising a flat hand and waving his fingers at him. “I’ll be seeing you later, Raymond…~”

The door opens and closes as the man leaves, and as Alice continues to glare towards it, Irvine gives Raymond an amused smirk as the red-haired man pinches his nose and takes a sharp breath out. “Great…another one.”