The Legend of Zelda: Restoration Age

Overworld Chapter 3 - Ko's Rock Steakhouse

 ...and started driving to meet his friends. Streetlights were beginning to turn on as Link drove through the laughably small downtown Oakpoint had. It was maybe five blocks wide, but there was everything you needed there. At least, almost everything. There was always the one thing you would need to drive an hour to the next town over to get.

The one thing Link needed tonight though was Ko's Rock. It was a local restaurant that had recently branched out to nearby towns, but at the end of the day, the original was always the best. There were few places in Deku Province where you could get a better steak, and for the main agriculture district of the country, that wasn't a huge surprise.

When Link pulled in, the dinner rush seemed to be clearing out. Of course, on a weeknight, he wasn't terribly surprised. Even for somewhere as popular as Ko's, school was still something people tended to care about, whether or not they themselves went.

Parking near the front, Link texted Dwarf asking where they were seated. As Link walked into the building, he felt his phone going off in his pocket. He sidestepped the hostess, and headed towards Dwarf, whose massive frame was difficult to miss among the locals of Oakpoint. He hadn't really needed to ask.

"I told you you would get it, Sayre," Dwarf shouted jovially as Link slid into the corner booth with everyone Dwarf had managed to get in for the evening on such short notice. "Like I said, this un's on me."

"You sure you should make promises like that, Dwarf," the only other young man at the table asked, leaning over the top of a menu. "Because I think I could eat a 22 oz. steak if you're paying for it."

"Jesse, behave," hissed one of the girls beside him. She combed back her hair behind her ear. So Cathy had been able to make it. Link doubted though that even Jesse's girlfriend would be able to keep Jesse in line. "Congrats, Link. I don't know why Dwarf thought we need to throw a party for it, but I'm glad you got a job."

"What do you mean this ain't reason enough to celebrate? We should always celebrate each other. That what friends mean, don't it?" Dwarf asked. He motioned for a server.

"But if we celebrate every time something good happens, then we'll never have any money for anything else," Cathy replied. When she saw that Dwarf was too busy trying to flag down a server, she just propped her head in her hand and let out a perturbed huff.

Autumn murmured, "It's because Dwarf's never had money issues, Cat. He just doesn't think the same way about it as we do."

Link winced a little at Autumn's comment. While it wasn't untrue, he was always irked by Autumn's seemingly inability to keep comments of that sort to herself. She ought to know how insensitive it sounded.

"If the man wants to buy us a meal, I say let the man buy us a meal," Jesse added. "He can afford it, so let him blow it how he wants."

Elbowing Jesse hard, Cathy retorted, "Why don't you give it a try then?"

As the two sunk into a bit of a spat, Link felt his phone buzz. He fished it out of his pocket. Brooke. He glanced across the table at the young zora woman as he read the message. "Congrats."

Link texted back. "Thanks. Don't want to join in the conversation tonight?"

"Show tomorrow. Vocal rest."

With a playful glare, Link studied Brooke for a moment. She grinned back. "Honest."

"Break a leg."

Finally, a server approached. She folded her pad back. "Y'all didn't need to holler." She glanced at Dwarf. "How can I help you?"

"Y'all have any of your house brew still on tap?" Dwarf asked, reaching for his wallet. The waitress nodded. "Alright, how many?" He pointed around the table, counting off as he went. "One, two, three, four. Sayre? You going to join us?"