triton the true bi king, bro has a thing for cool powerful knightly men or sweet and cute princesses . . .
the cute sea slug zora oc belongs to my friend @acandyrushi and they're both very in love with each other, meanwhile Link isn't really interested at all in Triton lmao, bro can always try again next time . . .
Lily Maybank had never given a single shit about Rafe Cameron, in fact she might've even hated him at one point. Rafe Cameron hadn't ever really given a shit about Lily Maybank either - he'd been too focused on terrorising her brother.
Trigger warnings for mentions of abuse, violence, threats, guns, blood, drugs, stalking, controlling behaviour etc
Word count: 4.5k
Masterlist | Part Three
Part Four
The sun had already started to set behind the imposing, white bricks of the Country Club when Rafe aimlessly pulled out of the parking lot, driving slowly along the palm tree lined road into Figure Eight.
"So, where do you want to go?" He turned to Lily and asked, casually resting the elbow of his steering arm against the window.
Lily shrugged. She had no idea. All of the places that she would usually go to to get a drink were in the Cut and she didn't particularly want to bring the Kook Prince into any such establishments. Nor did she want to risk bumping into her father. All of the places that she knew Rafe would go to get a drink would require a nicer set of clothes, an unbruised face and a lot of money to gain entry, and then she would be surrounded by obnoxious rich people - and not be getting paid for it.
"I don't know. You decide." She mumbled and Rafe was quick to respond, almost as if he'd read her mind.
"Well we've not got a whole load of options, but I know this nice little diner that's sort of tucked away. The drive is around thirty minutes. How's that sound?"
Lily nodded, looking pleased, and replied "Sounds good. They serve booze?"
Rafe let his lips pull into an amused grin, watching her out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, they do. But if you're really wanting to nurse yourself right now there's a few tucked under the seat. They're warm though."
"Why doesn't that surprise me." She mused, feeling around under the soft leather with her chapped fingers.
She cracked the can open with a low fizz and brought it swiftly to her lips, having no reaction to the bitter taste as Rafe had expected her to. But then he supposed that she was probably used to drinking warm, cheap beer. He could easily envision her laid out across the hot, rocky sand of her local beach with big, cracked sunglasses on, and a can of Busch Lite in her hand.
"Just keep an eye out for cops." He muttered.
"Obviously. Paranoid are we?" She smiled in teasing amusement.
"No, just sensible." He replied matter-of-factly, but then felt his assertion falter when Lily's amusement continued into her next statement.
"The ring under your nose says otherwise."
Rafe lifted his finger up to his face and gently traced it under the tip of his nose, disappointed when he felt that some small white granules of powder had in fact collected around his left nostril. He tried to play it off casually as he used his knuckle to rub the residue away, but Lily could see the slight tightening of his jaw and decided not to push that button further.
"Not that I'm judging. I mean, hey- I wouldn't say no to some."
Rafe raised an eyebrow in a mix of teasing curiosity, instantly relieved by her statement. He wondered if she used drugs regularly or if she was just desperate for an escape from her own head in that moment. It was hard to tell. She looked calm - relaxed even - but her eyes said something else.
"Open the glove compartment, there's a tin in there. But don't do too much - it's strong stuff." He said lowly and then chuckled, adding "Definitely better than whatever you've been getting."
Lily rolled her eyes but found herself smiling nonetheless as she followed his instruction, found the tin and then got her keys from her bag in order to only do a light bump.
"Probably. It's not like I ever buy this shit anyway." She replied, then brought the key to her nose and inhaled the powder.
"You want one?"
"Just a bump." He said, like he was somehow providing evidence that he wasn't an addict by not doing a line.
Lily buried her key into the little baggie again, scooping out a small pile of the cocaine before carefully lifting it to Rafe's nostril. He naturally inhaled it swiftly, cautious for a multitude of reasons, but it was the closest that Lily had ever gotten to touching him, and he wished that he could've let her hold it there for a little longer. Even after she lowered her hand he could still feel the trace of her warmth next to his upper lip.
He did another hard snort and watched her put his tin away, his eyes darting between her and the road. In the fading light her injuries were less visible, only occasionally illuminated by the passing white beam of a street lamp or another drivers headlights, but in those split seconds of visibility, Rafe found it hard not to picture the brute force of which Luke must've hit her with.
He wondered if she'd fought back, or if she'd just submitted and taken the beating.
"So, you been up to much?" Lily mumbled, trying not to look at him too much and instead deciding to focus on braiding the ends of her hair.
It was hard not to sneak glances. He was just so handsome. But she refused to fall for his charm.
"Like what?" Rafe returned and she scrunched up her nose.
"I don't know. Like partying and playing video games or whatever it is you do. It's a pretty standard question."
Rafe shrugged with a half amused expression.
"To be honest, I've not been up to much. Mostly just chilling with Topper and playing video games. So you were half right. You?"
Lily sipped on her beer before answering, wondering if he was telling the truth and if he truly hadn't been at Elle Mcneil's party like she'd just assumed from that Instagram post. It would be a weird thing to lie about. Why did it matter anyway?
"Not much either I guess. I would usually be working but with this shit weather there's barely any shifts at the Country Club... That's the most annoying thing about this" she gestured towards her face "- I really needed to work today.. I need the hours."
Rafe raised his brow much more incredulously than he had at her request for cocaine. He went to speak but then caught the words along the inner lining of his teeth, rethinking if Lily would be offended or not.
"She's more bothered by loosing hours than by her dad beating the shit out of her? That's crazy." He thought, and then adopted a tone softer than he'd been prepared to.
"If you need money for like groceries and stuff I can chuck you a fifty right now. Is that enough?"
Lily's blue rimmed eyes widened in disbelief and she let out a shocked, dry laugh. She felt embarrassed to hear Rafe Cameron speak to her like that - with pity - and she tried to deflect it.
"You're joking, right?" She half gasped, half snorted.
Rafe's eyebrows furrowed; confusion or annoyance she couldn't tell.
"No. Why would I be?"
She paused for a moment, feeling unable to honestly answer the question without sounding like a complete bitch. "Because you're a self absorbed Kook with no knowledge of the real world and no empathy for other humans." She couldn't say that.
And then she reconsidered that thought anyway, wondering what evidence it was based off of. Sure, he certainly seemed to fit all of the Kook stereotypes and she had certainly heard a lot of things about him, but she'd never even bothered to try to see him as anything beyond a brat up until three weeks ago.
Was she just as ignorant as a Kook for that?
She thought of the coke and booze so brazenly laying about Rafe's car.
No. There was no way that she was anywhere on the level of ignorance as him.
This was just Rafe Cameron's charm working, and she wouldn't let it.
"Look, I- uh appreciate it. But no thanks. I'll make my own way. Thanks though." She replied with a struggle to not sound awkward.
Rafe felt no surprise upon hearing that rejection and chuckled again, able to cast her a longer look on the straight, empty road ahead.
"So you'll accept booze and yayo from me but not grocery money. You a secret party girl or something? What's going on here?" He teased and Lily couldn't help but chuckle.
"Absolutely not. No- I'm not on good behaviour tonight. But I've earned this... Usually I am like stone cold sober - except for weed, that doesn't count."
"Yeah sure, I totally believe you." Rafe answered sarcastically then quickly added before she could argue "Now what is this you say about not being on good behaviour tonight? You wanna rob a bank or something?"
"Maybe. If you have the plans drawn up and ready I don't see why not." She replied in a deadpan tone, seriously considering the idea of robbing a bank with Rafe Cameron for a second.
Then she started to giggle, and he joined in with a deeper laugh.
"You're kind of crazy, you know?" He joked and she shook her head despite the smile that had remained on her lips.
"Hardly. You're the one driving around with beer and powder. Although I guess your dad can just pay the fine and you'd be home free anyway."
Rafe rolled his eyes at that.
"Yeah and meanwhile your dad can like just snort meth and then beat you up, right?"
Lily's smile dropped, though her chest still prickled with excited energy, turning to face Rafe and saying sassily "He doesn't even do meth, for starters. And he barely beats me up. This is a one off."
"Okay sure." Rafe replied sarcastically, balancing a mix of offence and insult on his tongue. "Well my dad doesn't bail me out of every single situation. So what have we both learnt here? Not to make assumptions about each other."
Lily couldn't help but snort at that, laughing slightly at his serious expression, unable to honestly disagree.
"Okay then, damn. I guess you're right. I've learnt a lesson today."
"And we'll keep on learning them!" He declared playfully.
"Until we're just unstoppable festering masses of knowledge?" Lily suggested plainly, earning a snort from Rafe.
"Yep. Precisely. Until that."
The diner was on the outskirts of town, tucked away next to petrol station less than half a mile from the one bridge off the island. There was one truck parked outside it, but besides that both of the establishments seemed to be pretty much empty. Unkept bushes grew along the side of the diner's faded opal paint, reaching up to the large, spotless windows, illuminated by the neon red flashing sign reading "Danny's Diner" besides a smaller blue neon sign reading "Open".
Lily hesitated before opening the car door, looking at the vinyl seats and steel tables through the windows and wondering what the hell she was doing there. Was this a date? Was she on a date with Rafe Cameron? Surely not.
Then she remembered her earlier decision to stop thinking, and with a swift breath pulled on the black handle and lowered herself onto the cracked tarmac. She was in a pair of jeans and a large, black hoodie that had previously been enough to keep the cold out. Now that her adrenaline had dropped though, her bones felt cold, aided only slightly by the cocaine and a bit more by the beer.
Rafe noticed her shiver as he held open the restaurant door for her and thought about offering his coat, but he knew she would decline. So instead he stood behind her, letting her lead the trail through the selection of empty seats, expecting her to pick one next to the window but instead opting for the back corner. Lily was drawn to places where she could see everyone in the room out of habit, and though there was no one there, having her back exposed would give her anxiety that she couldn't be bothered to deal with. Rafe didn't question her decision.
They sat down opposite each other and for a few moments no one spoke. Lily skimmed through the laminated menu, deciding what she wanted pretty quickly and then watched Rafe make his decision. It was a weird angle for her to see him at - face to face across a table, with proper lighting and no rules for her to follow.
If she really wanted to she could cuss him out - she wasn't at work after all. But she didn't even want to do that - the realisation of which irritated her greatly. She had no desire to call him a rich douchebag or any other of the hundreds of insults she would've in the past. She just wanted to relax with Rafe Cameron - was that a crime? A part of her felt like it was. She could picture how perplexed and disappointed Kiara and Gina would be - how angrily JJ would respond.
Rafe looked up from the menu and she quickly blinked, trying to act as if she hadn't been studying him for the last minute.
"Right, what you wanting?" He asked with a sly grin.
Lily replied with a sheepish smile "Waffles with ice cream and whatever beer they’ve got, please" and Rafe nodded, heading to the counter.
She watched him talk to the man behind the till with effortless ease, the two of them sharing a light laugh before Rafe handed over three twenty dollar bills and then mumbled "Keep the change." A part of her suddenly started to feel anxious upon seeing the exchange of money, wondering if Rafe was just feigning this kindness in order to pressure her into sex later. Dinner from a man was rarely ever free after all - not in her experience anyway. That feeling only increased as he turned around with a smug expression on his face, in his arms a tray with two milkshakes, two beers and two short glasses with what looked to be Coca Cola in them - meaning they were certainly mixed with a spirit.
Rafe saw the slight furrow between her brows, his smile dropping as he sat down.
"Do you not like milkshakes or something? I did order the waffles too."
"No, it's not that.. I just-" The words were hard to get out whilst staring him in the face, but she managed to assertively say "Don't think I'm gonna have sex with you just because you're buying me dinner... okay?"
And although, undeniably so, part of Rafe's motivation to be kind to Lily was purely lust based, he feigned offence at her suggestion.
"I don't want to have sex with you.. not for a cheap meal. Jeez. Don't you think I'd pay a bit more than that?" He scoffed and Lily thinned her eyes, uncomfortably crossing her arms across her chest.
Rafe quickly turned his frown into an apologetic smile, mentally kicking himself for saying the wrong thing again. Usually everything that he said was right, and when it wasn't no one corrected him.
"I take it back. That was a bad joke." He put up his hands in mock defence "What I should've said is chill out. I'm not expecting anything from you."
Lily nodded at that, saying nothing, and took a long sip of her milkshake, then cracked open the cold bottle of Budweiser and took an even longer sip of that. Rafe moved his lips slowly towards the straw of his milkshake, feeling slightly awkward, but somewhat comfortable nonetheless.
In the warm lighting of the diner and without her hood down, the injuries on Lily's face were far more visible. Rafe studied the details of them - able to see the shapes of where Luke's fingers had directly hit through the different patterns of pigments and understand the pain of each bruise. He'd received his fair share of beatings from his own father after all. But that was different. This was different.
She was a girl. And girls shouldn't get hit by men - especially not their dads. That goes without saying. But it's not like he'd ever really cared about that before. When Molly Davis had invited him around for a fuck about a year prior, she had a two day old black eye from her dad for some undisclosed reason. Whatever it had been he figured that she'd probably deserved it, and he'd just made her bend over when he fucked her so he didn't have to look at it.
Maybe if Molly had looked as hurt as Lily he would've cared more - but he doubted it.
There was just something about the girl in front of him that he couldn't put his finger on; guardedness and vulnerability, anger and kindness, an ice cold expression and a bout of innocent laughter. He wondered if maybe Lily was just an actually nice person - so unlike the ones he was used to - and that's why he cared.
"I mean she works all the time. She was always sticking up for the freaks in school. I've never heard any stupid gossip about her being mean or cruel to anyone. She doesn't even really hang around with her shithead brother." He weakly mentally reasoned to himself, because realistically he knew that he knew next to nothing about her.
The only thing that he really knew was that she was strikingly beautiful, even with a beaten up face. She'd always been pretty, even as an awkward teenager, but there was something else now making her much more captivating - to Rafe at least. He decided to break the silence.
"You know, I always thought you hated me for the longest time."
Lily looked up, pulling her lips away from the red straw of her milkshake, and responded bluntly.
"Well I didn't like you. And I don't think you liked me either. Only changed your mind when you saw how hot I got."
Rafe grinned at that.
"Have you not done the exact same thing with me?"
She couldn't help but smirk at his response, wanting to deny it for her own egos sake but lacking the energy to do a proper job. It was only half true.
"If that makes you feel better; sure." She shrugged, and then took another long sip of her milkshake followed by a longer sip of her beer.
"Weird drink combo." Rafe commented.
"You're the one who got it."
"I didn't really think about it when I was up there. Just went for what I thought were the best options." He shrugged with a smirk.
"Well the milkshake is pretty great I can't lie, so is the beer. So thank you."
"No worries, Maybank. I'm just doing what any decent guy would do." He used her last name in a blasé way that made it sound less sincere, but Lily smiled nonetheless.
The food soon arrived, brought over by a chatty waiter, and as they ate Lily could feel Rafe's gaze on her. The beam of his eyes landed across her skin in a way that she hadn't felt before; unnerving but oddly safe, and made her feel both powerful and fragile.
She couldn't eat a lot - her lip hurt too much - but she made a joke of it and Rafe played along, indulging in her request to pretend that it was all normal. As more liquor entered his bloodstream, it became easier to do so, but the pit in his stomach never left.
Rafe and Lily ended up spending an hour at Danny's Diner before deciding to leave. Undeniably, the conversation had not been consistently flowing, but it had been comfortable, and both climbed into Rafe's truck feeling content. The sky was completely dark at that point apart from the white half moon, and light droplets of rain continued to fall, leaving everything shiny and reflective.
Rafe hadn't drank too much with the knowledge in mind that he'd be driving, but he'd purchased three more beers for Lily after she'd finished the rum n coke he'd originally brought over and two more for himself. He might've legally been slightly over the limit, but he wasn't over his own limit and that was all that mattered.
The only trouble he was having was keeping his eyes fixed on the road, distracted by Lily in a way that he hadn't anticipated. At the diner he'd realised that he had more in common with her than he thought, starting with the fact that she was actually smart - really smart. Maybe even as smart as him.
The other similarities were less important, but Rafe still noted them nonetheless. They both liked to get stoned and watch cartoons; particularly SpongeBob. They both preferred cats over dogs. One of her favourite books was Fight Club and whilst he hadn't read it, it was one of his favourite movies. They both shared a love for big cats and weird dislike for horses - although admittedly his was actually more of a distaste for polo. They also both disliked groups of old people, mint chocolate ice cream and anything plated in rose gold.
However, Lily was tipsy - and this was the main thing that he was aware of. Not tipsy enough to slur her words, but enough to lower her guard. From the first sip of her last drink, she'd let her lips occasionally slip past their usual straight line of disinterested neutrality, lighting up her face for short intervals. She had smiled again as she'd continued to gently tease him, and this was the unexpected distraction he was trying to play off. He realised that it was weird that a woman smiling would even mean a thing to him - women smiled at him all the time after all, but something about the rare sight of Lily Maybank's genuine joy was captivating in a way that felt forbidden - like flicking to the last page to find all the answers before even trying the questions.
"You know - I've got to say I'm surprised by how pleasant this has been." Lily teased, the words coming out in white puffs against the frigid window.
"Turns out I'm not the worst guy on the island. Shocking, right?" Rafe responded.
"Yeah, actually. A little bit."
"Damn, that's cold."
"No it's not. You know what your reputation is. Don't play innocent... I mean, how many times have you fought just my brother?" She returned bluntly.
Rafe chuckled lightly.
"Never for anything he didn't deserve."
Lily dryly scoffed at that with a tickle of amusement, rolling her eyes at Rafe whilst trying not to look at his face for too long. Under the orange glow of each passing streetlight he looked to be even more handsome than usual; his skin lined with the comforts of a fire accompanied by dancing shadows.
"And that's exactly what he says too. I think all you men might be as bad as each other. And my point still stands anyway, your reputation is awful."
"Maybe. Maybe not." Rafe playfully mused, pretending like he wasn't adamantly disagreeing with her inside of his head.
JJ was far more antagonistic than him with a much more violent reputation, but he didn't want to risk pissing Lily off again so he decided it was much better not to argue that point.
As the drive continued and they found themselves entering the 'Pogue' side of town, Rafe cast a longer glance across Lily's appearance and grimaced at the imagining of her father's blind violence. He was driving to the Chateau, but he still felt an unfamiliar unease at the thought of her eventually returning to the bomb site she called home.
"Are you gonna stay at John B's for a little while then?" He questioned casually.
Lily shrugged, eyes focused numbly on the road ahead. She could have all but forgotten about the earlier on events if not for the mild ache settled into the bones of her face.
"Maybe, for a couple of days. Why?"
Rafe didn't answer, instead shooting back another question with considerably less carelessness.
"And then you're gonna just go home?"
The way that he said 'home' - eyebrows furrowed as if it were some alien concept, could've made her laugh. She let her eyes lazily drift up across his form, noticing a slight tension in his forearm, before she nonchalantly replied.
"Yeah, probably."
Her eyes reached his face as he turned to look at her again, this time their vision locking. Rafe didn't need to say anything out loud in that moment. She knew what he was trying to say. And although it was certainly strange for her to feel worry radiating from him of all people, she chose again not to question it. It was too tiring of a puzzle to unravel.
"I'll be fine. I always am." She affirmed with a weak, forced smile.
Rafe scoffed before he tore his eyes away, focusing back on the road.
"Yeah, really looks like it."
Lily let the corners of her lips drop back down and the grit to return to her tone, crossing her arms across her chest as she swiftly responded.
"This is a one off. And anyway I told you I don't wanna talk about it. It's not your business."
"Definitely not my business.” Rafe agreed and then added “Fuck being involved with all that ghetto shit” which she couldn’t help but dryly scoff back at.
"Now that's more like the Rafe Cameron I was expecting. Fuck being involved with that ghetto shit." She repeated.
Then a short moment of silence passed through the car before they both lightly laughed again at that generalisation. When Rafe eventually pulled up outside of the Chateau, being careful not to park too close, he asked for Lily’s number and was disappointed yet unsurprised when she said no.
“Thanks for the food and everything.. but I really don’t need to be getting harassed by you tryna’ get a booty call at three AM. I got enough issues already.” She’d smirked, her hand ready on the handle of the door.
Rafe knew that he only had seconds left before she was gone. He wanted to reach over and grab her hand but his logical brain managed to override that impulse despite the sudden panic in his chest. If it were Molly or Abby or any other girl he could wrap his fingers around any part of their body for all they cared, in fact they would probably be delighted by the notion of him wanting to hold their hands. He couldn’t remember if his fingers had ever even touched Molly’s.
“Okay, okay fine.” He matched the careless amusement on Lily’s face before trying again. “Can I atleast give you my number? If you need help you can call me.”
The blonde hesitated as she locked eyes with him again. It was hard to look away from his dazzling stare, and even harder for her to tell if the concern in it was genuine - let alone where it could be possibly coming from if it was.
“I won’t need help.” She replied, then instantly regretted it and added “But fine. You can add your contact now.”
Then, as Lily watched Rafe type his details into her phone she had felt a spark of excitement race through her aching bones that lasted even as she eventually climbed out of the truck. She couldn’t even dampen it down with the daunting realisation of the fact that she had in fact wanted Rafe Cameron’s number - and was giddy by the fact that she now had it.
If you enjoyed this please don’t hesitate to follow, like, comment or reblog as I am a small account and it helps a lot. Thank you <3
My first upload in ages hii! Sorry it’s been a little while I’ve not been doing great mentally and my new job is super demanding I am busy pretty much every day but I finally finished this chapter after forever. As my first and only outer banks OC (so far) Lily has a special place in my heart and I have some crazy ideas for this fic. Feel free to send me suggestions of where you would like the plot to go or just standalone requests! I promise I am getting around to them and the other asks - I see you!! I hope you all enjoyed!! Love y’all, stay safe <3
I uh... I did all the shading/rendering and the potion on my phone. With my finger. :)
Anywayyyy happy pride month to Parley from The Moth Crown who is a bisexual agender trans man (he/him) in a fantasy setting that really doesn't vibe with that.
He does not have a partner and won't in the book, but his transness is discussed to an extent. He tries to hide it from the other main characters (it's none of their business anyway) and from the school he's enrolled in for his own safety. There are a lot of varying opinions on sexuality and gender in the world of The Moth Crown, and the university Parley attends isn't the most accepting (and racist, which also works against him here). The rest of the main cast (Aveline, Marion, Kam/Carlisle) accepts him for the most part (Carlisle has the hardest time with it) and it's not a major plot point, but it acknowledges some of the struggles of trans people and the fact that they can exist anywhere at any time and it's not a problem or that person's entire character. In short, trans people exist and that's it.
In fact, the transness isn't even as big a deal in the story as his implied neurodivergence, with him having several breakdowns and odd habits largely based on my own experiences.
She is a werewolf but is a cat who turns into a wolf instead of a human who turns into a wolf. This image is of her without her scars + full ref + cat form
This is a headshot of her in wolf form with scars!
Both images have been nightshaded, so there's a colour pallet under the cut if anyone ever decides they wanna draw her
Info:
Eye colour: brown
Cisfemme
Bisexual
Pelt: twilight tabby
Extras: not quick to trust, an absolute diva, and protective
Fun fact! She was originally made because I did (and still do) struggle with making canines and felines look noticeably different, so there'll be lots of art of her yet! Some stuff I'll be focusing on: mouth (teeth and tongue), ears, eye shape, snout shape, paws, tail, fur, colours
Btw yes she is from MultiClan! And she is technically both a Survivors OC and a Warriors OC, joining a wolf pack (that follows Survivors rules for wolf packs) before being kicked out once they find out she's a werewolf.
Extra info about werewolves in this universe under the cut
Werewolves can either be born as such, or can be turned by being bitten, like Lobo. They can freely and easily transform from three forms as they please without pain: wolf, whatever species they were before (cat, in the case of Lobo) and a form that is a mix between the two. If they have enough skill, they can just pick and choose parts to mix and match as they please.
But, if they are in their wolf form or original species form for the whole month consistently up until the full moon, you will forcibly be transformed into the other form. It is extremely painful and you typically go a bit insane, and you are likely to lash out and injure others and/or yourself. Example: if Lobo were a wolf from the full moon all the way up to the next one without tranforming at all, she would be forced back into being a cat. All of these symptoms last for a day
Pack dynamics! It varies. Sometimes, they'll form wolf-like packs or join a canine pack. Sometimes they will form a group of the species they were originally or join one (example: Lobo joining QuollClan) or just go off on their own. It varies! The dynamic of the group changes. Example, a wolf pack would just be made up of the mother, father, their pups, and you! An adopted pup.
