Astarion - "Embrace" (Print of the month + a little writing snippet!) (Patreon)

Hey guys!! This is the January print of the month. I have been overjoyed working on this piece and am so happy to share it with you- I was really trying to push myself for a dreamier look to the texture/colors of this piece and I'm quite happy with it. The woman pictured is my Tav, Iiyola, and I'd like to share a snippet of my writing (a little farther into the story) with you guys that I think suits the painting.I am hoping to maybe share more of Iiyola's story in the future, the plot revolves around her, Astarion, Shadowheart, and Halsin loosely following the main events of the game and beyond, with a heavy focus on completely rewiring the plot in order to bring the elves in BG3 more in tune with the Forgotten Realms lore (and let them shine a little better). I tend to just sit on my writing and not post it, so I'm being a little vulnerable!The fic is named, tentatively, Wait for me at the Gates of Arvandor, and this snippet is from chapter 4 or so. I'm about 40k words in so far!

“What do I taste like?” Iiyola asked, voice barely a whisper. She felt her chest tighten as Astarion swallowed and leaned even closer, his fingers wrapping around her leg.

“Like peppermints and fresh snow.” He said, his voice rough. “Exhilarating.” The corner of his mouth quirked up in a coy smile. She thought she would like to drown in his gaze in that moment. He was looking at her with a wickedness, surely, but deep down she sensed something more. An unspoken feeling. Perhaps it was the brandy, but she felt like he saw her as more than just a person to be consumed. He did seem to have somewhat control over his impulses.

She would let herself believe that at least for this night.

“You really haven’t fed from anyone else?” She swallowed, feeling unwelcome jealousy coiling in her stomach. The dragon in her was digging its claws into Astarion already, and a flash of panic at the realization shot through her belly. It was already too late for her now. This elf had settled himself into her brain like a stubborn cat in a warm basket. She felt her fingers clench, thinking of him leaning in to another, caressing their neck and pressing his cool lips to their skin… Iiyola regretted asking him the moment it left her lips, but she also couldn’t bear not knowing, either.

“You were my first.” He murmured, looking away sheepishly. Iiyola felt the tension melt from her body as he said it, attempting not to let the relief show on her face. Triumph took over, feeling a possessiveness over being anyone’s ‘first’ anything. How pathetic he’d surely find her if she let it slip? He looked so boyish then in the dim light, the candlelight glittering off of his thick white lashes. If he could blush, he certainly would be, and the look of him made her want to throw her arms around him and squeeze him so hard his bones creaked.

Instead, she simply cocked her head to the side and thought of whatever would be the most natural question to ask next. She did find it rather curious that what she assumed was a free vampire spawn would limit himself to animals. Especially a man with a propensity toward a crooked path like himself.

“How is that possible?” She asked, thinking back to his mention of rats. He hadn’t sounded particularly interested in them either.

“I wasn’t permitted to drink from them. Animals only, mostly rats.” He said, a look of disgust on his face.

“Permitted?” She asked. Astarion scoffed immediately, his features twisting up with what she was sure was anguish and offense in equal measure.

“A tale I will consider telling another time, darling. Just know, you were my first.” He said, petting the back of her hand as if with reverence. “Now that I know… it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced.” He lifted a hand up to brush her messy hair away from her neck.

Iiyola shifted closer to him, their thighs touching as they sat on the bench. Her wounded shoulder was aching, but she didn’t care at that moment.

“It doesn’t hurt like I would have thought. At least, it didn’t last time. Not really.” She said, looking at his mouth. Astarion’s lips were parted, and his delicate fangs were poking at his lower lip in a way that made her stomach flutter. She remembered intimately how they felt against her flesh that night, despite everything.

“No? Forgive me, darling, but you were a little… out of it.” He asked, and leaned in to nuzzle at her neck. His breath was ice on her skin; a salve. She felt goosebumps shimmer across her flesh and reveled in it. He pressed a kiss where he’d bitten her before, his lips soft and gentle.

“No, but last I recall, you were too.” She said quietly, reaching a tentative hand out to rest it on the side of his neck. He froze at the contact before leaning into it, eyes closed. He rose up again from her and looked down at her. His eyes were so striking, glowing softly in the low light, it nearly took her breath away. They were stunning, brighter rubies than any she’d seen on a Drow. They made her own single red eye seem dull in comparison.

“May I?” He asked, deadly serious for a man who spent half of his time smirking.

“You may.” She said, meeting his gaze. He brought his lips to her forehead and planted a kiss there, surprising her, before leaning back toward her neck.

Iiyola felt herself tingling with nerves and anticipation. Astarion pressed his lips against her skin and kissed her. She leaned into it, and he reached up and dug a hand into her hair, bracing her against his mouth. His tongue flicked out across her skin then, and she felt herself jerk slightly in response to the sudden stimulus.

Painfully slowly, like he was savoring an expensive dessert, Astarion worked on her neck, kissing and sucking on her tender skin. She felt it going to her head along with other more southern locations, and closed her eyes. She let her fingers weave into his soft curls and dance along the edge of his ears.

The familiar waves of psychic energy washed over her mind as they had in the past, but they were soft, inquisitive. Astarion was probing her, using the parasite to brush against her mind. She let him, feeling him sift through her thoughts like leaflets. Featherlite, he tapped into her memories of the crash, her unexpected reverie, and retreated.

He held her tighter, then, pressing her against his lithe frame. He positioned his fangs on her flesh. His mouth opened wide before he let them sink into her, puncturing cleanly and swiftly. Again, like shards of ice embedded into her skin, Iiyola stayed as still as could be and savored the moment. It didn’t hurt- it felt more like her flesh had frosted over and gone numb. Shortly after, the feeling was replaced with an erotic warmth. He withdrew his fangs and began to swallow deeply. She could feel his tongue probing at the little punctures he had created, willing them to spill more of her into his mouth.

Iiyola’s head began to spin, and she gripped tighter onto Astarion. She felt his mouth slow its movements, and he made a soft moan as he withdrew from her. He licked the wounds clean agonizingly slowly, and Iiyola simply basked in the lightheadedness she was experiencing. Her vision had gone a little blurry, and the candlelight behind Astarion had caused his white hair to take on a sort of halo-like glow.

Iiyola leaned back slowly against the cushions, and Astarion went with her, resting his head in the dip of her neck. He curled around her in a way she thought at first was perhaps possessive, but as he relaxed into her she had the sense that he was clinging to her. Sleepily, she stroked the soft mass of curls on his head. He made a content little sound before nestling closer, his finger tracing patterns over the dusting of scales on her chest.

After a while, his hand stilled, palm pressed over her heart. She had the distinct feeling that Astarion wasn’t one for being vulnerable around another, and she felt a bit of triumph glow within her at the achievement. She’d been worried he didn’t like her, which showed how truly remarkable a thing attraction was, that it could feel like it was the only thing that mattered even if you had a parasite squirming around in your brain.

I hope you guys enjoyed, it would be a dream of mine to write and illustrate my own fic if it was something people were interested in.Thank you so much as always, much love to you all!!! :D~Lily