apologies better left unspoken

Asher and Ayra from my story Iris, who have a very... complicated relationship.  

Vampires in Iris truly have the most pitiable lives.  They require the blood of others to survive (well, honestly, the flesh would be ideal (coughseeSarielcough) but hey cannibalism is generally frowned upon so that was a no-go hahah), the State has been pretty shitty at supporting vamps and most end up trying to avoid the State anyway since the lives of Demis that work under 'em aren't brilliant (see: Nova lmao), but few beings are honestly willing to serve as a blood partner.  (Understandably, I mean, no one wants to be anemic pretty much all the time hahahah.)

Blood partners are the ideal system, as it turns out a vamp can somewhat stabilize their needs if they can get a consistent species' blood type.  But species matter: ideally Centaurs would be best as they are strongest but centaurs are strongly social among themselves and tend to avoid intermixing with other species, Nagas and Mermaids are acceptable, and Harpies tend to be a bit too, well, lightweight hahah.

Humans are the least effective, which is a shame, because ideally the best solution would be for a vampire to partner with a human and bear a child with a thus diluted bloodline--a half-blood vamp requires less than a full-blood.  (Inter-Demi species hybrids have never been successfully observed (eg. a naga/vamp hybrid, etc.  Demis have only successfully bred with their own kind, and with humans to varying degrees.)  And yet, despite the knowledge of the fate sure to await any full-blooded vampire, vampires still have a tendency to seek their own kind out, and more unfortunate children continue to be born...

Asher has always felt a great deal of guilt for... well, in essence, for his own existence, really.  He was abandoned by parents who couldn't care for him, raised in an orphanage but eventually had to leave.  He ended up in the fight rings, where the lucrative money earned paid for black market blood, and hated the lifestyle but at the same time had no other options open to himself.

Ayra is his literal lifesaver, someone who offered to become his blood partner in return for a chance at life outside of the brothel her mother and sisters all worked at.  It was hard for them both, but they managed to make a living as bounty hunters, but it's always been a tenuous balance, particularly for Asher...

More Iris:
  

Also for some stupid reason I'm still really fond of just the lineart for this piece: sta.sh/01fp1drq6wg3