#elmire

[radicrow]

I'm sorry but just for breaking my heart with Vernon's story you have to draw him being happy. 😔 It's the law--

dam sorry for that nonnie….. 

here you can have a draw of ALL my kids being happy

[linneaarie]

Lamplight

Been a while since I drew Elmire, but she’s one of my favs from the TST cast (though, to be fair, I kinda say that about all of them depending on the day LMAO). I just love drawing her hair.

Also, her and Helena are sisters! I never explicitly mentioned it in-game, but I do find the contrast between their personalities very funny. 

I struggled a lot with the composition for this one, as can be seen by the speedpaint at the end. I wanted to do some perspective, but it just wasn’t working out for me today XP

[elmiredubois]

Pull the Trigger

The wind was unusually strong in Grizzly Hills. It caused the modest cabin to creak and sway, putting its already uneasy occupants on edge.

“Pa’s been gone for so long already and a storm is rolling in. We should send Ellie out to find him.”

From her bunk upstairs, Elmire could barely hear her sister Violetti speaking to their mother in the den below. She tried to listen closer, but Lily and Rose wouldn’t shut up.

“He’s probably been eaten or sacrificed. Those new folk are a bunch of creeps, they probably got him,” Lily whispered with a tease in her voice.

“That ain’t funny, dammit.” Rose kicked her foot up, hitting the top bunk Lily was laying on above her. “He’s just, I dunno, enjoying the night air…..or something.”

Elmire could feel Rose’s eyes on her from across the room. All of her sisters treated her like dirt, but at least Rose pretended to care from time to time. Rose knew she would be more worried about their dad than any of them - she was the closest to him after all - and probably wanted to put her mind at ease. It didn’t help.

If pa doesn’t come back. If he’s really gone. I’ve got no one I’m my corner. No more hunting trips, no more shooting practice…no more love.

It was a thought she didn’t want to entertain any longer. She rolled onto her side, pulled the cover over her head and then placed a pillow on top of it for good measure. It was enough to block out her sisters’ annoying whispers. She finally drifted off to sleep.

She didn’t know if it had been minutes or hours when she finally woke up to terrified shrieks and the sound of the bedroom door slamming shut. It was pitch black, other than the dim light of a candle her mother held, the wind had only picked up, and rain was beating against the cabin.

“The gun, Ellie, get the damned gun!”

“It’s under her bed!”

All of her sisters were piling what little furniture they had against the door. Her ma shoved a rifle into her hands.

“What was that?!”

“Hell if I know, Lily, but-”

They all screamed in terror as something pounded against the door. It snarled from the other side and dragged its claws against the wood as it fought desperately to get in.

Elmire’s mind was still in a haze from sleep as she loaded the rifle. Pa still wasn’t home, or at least he hadn’t made it upstairs. She was so confused, scared, but she had to pretend to be calm. She was the only one that knew how to shoot.

Whatever kind of beast it was, it was determined to get into the room and it was quickly making progress. The furniture couldn’t keep it back for long. She fired one round through the door, but the beast kept on. Another shot, this time followed by a pained whimper - almost like a wolf’s. It didn’t seem to deter the beast. Just as she started to fire again, the door flew open sending what they had used to barricade it sliding across the room. The rest of her family retreated to the corner behind Ellie’s bunk. There were no windows upstairs, if they wanted out they would need to get past the beast.

Elmire hesitated, frozen I’m shock, when she saw the creature. She thought it was a lanky furbolg at first - there were plenty of tribes across the hills - but it was more wolf than bear, like a worg crossed with a man. It snarled as it took in its prey.

“Pull the damn trigger Ellie!”

Her ma’s shout helped her regain her focus and she did just that. The first shot went into the beast’s chest, knocking it.back. The next hit its shoulder. It whined and tried to get up but Elmire had already reloaded. She slid off the bed and steadied herself to shoot the creature between its eyes.

It stopped moving for just a moment then its body began to spasm. She got her rifle ready for another shot, but it never got up. Instead, its body lost its thick black hair and began to shift into a much more human form. In fact, it was a human, And not just any human. Even in the low light he looked familiar.

As her family calmed down and got closer to the corpse, the light of ma’s candle illuminated its features so the man was more recognizable.

“Oh, Light, Ellie…what have you done?”

Her ma’s voice, usually filled with annoyance when directed at her, dripped of disappointment and pity.

She’d killed her pa.

[elmiredubois]

Peace

Elmire laid on a blanket under the sky of Highmountain. Her bright orange hair was filthy from a long day's work and she reeked of...everything, but what else was new? The cool mountain breeze was buffered by a large quilen on one side of her and a rylak on the other. They were both asleep, but she found it impossible to close her eyes with the view above her. Countless stars twinkled down on her. The sky was so clear she could make out bright galaxies. She didn't know a lick about astronomy but damn if it wasn't one of the prettiest things she'd ever seen. A blanket of peace wrapped around her as she stared up at the numberless lights. The world was under the worst invasion it had ever seen, but she was still content. She had a loving wife waiting for her back in Dalaran, good friends, and her family rarely bothered her anymore. When she did see them, it even seemed like her family was slowly but surely becoming less horrible, at least her sisters. A combination of her own self doubt and her sisters' prodding had caused her to wonder for years if she would be enough for Nikoh. How could she possibly satisfy an immortal woman many times her age? They had made it work though. She was happier than she'd ever been and she honestly believed Nikoh was too. Normally when everything was going right, she would worry something would come soon to ruin it all, but not this time. She was happy and nothing could ruin that right now, under the beautiful night sky.

[elmiredubois]

Two little girls darted over mossy rocks, they were barefoot but they never doubted a step and never slipped. Their hair was as orange as pumpkins, with leaves and twigs – and maybe even a bug or two – tangled in the messy locks. They played in the snow at the base of the mountains, spied on furbolgs, once they even pelted a vrykul with snowballs. Grizzly Hills was their playground. 

Of her three sisters, Elmire had been closest to Rose when they were kids. That seemed like a lifetime away now.

Rosalie and Elmire sat at the edge of a small lake nestled in the hills of Elwynn. Rose insisted she had to get out of the city and Ellie insisted she didn't go alone, so there they were.

“So, uh, you and your teacher got drunk and went carolin'?” Ellie gave her sister a weird look. Rose had begun wearing her hair down lately, if she had Ellie's freckles it really would have been like looking into a mirror. “Isn't that a little weird? Winter Veil is still, like, four months away.”

Rose gave a nonchalant shrug as she dug her toes into the mud. “It helped me calm down, isn't that what matters? Anyway, we weren't drunk, honey, we were tipsy.”

Ellie's nose wrinkled briefly. “Are you sure you aren't being duped? These lessons seem like a lot of money if you just end up...well, it doesn't sound professional. My friend Rhaala trained under a pandaren, I bet they'd teach you for free.”

“My teacher was taught by pandaren so same difference, right?” Rose didn't leave any opening for Ellie to protest. “I can tell I'm gettin' better and it's my money.”

Ellie didn't feel like arguing. At least Rose wasn't sobbing and acting like it was the end of the world anymore...even if maybe it was.

“Fine. If it's helpin' you then I'm not gonna try to stop you. Just promise me-” Elmire tried to keep talking but she couldn't.

She blinked, then her eyes went wide. A long whip was wrapped around her neck; its thorny length dripped with shadowy magic. She tried to get up, to grab the whip and pry it off, to do something, but her entire body was paralyzed.

Rose reached over at first to try to help her sister, but the magic made her fingers feel like they would wither away if they lingered too long. Her eyes then darted to their attacker – a lone succubus stood at the other end of the whip and gave it a sharp tug to pull Ellie to her back. Rose froze with fear.

We're going to die. I pulled Ellie out here because I'm an idiot and now I've gotten us killed.

“You're both going to make excellent pets. I need to infiltrate Stormwind and you're just what I need!” The demon couldn't contain the excitement in her voice as she slowly dragged Ellie ever closer.

Why didn't she attack me? Ellie could take care of her. Because I'm weak. Of course she'd take out the one that could fight back.

And then she remembered her master's dime-store wisdom.

Worrying's like rocking in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.

Did...did that even apply to the situation at hand? It didn't matter, it gave her the courage to move.

Rose rolled forward, past the demon. The succubus had both hands full keeping Elmire bound, but if Rose didn't act fast then the demon would turn its attention to her. As soon as she was on her feet behind the demon, she let out a primal screech and put everything into one punch, aimed square at the back of the demon's head.

The succubus's skull caved in as the chi packed strike made contact. Her body fell forward like a ragdoll and the magical whip disappeared.

Ellie caught her breath as she scrambled to her feet and rushed over to her sister. “Rose! You did it!”

Just as Ellie started to go in for a hug, Rose hollered out in pain and bent over, holding the hand she had threw the punch with. “FUUUUUCK! Shit that hurt! Fuck fuck fuck!” Her ring finger was jammed and wouldn't uncurl even though the rest of her fingers had. She hopped from foot to foot and continued to scream obscenities.

Elmire laughed and went in for the hug anyway. “Nikoh can fix that right up for you. C'mon.”

[elmiredubois]

“Rose, why the shit are you here?!”

Elmire aimed her rifle to the sky and brought down one of the bat demons swarming around Westfall, then turned her attention to her sibling. Looking at her older sister was almost like looking in a mirror. A very drunk, sobbing, had no Light-damned business being there mirror.

In the thick of battle, Rose had shown up out of the blue, already three sheets to the wind. Elmire didn’t know how her sister had made it so far without dying. She had been rambling about the end of the world, how she had no one to spend the rest of her time with, and how she was sorry for everything she’d ever done. Even during a Legion invasion, her family proved to be a giant pain in the ass.

“You need to leave. Now. We can talk when I’m not-” Elmire pulled the trigger and two more demons fell to the ground.“Y'know, doing this! I promise it’s not the end of the world!”

Rose was too drunk to reply, she just clung onto Elmire’s shoulder and kept wailing.

“Frank!” A sharp whistle got the quilen’s attention. He pulled back from mauling an eredar and rushed over. “Get her home!” Frank knocked over the drunk woman and picked her up in his mouth to carry her harmlessly toward Stormwind.

They’re always going to torment me and get in the way aren’t they?

Her siblings - with the ecoragement of their mother - had bullied her for years, taken all of her money for themselves, and constantly meddled in her love life, but, hell, she still didn’t want them to die.

[elmiredubois]

Dubois Family Rundown

It's late and I'm not tired. Decided to vomit out most of what I have worked out for Elmire and Therise's family below the cut. 

Father - Eric

Loved nature and hunting. A few years after Rose was born, decided to move the family to Grizzly Hills and enjoyed life as a fairly successful fur trader. 

Mother - Edith

Grew up in Lordaeron. Orphaned at a young age, never knew biological parents, but lived happily with a foster family. Met and married Eric early in adulthood. Loved sewing.

Rose - Oldest Daughter

Only planned child. Spoiled rotten, but well behaved as a kid. Forced to take up tailoring by Edith; loved fishing with Eric. Closest to Edith of all the daughters.

Violetta - Second Oldest Daughter

Nicknamed Violet. Also spoiled rotten and forced to take up sewing. Always been close to Rose. Dislikes nature and loved taking trips back to the Eastern Kingdoms as a child.

Therise - Third Oldest Daughter

Second "happy accident" after Violetta. Bullied by Rose and Violet in her childhood, but always tried to be close to them which often lead to them using her and getting her in trouble. Eventually took up the nickname Lily from the tiger lilies that grew in Grizzly Hills and to fit the flower theme of Rose and Violet. Showed signs of magical talent at an early age which caused Rose and Violetta to become jealous but they took advantage of it. Also forced to take up sewing but enjoyed it unlike her older sisters.

Elmire - Youngest

Birth caused stress for the family because cabin was already cramped enough. Took after Eric more than any of her sisters and became his favorite kid. Loved animals and guns for a young age; learned to shoot a rifle as a kid. Went hunting with her dad often. Spared being forced into tailoring thanks to Eric's intervention, helped with the fur trade instead. Bullied by all of her sisters for as long as she can remember.

Timeline is iffy for when humans settled in Grizzly Hills which means a lot of the timeline is just me guessing so I try to keep it vague, but all of the kids grew up in Grizzly Hills. Eric's fur trading business was successful until the Scourge began to take over Northrend.

When the Wolf Cult showed up, Eric was immediately suspicious. As more of their friends and fellow traders disappeared or joined the group, Eric began to investigate the cult, but was eventually caught. He was afflicted with the curse and then dumped at the cabin's front door. Not knowing what had happened, Elmire is the one that found him and brought him in. 

Edith and the three oldest sisters were discussing what might have happened while Elmire looked after the unconscious Eric. When he woke up, he turned into a worgen and, unable to control himself, attacked the family. Elmire reacted immediately and, to protect the rest of the family, grabbed her rifle and shot Eric dead.

Not long after Eric died, adventurers from the Alliance and Horde came through and wiped out the Wolf Cult. Elmire carried the guilt of killing her dad and the rest of her family blamed her for her father's death and played on it to guilt Elmire into sending them any gold she made in her own adventures and doing whatever they wanted.

Fast forward a bit and Elmire met Nikoh. Nikoh eventually helped her work through her guilt and she cut ties with her family. Two years after that, Therise showed up at Elmire and Nikoh's apartment, looking for a place to stay. When Elmire had stopped coming around, Therise took her place as the family punching bag. 

Now that Therise has seen what they put Ellie through for so long, she's apologized to Elmire and they've began to have a healthy sisterly relationship and have even grown to actually like each other.