Driftwood Cove

A cove that get's its name for the piled drift wood and shipwreck items that wash up upon the shores. A semi-abandoned docking station exists but is under poor maintenance.


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It had been a while now that the blacktop ran out and the two were on the bumpy cracked earth. Jace had gotten used to riding by this point. They could see the ocean spilling way on the horizon and Jace smiled. "Yes we're getting close now. Just a bit further we should come across a large rocky plateau. Once we get there, we're going to climb it. It looks over the docks that line Driftwood cove below." he says patting his hands against her jacket.

The bike was fast, but it certainly wasn't discrete even slowing down as they made their final approach the sound of the engine would carry for miles and the dust cloud would let anyone know their almost exact position. With a thrum the engine died and Belladonna slid out the kickstand "Well I guess we're here" she muttered looking up at the climb ahead.
"You know these shoes aren't made for hiking" she pointed out her entirely inappropriate footwear before stepping off the bike and heading towards the plateau, she stopped and spun around quickly pulling her knife from the bikes ignition "Almost left the keys in it!" she joked and made her way towards the rocky climb.

Belladonna wrote:The bike was fast, but it certainly wasn't discrete even slowing down as they made their final approach the sound of the engine would carry for miles and the dust cloud would let anyone know their almost exact position. With a thrum the engine died and Belladonna slid out the kickstand "Well I guess we're here" she muttered looking up at the climb ahead.
"You know these shoes aren't made for hiking" she pointed out her entirely inappropriate footwear before stepping off the bike and heading towards the plateau, she stopped and spun around quickly pulling her knife from the bikes ignition "Almost left the keys in it!" she joked and made her way towards the rocky climb.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh come now, the badass assassin can't even climb in heels? I'm disappointed." he says jokingly, throwing his hands in the air in a mocking fashion to one who throws their arms in disgust or impatience. He chuckles as she runs back for the knife. "Oh, good thing hon, if you kept the keys in there, that bike would have been gone in a minute. I mean, just look at all the traffic." he says sarcastically, throwing his arms up a little and revolved around; the area seemed to be vacant and devoid of life for miles. On the road here, they hadn't come across a soul since Danton's outskirts. He begins to make the climb and turns to her. "What? Do you need me to carry you up here?" he says in another teasing tone, winking at her.

"well you never know" she scowled there was a very real temptation for her to throw the knife at him, nowhere too serious just his leg maybe, but she put the thought out of her mind, she didn't want to have to carry him after all. Then she moved after him up the slope her eyes blinking in the warm sun the scent of the sea in her nostrils "so what time did you say this deal was going down?" she asked making idol chat as they climbed.

Belladonna wrote:"well you never know" she scowled there was a very real temptation for her to throw the knife at him, nowhere too serious just his leg maybe, but she put the thought out of her mind, she didn't want to have to carry him after all. Then she moved after him up the slope her eyes blinking in the warm sun the scent of the sea in her nostrils "so what time did you say this deal was going down?" she asked making idol chat as they climbed.

He could sense her annoyance and instead of fearing it, he was pretty sure he was getting used to it, finding it almost cute how she would love to maim him so. "I think I'm becoming a masochist..." he mutters under his breath as he hears Bella below. He pauses, looking down at her. "Oh, around Midnight I suppose. They usually get here around that time or later." he replies. He then asks a question of his own. "Hey Bella... I know you've been doing this a long time, but how exactly long have you been like this? An assassin I mean." he asked curiously.

She stopped and looked up at him her coat flapping in the sea breeze giving a tantalizing glimpse of her shapely legs. Her eyes were wide and her expression open and honest when she spoke "Honestly... I don't know...." she hesitated biting her lip before continuing "something happened to me... something bad... I just can't remember what" she sighed and shrugged "all I do know for certain is I'm missing out on around twenty years of my life, I don't remember it and its almost as though I didn't age through it!" she shrugged looking away at the sea "so now you know as much about my dark secret as I do" she shrugged again "lets get a move on or your friends will be here before we get to the top!"

Belladonna wrote:She stopped and looked up at him her coat flapping in the sea breeze giving a tantalizing glimpse of her shapely legs. Her eyes were wide and her expression open and honest when she spoke "Honestly... I don't know...." she hesitated biting her lip before continuing "something happened to me... something bad... I just can't remember what" she sighed and shrugged "all I do know for certain is I'm missing out on around twenty years of my life, I don't remember it and its almost as though I didn't age through it!" she shrugged looking away at the sea "so now you know as much about my dark secret as I do" she shrugged again "lets get a move on or your friends will be here before we get to the top!"

He looked down and took note of her shapely legs before his eyes went to her eyes. Listening to her story he felt bad for her. "Well you've aged well for someone missing out on twenty or so years!" He says with a chuckle before turning away and pausing. "...though honestly... I guess we just have to look to the present if then. Looking too far ahead in the future and dragging along the past... it's frustrating. May as well just focus on what's happening on the moment." he says before sighing, turning and smiling. "Oh, come now, I'm sure they're already up there waiting with refreshments for us!" he says before he continued to climb.

She sighed glancing out over the expanse of ocean "Well that'll be nice of them, lets not keep them waiting" she smiled and continued to follow Jace towards the top. They were close now a few more steps and they'd be there, the view of the ocean was already spectacular stretching away to the horizon, the blue waves mirroring the blue sky until they met and disappeared in a feint grey line far away in the distance. A part of her wished they'd brought more firepower but still this was just to check the place out they weren't here to kill anyone.... well not yet.

Jace was climbing over the ledge that would lead on top when he felt a vision coming on to him. Men dressed like miners, a couple, a man and woman with dusters and guns. More armed individuals overseeing some sort of construction, and packed TNT-

His eyes widen, there wasn't anything they could do, it was already too late! When the plataeu exploded and crumbled away, Jace and Bella were tumbling through the mess of sand, rock and dry dirt. The entire cliff side sank down towards the abandoned docks. Jace tried grabbing for Bella, but lost his grip as they were swallowed up by sand and boulders, cascading down into an avalanche. The crisp blue sky and the spectacular view had given way to darkness. Jace felt his body hit by multiple boulders and rocks, and by the time his world stopped spinning he was surprised to find he was still alive.

He groaned, slowly rising from the pile of rocks that were almost too hard to budge despite the onset of adrenaline. "Bella?" he croaked, coughing up blood and dirt. Warm blood had strolled down from his right eyebrow, and he had multiple serrations, bruises and other wounds but thankfully it seemed he didn't break anything. "Bell-" he coughed again, rolling over the debris before remembering about the men and women in dusters weilding rifles.

He was about to hide when he felt the cold steel of a barrel press against his neck.

"Don't move."

Kaphiri slithered his way over to the site of the explosion. There was some harsh yelling and he could smell blood in the air with his forked tongue. As a hired hand for these otherwise meek thugs, it was his duty to help assess the situation. He slithered up to the site to see one of the thugs hold up an injured man whom he'd not seen or smelled before. But there was also another smell... it was hidden, but he could definitely smell the mildly arousing scent.

He could hear one of the thugs shouting: "You took the wrong day for a stroll," "is there anyone else?" "Thought you could get the sneak on us boy?" among other trivial things. Kaph could tell that there was someone else. Where though, was another story.

She rolled out of the dust coughing, being a few steps behind Jace when the explosion went off had spared her the worse of it but the fall had hurt. Even with her speed and agility she'd been hit by several large rocks and was feeling battered and bruised not to mention more than a little winded.
"Well that was just plain not nice!" she hissed between clenched teeth as she came to her knees, her hand instinctively reaching for the gun in her pocket. Ordinarily Bella would have thought twice with this many but since they all had their attention and their guns on Jace she figured she could kill half of them before they got a shot off. Unfortunately the gun wasn't there! Her hand brushed the torn flap of the pocket, the gun had gone sometime during the fall. Then as if to make matters worse she spotted the snake..... thing... not a snake it had a human torso. Was it a demon? Working for the gun runners or were they working for it?!?

Belladonna wrote:She rolled out of the dust coughing, being a few steps behind Jace when the explosion went off had spared her the worse of it but the fall had hurt. Even with her speed and agility she'd been hit by several large rocks and was feeling battered and bruised not to mention more than a little winded.
"Well that was just plain not nice!" she hissed between clenched teeth as she came to her knees, her hand instinctively reaching for the gun in her pocket. Ordinarily Bella would have thought twice with this many but since they all had their attention and their guns on Jace she figured she could kill half of them before they got a shot off. Unfortunately the gun wasn't there! Her hand brushed the torn flap of the pocket, the gun had gone sometime during the fall. Then as if to make matters worse she spotted the snake..... thing... not a snake it had a human torso. Was it a demon? Working for the gun runners or were they working for it?!?

Jace remained silent as he was grilled with answers, that was when he saw Bella and his colour flushed from his face. "Bella, run!" he exclaimed, coughing sending his elbow back into the man behind him as he tried to break away now that their attention had turned onto her; but within the next second he was back in there custody once one of the duster clad thugs had slammed the butt stock into his chest, winding him. He fell over and clutched his chest, the barrel of the rifle pressing into his neck again. "Damn!" He remembered Octavia, the 10 mm revolver he had on his thigh, and that's when he saw it's stainless frame glinting in the waning sunlight by Bella.

Belladonna wrote:She rolled out of the dust coughing, being a few steps behind Jace when the explosion went off had spared her the worse of it but the fall had hurt. Even with her speed and agility she'd been hit by several large rocks and was feeling battered and bruised not to mention more than a little winded.
"Well that was just plain not nice!" she hissed between clenched teeth as she came to her knees, her hand instinctively reaching for the gun in her pocket. Ordinarily Bella would have thought twice with this many but since they all had their attention and their guns on Jace she figured she could kill half of them before they got a shot off. Unfortunately the gun wasn't there! Her hand brushed the torn flap of the pocket, the gun had gone sometime during the fall. Then as if to make matters worse she spotted the snake..... thing... not a snake it had a human torso. Was it a demon? Working for the gun runners or were they working for it?!?

He tilted his head, when the dust had cleared and the raven haired woman was revealed. He prepared himself for a fight, it looked like the woman was ready to shoot them, and he tightened his muscles to help reduce the possible damage that would be inflicted upon him; but that's when her air of confidence slipped for a brief terrifying moment; the look in her eyes and the subtle vibrations in her heart made it clear that she had forgotten the vital thing needed for a fire fight: a gun. He lowered his body and quickly slithered up towards the woman. Though she was good 20-25 feet away and the terrain was unstable, he was able to glide and slide his way at least half that distance within a few mere blinks of a human eye! He dug his large claws into the earth and then leapt, spinning his body in the motion one does when cracking a whip then he swung out his massive serpentine body, whipping his thick tail out at her body, and if it succeeded it would strike at the right side of her torso with enough force to send her flying!

Time seemed to slow down for her as she heard Jace's cry and watched the guy in the duster slam him in the chest for his trouble, she saw Jace look to the ground by her side and that's when the snake demon surged towards her, its speed for its size was impressive, but if it missed her inertia would carry it past her. She caught sight of the gun glinting in the dust beside and dropping to her knees lunged sideways towards the weapon intent on avoiding the snake. Her hand closed on the pistol grip, and the momentary silence of the cove was broken by the loud retort of the pistol, but instead of shooting the reptile the head of the duster who was standing over Jace erupted into a crimson plume.
"Finally I get to kill some shit all this talking was getting boring!" She yelled as she somersaulted through the air landing astride a large bolder that rocked unsteadily beneath her, the gun barked again and one of the women screamed then gurgled as the bullet hit her in the neck "Now where did reptile go?" having evened the odds for Jace she twisted and somersaulted backwards always aiming to get onto higher ground and above the snake demon wherever it was!

(in the distance)

Juubei leaned against an outcropping of rock, sleeping soundly with her katana's laying upon the ground within hand's reach. She was sleeping soundly, till that awful loud explosion followed with several small pops of gun fire. She slowly stirred, her blue eyes creeping open as she turned lazily over to the head thumping, thrumming sounds. "Nggghhh..." she moaned like a drunkard awakening the day after a binge, and slowly sat up on her knees before looking out to the expanse below. She was, a matter of fact, perched on top of a high cliff, looking down into the valley below where the plateau she had seen on the way up was now nothing more than a large dust cloud with black specks running around in it. However, with some adjustment to her waning sight brought upon her by waking up tired, she could see a raven haired woman shooting a large silver gun at people in trench coats and a young red headed man who seemed to be in danger as well. Then there was a snake man, who seemed to be gaining ground upon the raven haired woman before Juubei's vision waned again and she yawned. "Hhhhhhhawww... Man am I hungry..." she says rubbing her stomach. She would otherwise go and help but she wouldn't be of much use any way. She'll just have to gain her energy again, and if they were still there, then she would run down and help. "Till then... it's snack tiem for me." she says with a catish grin, and started to cook ramen.

Belladonna wrote:Time seemed to slow down for her as she heard Jace's cry and watched the guy in the duster slam him in the chest for his trouble, she saw Jace look to the ground by her side and that's when the snake demon surged towards her, its speed for its size was impressive, but if it missed her inertia would carry it past her. She caught sight of the gun glinting in the dust beside and dropping to her knees lunged sideways towards the weapon intent on avoiding the snake. Her hand closed on the pistol grip, and the momentary silence of the cove was broken by the loud retort of the pistol, but instead of shooting the reptile the head of the duster who was standing over Jace erupted into a crimson plume.
"Finally I get to kill some shit all this talking was getting boring!" She yelled as she somersaulted through the air landing astride a large bolder that rocked unsteadily beneath her, the gun barked again and one of the women screamed then gurgled as the bullet hit her in the neck "Now where did reptile go?" having evened the odds for Jace she twisted and somersaulted backwards always aiming to get onto higher ground and above the snake demon wherever it was!

(sorry to hold everyone up; been suffering from the stomach bug ironically but I'm feeling quite better now )

After missing it's mark Kaphiri dove under the rocks and debris from the explosion. Digging under the ground, it would be mildly protective against her powerful bullets. When he knew it was safe he lunged up from the ground, grabbing hold of the large rocks that leapt up with with him in his powerful arms. He spun, and with the momentum of his swinging body he launched the large rocks at the woman. The jagged rocks were almost the size of her head as they came within range of hitting her.

Belladonna wrote:Time seemed to slow down for her as she heard Jace's cry and watched the guy in the duster slam him in the chest for his trouble, she saw Jace look to the ground by her side and that's when the snake demon surged towards her, its speed for its size was impressive, but if it missed her inertia would carry it past her. She caught sight of the gun glinting in the dust beside and dropping to her knees lunged sideways towards the weapon intent on avoiding the snake. Her hand closed on the pistol grip, and the momentary silence of the cove was broken by the loud retort of the pistol, but instead of shooting the reptile the head of the duster who was standing over Jace erupted into a crimson plume.
"Finally I get to kill some shit all this talking was getting boring!" She yelled as she somersaulted through the air landing astride a large bolder that rocked unsteadily beneath her, the gun barked again and one of the women screamed then gurgled as the bullet hit her in the neck "Now where did reptile go?" having evened the odds for Jace she twisted and somersaulted backwards always aiming to get onto higher ground and above the snake demon wherever it was!

Jace took this opportunity to flee now that he was free of their ''shackles''. He yanked up the rifle that had clattered upon the ground and started running as he got his hands around it with a more stable grip. He turns to Bella then back to the bullets whizzing by his head from his left. He takes the rifle and fires it blindly into the direction of the gathering dust clouds. Of all the times, a sandstorm seemed to be forming as residue from the crater began to uplift. "Bella! We've got to get the fuck out of here!" He screamed, positioned and fired into the clouded dust. He saw a man standing before him swinging out with his gun and he ducked, positioning the barrel under his chin as he did and pulled the trigger before being showered in blood. A woman stood up from behind Bella and Jace got down on one knee, shouldering the rifle between his armpit and aimed before shooting the would be assassin in the forehead. The blond shuttered before collapsing behind Bella with jolts of spasms; dropping her rifle as well.

Bella yelped and ducked instinctively as Jace's bullet whistled past her head, that was all the saved her from the two large rocks that spun past where her head had been a split second earlier. Without thinking she pivoted on her ankle raising the powerful pistol in the general direction from which the rocks had come. As she turned the boulder she stood on shifted and slid sideways throwing her momentarily off balance, she just about steadied herself and then it shot sideways the ground beneath it sliding down the slope and Belladonna was dumped on her butt in the dust. The pistol barked in her hand as she fired into the sky, a look that was a mixture of annoyance and amusement on her face. Things might not be going to plan but at least it was exciting!

Belladonna wrote:Bella yelped and ducked instinctively as Jace's bullet whistled past her head, that was all the saved her from the two large rocks that spun past where her head had been a split second earlier. Without thinking she pivoted on her ankle raising the powerful pistol in the general direction from which the rocks had come. As she turned the boulder she stood on shifted and slid sideways throwing her momentarily off balance, she just about steadied herself and then it shot sideways the ground beneath it sliding down the slope and Belladonna was dumped on her butt in the dust. The pistol barked in her hand as she fired into the sky, a look that was a mixture of annoyance and amusement on her face. Things might not be going to plan but at least it was exciting!

Kaphiri winced as if expecting the pain of being shot to soon shoot through his chest, but once he checked with his 'third eye' he saw that the woman had missed. He let out a small grunt of relief before he slithered his serpentine body down, leaping out from the rocks with his clawed hands outstretched and his hood rising, giving his cobra-like head a more menacing look as he hissed, his large hand's groping the woman's shoulder, his claws digging into her flesh just barely enough so that she could feel them, but they did not sink in enough to draw blood. He erected his strong muscular torso high, yanking the woman off of her butt and into the air! He hissed at her, his hood still bellowing out at the sides of his head as he speaks for the first time: "Let go of your weapon boy, I've got the woman where I want her, and you two are in a shit lode of trouble." he exclaims. The other thugs seemed to re-bolster themselves and train their weapons upon the young man.

Jace froze as the weapons trained on him, and he could clearly see Bella was now held in the monster's grasp. He looks at the creature with disdain, and could see that there were at least 16 possible targets including the snake man. As he was about to put his plan in motion, a vision struck him: he was going to shoot the snake man's face, but he was going to use Bella to block the shot, then he would be gunned down before he could even get another shot in. "Damn it!" he hissed, tossing his weapon onto the ground with some reluctance. His vision ended before he could see what would happen next unfortunately, but then again there wasn't much of a surprise what was going to happen either.

The gun had slipped through her fingers when the snake monster grabbed her, its shiny shape lay glinting in the dust beneath her almost taunting her with its proximity. She struggled in his powerful grip feeling his claws pressing into her shoulders as she tried to break free. Her hands grabbed at his wrists trying to pull him off her as her shapely legs pedalled the air, he was far too strong for her. All her struggles achieved was to loosen the belt on her long coat, the buttons had all either popped or been torn off already, which allowed the coat to flap open. The long leather coat slid down her shoulders revealing she was still wearing her work clothes, she was dressed as a maid!
"Why are you doing this?" she complained "We only came to make sure you weren't planning to rip him off!" She nodded towards Jace as she spoke.

Belladonna wrote:The gun had slipped through her fingers when the snake monster grabbed her, its shiny shape lay glinting in the dust beneath her almost taunting her with its proximity. She struggled in his powerful grip feeling his claws pressing into her shoulders as she tried to break free. Her hands grabbed at his wrists trying to pull him off her as her shapely legs pedalled the air, he was far too strong for her. All her struggles achieved was to loosen the belt on her long coat, the buttons had all either popped or been torn off already, which allowed the coat to flap open. The long leather coat slid down her shoulders revealing she was still wearing her work clothes, she was dressed as a maid!
"Why are you doing this?" she complained "We only came to make sure you weren't planning to rip him off!" She nodded towards Jace as she spoke.

That was when a large elderly man stepped up. He was wearing a Stetson and had a patch over one of his eyes. He had fired a large bore shotgun to stifle the chatter, and points the barrel at Jace, lifting his chin up with it. "Well... looks like we have a couple of trespassers." he pulls the gun away from the young man and walks over to the woman who was still held up.

Kaphiri took this moment to speak up in his dark and deep accent: "Boss. We found these two amidst the rubble after the explosion. They seemed to have come here with ''ill intent''. They've killed at least three of our own, and injured many of the others." the snake man hissed.

The ''boss'' seemed to nod, lifting Bella's skirt up part way with the shotgun. "Hmm... I see." he says with an interested tone. "So you say a maid and this boy killed three of our people? Meh, well then..." he says turning around, "...what to do with you trouble makers then?" he says pausing to himself to think of a proper punishment.

"Hey look," Jace started, shaking his head. "This is all a big mistake. You see, we're not even after you guys; we're here for the less ''rugged'' and more intell-I mean, more ''refined'' men and women who are supposed to be hear later this evening." he starts, feeling anger well up inside him. He couldn't stand these thug types; they were too ''slow'' to usually reason with. He looks over to Bella with an anguished look upon his face, sighing before mouthing: "Sorry" to her. "Shit... this is my fault. We got to get out of this somehow..." he thought, sighing again.

She kicked out at the old man when he lifted her skirt even as she still struggled against the powerful hands that gripped her in a vice like hold "Hey Patchy" she yelled in her most mocking tone "Why don't you tell Scales here to let me go and this "MAID" will see how far she can shove that shotgun up your backside before blowing your brains out!"
Twisting as she was in the snake man's grip it might have sounded like an idle threat but the look in her eyes said she was deadly serious and anyone with an ounce of common sense would not give her half a chance to try.
"Get off me!" she cursed her eyes once more spotting the silver pistol lying on the ground so very close "Let me go or I swear to God I will kill every last one of you!" her legs pumped the air as she spoke adding an air of desperation to her otherwise brave words.

Belladonna wrote:She kicked out at the old man when he lifted her skirt even as she still struggled against the powerful hands that gripped her in a vice like hold "Hey Patchy" she yelled in her most mocking tone "Why don't you tell Scales here to let me go and this "MAID" will see how far she can shove that shotgun up your backside before blowing your brains out!"
Twisting as she was in the snake man's grip it might have sounded like an idle threat but the look in her eyes said she was deadly serious and anyone with an ounce of common sense would not give her half a chance to try.
"Get off me!" she cursed her eyes once more spotting the silver pistol lying on the ground so very close "Let me go or I swear to God I will kill every last one of you!" her legs pumped the air as she spoke adding an air of desperation to her otherwise brave words.

The old man stepped back, shaking his head with a soft sigh. "Kaphiri, can you do something about that wench?" He says as he turns towards the young man. "You three," he gestured to the two burly guys securing the kid. "Make'em watch. This bitch needs to learn a lesson and so does he. I've determined the punishment, and determined that the woman here is executed, publicly. Kaphiri, since you currently have a hold of her, you can kill her any way you deem fit. Once she's dead, bring the boy to my trailer so I can further evaluate the situation." he says, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, puffing it to life before sighing again as he turned away. "Just make it quick... we don't have all day." he finishes before walking off.

The two burly men held Jace and made him face Bella and Kaphiri, the snakeman. The snake man himself hissed, his hood flaring as he wastes no time in sinking his venomous teeth into Bella's left shoulder and neck. Her skin was smooth and his fangs easily injected themselves into her soft and quite palatable flesh. A revved up variant of Cobra venom quickly coursed through her veins, and would no doubt make her perception become a bit hazy. Blood rose from the marks he left as he pulled his head back, her body would soon become numb and too weak to do too much damage within him. He had to admit, he had already tasted her when he caught her scent off the wind, and he was sure as he was then, that he was going to enjoy this woman as his evening meal; besides, the mortal who cooked was terrible, she'd be one of the most decent meals he's eaten in a while. His forked tongue flicked out, lapping under her chin as he chuckled darkly. "Hows the love bite treating you?" he mocked, chuckling in a hissing manner. She looked quite incredible too for a mortal; he was unsure if the boy was her ''mate'', but she was certainly easy on the eyes, even if her attire made him question why a maid was out here in the first place. Well, she'd be serving yet, and for a greater purpose: to provide him with nourishment till there was hardly a thing left of her. His two stomachs would likely leave little behind of her presence upon this earth, but he will have her taste to remember, and at current, to look forward to.