Law POV

A Vampire…How interesting…Either that or someone was trying very hard to convince him, for what purpose he didn't know but it wouldn't hurt to keep his guard up. Devil fruit perhaps? Maybe a mythical zoan, if it could turn someone into a phoenix why not a vampire.

The woman in front of him was slender and petite, approximately 5"4, her hair tumbled in waves to rest upon her cloak just below the neckline of what he could now see was a leather corset resting beneath her cloak. Before he could continue in his perusal of her body, a voice broke his attention.

"Are you quite finished?" She had one slender eyebrow raised, smirking at his expression. It seemed he had amused her.

The Woman POV

"Are you quite finished?" She looked at the man again, raising her eyebrow as she did so. Already she was not disappointed, although he had yet to speak to her face to face she was immensely intrigued. Having gone to the trouble to stage a feeding he hadn't even batted an eyelid at seeing the blood trickle down her chin.

His eyes flickered up to hers, once again lingering upon her chin and teeth before continuing in his perusal of her person. It seemed he was waiting for her to crack. Like that would happen soon.

Trafalgar Law, in the flesh stood before her. Well the newspapers had at least one thing right. He was impossibly tall-well compared to her. He was slender almost lanky if it were not for the hint of wiry muscles underneath, definitely stronger than he looks, maybe like a marathon runner perhaps he was more of an endurance fighter. There was no way of telling without provoking him, but that was not the purpose for which she had attracted his attention.

His jeans were well tailored and displayed the spotted pattern, seen amongst islands in the North Blue. His hand clasped his nodachi holding it casually against his left shoulder. His fingers wrapped around them, displaying tattoos across his fingers spelling `Death', and she wondered whether they had been inked before or after he gained his moniker the `Surgeon of Death'.

Trails of tattoos rose above the collar of his hoodie, and she began to question another thing she had heard. According to certain sources, that were less than credible the man was decked in tattoos all converging on his heart. The man by all accounts was sadistic and a mad killer, yet why had he named his pirates after a heart she would never be able to guess. Perhaps he was like a certain tin man, in his metal submarine, perhaps it was his way of saying he needed a heart.

She snorted at her train of thought, she had gotten quite side tracked from her mission. There was countless metaphors and reasons that could be the reason why they were called the Heart Pirates and she doubted she would find the answer to that anytime soon. Besides he was studying her as well, she wondered whether she would be as interesting as the man before her.

"Well, if you're going to stick around, be a dear for me and make sure no-one comes in." With that she turned on her heel and reached the stripper once again. Wiping the blood from her face before, lapping at the lines on the woman's neck. Feeling her squirm beneath her touch.

She heard him take steps closer, looking over her shoulder at what she was doing. Before she once again bit down on the flesh below her.

Law POV

"Well, if you're going to stick around be a dear for me and make sure no-one comes in." The woman said to him before returning to the stripper. Normally he didn't take to well to orders even if it was a suggestion. Yet the woman had a point, he doubted anyone else that could enter would be as calm as he was. Stepping closer he could see the woman over her shoulder, had once again bitten down, her throat contracting as she swallowed. This was no trick; she was clearly drinking blood as if it was a regular occurrence for her.

Then why did she want him to see this, that she wanted him to see was obvious. Curious, the most likely answer was to bait him and trap him, after all surely she could drain him of some blood and dump him on some marine base and claim her prize if she thought she was strong enough. That was another thing that was hard to gauge her strength. It seemed he'd get nowhere with silence, and the fact that she hadn't immediately started chatting helped her a great deal, she was strong willed and confident clearly not many could do what she was doing. Three quarters through the first half of the grand line he was not used to such casual treatment, people did what he wanted when he wanted.

"You trust me an awful lot for someone you've just met. Why did you want me to see this, Miss…?" The woman pulled back once again tracing her tongue over the wounds once again before turning to him.

"Venandi Gwen. Are you not interested? My mistake, sorry to bother you Trafalgar."

"It's no bother Miss Vena-"

"Gwen. Just Gwen is fine." My eyes narrowed, she had interrupted and given a suggestion, even if it was phrased well.

"I don't think we're onto a first name basis Miss-"

"Yet." Her eyes flashed in triumph as the corner of her mouth twitched upwards into a smirk. Before I could rebuke her, she had moved on. Her arms came to clasp each other seemingly behind her back as she leaned casually, with one foot up placed on the wall behind her. At the height of ease, despite the trembling woman still fixed to the wall on her right. "I do believe we can come to some sort of arrangement. I have something you want, and you have something that I would like. It's only a matter of discussing the details."

"Details? What exactly is it that I have that you want?"

"Would like." She corrected. "Well to put it simply, I would like to join your crew." That had not been what he was expecting, why was she being this abrupt, and why my crew. Was she a plant, a spy? Pushing that aside for now, what was on offer for him. How was she so confident about her knowledge of what he wanted.

"And what is it that you have, that I want?" Again her eyes, flashed in amusement and her position relaxed against the wall bringing her arms to either side and gestured towards herself.

"Me."

She left it at that. No further movement or explanation came from her as she waited for my response. Why do I get the feeling that I'm being tested? Well, it does seem that way. I might have to revaluate her position of confidence, it seems like arrogance now. Although she has sought me out, I know practically nothing about her and her abilities, anything about vampires of legend could either help or hamper me. No not arrogance, but what about temperament. Let's poke her character a bit and see.

"Now Miss Venandi-" No interruption, promising. "I'd say be careful- that sounds quite arrogant. After insisting that you would only like to join me, yet insisting that I want you after sharing less than four minutes in my company. Sounds arrogant indeed, especially when there's nothing stopping me from leaving right now."

Her head was meekly looking at the floor, oh she doesn't like that accusation. "Oh but there is something." Raising her chin, the grin on her face, completely contrasted with the meekness her body language was portraying. She grinned at me, extending the pause for as long as possible, testing my patience. Just as my lips parted to question her, she beat me to it.

"Curiosity. Just like how you were curious enough to watch me from across a room, ignoring your own crew talking to you and the dancers on stage. That same curiosity that meant you just had to try that drink you hadn't ordered. Is that curiosity, really going to be satisfied with a tiny conversation with a Vampire no less and be able to walk away."

Pushing off that wall she strode up, slowly stepping and testing with each step how close she could get to me without making me uncomfortable. Stopping when her nose almost brushed my chest. "That same curiosity that lets me get this close. No don't insult me, your better than that."

"Oh am I? How would you know?"

"Care to prove me wrong? Of course you'd have to spend more time in my horrible company."

I raised a hand, putting it on her shoulder and pushing her back a step. She moved with it, had expected it.

"Back to business, eh? I think it's fairly obvious at this point that I'm a Vampire, and well quite frankly are you really going to let an opportunity to study a Vampire pass you by? Besides you'll also gain a skilled crewmate in your favour. Think of the possibilities, this woman hasn't bled out yet nor has she moved from this wall or done anything that I don't want her to do." Some skills indeed, the possibilities for preventing blood loss alone, where more than enough to attract my attention. The crew would be safer, between myself and the woman it also opened more potential avenues for information, victims could still bleed out but that much slower and I wouldn't have to use my fruit. But what about gathering information on the crew?

"What happened to the waitress who served my drink? What did you do to her?"

At that she nodded, "Oh I only made a suggestion." That wasn't the answer I was looking for, and she knew it. "Oh now, don't look at me like that, I can't reveal all my information at once besides you've offered me no guarantees."

It was a fair comment, she was negotiating and doing it well, this wasn't her first time. "I don't appreciate being ordered, Miss Venandi"

"It was simply a suggestion."

"If it was a suggestion, this offer of yours why ask me? Why not tell me that I was now a part of the crew, and make it seem like it was my idea."

"Because I don't think it wise to start an encounter with my potential captain by forcing him to do by bidding. Besides, as soon as you became aware of the ability later on in the journey you would always wonder whether I had used it on you in the first place. Not exactly, a good thing to plant seeds of doubt for further along the journey of the Grand Line where it will only be more perilous."

They were all good points, yet I couldn't help wonder whether I was being influenced even as she denied it.

Gwen POV

I could see him hesitating. He was so close to agreeing. Some more information then, show him your trustworthy Gwen. I moved my eyes and fixed them on his chin.

"How about this? You're unsure of whether I'm influencing you at the moment. For my influence to work, I need to make eye-contact, for the rest of your duration on Spire Island in the presence of yourself or your crew I will not make eye contact but look at your chins. If you want to find out more, you can find me."

I walked once more to the skimpy waitress, making eye contact before whispering quietly into her ear, "You will remember none of this conversation after I leave this room. You will kindly escort Mr Law back to his booth and tell him about the island and where he can pick up medical supplies for his crew."

He was behind me again, "What are you getting her to do?"

I turned fixing my gaze on his chin once more, this would be irritating no chance of reading his expression this way, but if it needed to be done I could do it. "Making sure that the residents don't think there's anything wrong with their friendly neighbourhood stranger, and no mention of vampire meets their ears." Raising my hood and rearranging so I looked the same as before slightly pulling the curtain aside, "Oh and Trafalgar, I'd appreciate it if you made no mention of Vampires to anyone else. Goodbye Doctor."

Letting the curtain fall, I slipped through the crowds quickly reaching the back door and dispersing into the night.