You flipped the license back over. Just like Shanks had said, it was marked with the information. A part had been added near the bottom in big, bold letters.

Non-human: V

"So they just use a letter to identify the type?" You asked as you handed the card back to Mihawk.

The home was his and after some bickering with Shanks, he'd let you all in. Now you all sat in his library as he was filled in on the still developing issue.

"Yes." Mihawk answered simply as he sipped from his glass. The fact that it was blood didn't bother you, it was more how thick it was and the thought of were it came from that did.

"Can I see yours?" You asked Shanks.

"Sure." He was grinning mischievously as he fished around for it in his wallet and handed it over.

You were surprised to see the same part missing on his card. As you furrowed your brows and carefully checked over all the details, you still couldn't find anything.

"You don't have it on yours." You quickly gave in when you realized it wasn't anywhere on the card.

"Nope, I haven't come across a time when I needed to make myself obvious, so I haven't. As far as the government is concerned, I'm human."

"...But you aren't." You said.

"No."

"So what are you?"

"You know that question is rude? Asking one of our kind to give up our identity is such a human thing to do." Mihawk said gruffly.

"How am I supposed to know that?" You felt yourself blush. It was no wonder Shanks laughed the first time you asked them that at the bar.

"To answer your question," Shanks was grinning, amused. "I want to see if you can figure it out."

You thought for a moment. He hadn't given you much to work with yet but he'd let more slip the longer you were around him, you were sure of it.

Mihawk had managed to assure you this wasn't some attempt at kidnapping and you were relaxed enough to actually talk to them more normally. So far, you hadn't really touched on what the plan was for keeping you in check, but you'd revisit that soon.

"Well, I know you aren't a vampire, you said as much when we first met. You can do the glamor trick, so that means you can't be any kind of were-animal.....and that's about all I have right now."

"It's a good start." He chuckled. "And all correct so far."

"Speaking of were-animals...." Mihawk sighed. "I'd like this taken care of so I can get you all out of my house. I didn't want guests."

Benn snickered quietly from his spot by the large bay window. He was staring outside but still listening intently to the conversation.

"I'd like to go home so there's that." You agreed with Mihawk.

"You can't. Not until this is done at least." Shanks shook his head.

"So what, I stay with complete strangers?"

"Oh come on, we aren't complete strangers." He objected.

"Here's how we'll take care of this." Mihawk raised his voice sharply. "We weren't quick enough to keep you from harm and though you shouldn't have been in that part of town, it is the supernatural's job to keep the normal safe. You will stay here until we can get you adjusted and we will find someone to accompany you with your first shift. All the land here is mine and will suffice for this purpose."

"I'm staying....here." You weren't happy with that. "And what do you mean by having someone join me? Shanks just told me I'm going to want to kill the first person I see. That doesn't sound smart."

"Shanks, you're terrible at giving proper details." Mihawk rubbed his temples and you didn't doubt he had some kind of headache coming on. "What managed to hurt you was a werejaguar. With that in mind, any other jaguar, leopard, or even tiger would be good for you to work with. You'll take on a jaguar form and should be much less willing to kill another similar cat, especially if said cat is stronger and much more accustomed to changing shape than you. As for anything else that moves, yes, you'll want to kill."

"So we need another big cat?"

"Yes. The problem is, unlike werewolves or rats, most big cats don't congregate. It's rare for them to stay in groups and that makes them much harder to find."

"I can get the boys on that." Benn grunted. "I'm sure we can find someone."

"You have three days." Mihawk said with a frown. "If you can't find someone, Shanks and I will have to try and take over."

"He's got it." Shanks layed out in the couch across from you, clearly having no problem making himself comfortable. "If Benn says he'll get it done, it'll be done."

"Fine. Do what you need to do, just not here. Go home, I'll show (Y/n) to her room."

"Shouldn't someone stay here for the day?" Benn suggested. "If you're out cold, someone else should be here to be safe."

"That's probably a good idea." Shanks' eyes sparkled. "I can stick around."

Mihawk groaned but didn't object any further than that. "You can show her to her room then. I can only handle so much of you Shanks, make yourself scarce."

His friend laughed heartily as he got to his feet and pat him on the back. Mihawk was barely tolerating it, scowling heavily at the contact. "You won't even know I'm here. Go ahead and head out Benn, get some kind of search started for our big cat, offer some reward or another for the help to entice them."

"I'll uh, pay you guys back eventually for all this." You said meekly. If they were going to try that hard to help you, you'd do what you can to make sure you didn't owe them.

"Don't worry about it." Shanks wrapped his arm around your shoulders and you felt like a blanket of warmth had covered you. "We've all gotta watch out for each other. Besides, do you know how rare werejaguars are?"

You didn't. But something told you he was about to fill you in on that as he walked you down one of the house's many halls.

----

It had been a long but otherwise uneventful night. Shanks took you to a spare room and said it was yours for the duration of your stay. He took a different one further down the same hall.

The room was plenty big enough, with a large king size bed right in the middle on a raised pedestal. The frame was a heavy, dark wood that extended over the bed to allow for it to be encompassed in a soft, white canopy of almost sheer fabric. If Mihawk was trying to play the part of the rich, extravagant vampire, he was doing a good job. You hadn't payed any attention to anything else in the room that night and went straight for the bed instead.

It had the softest sheets you'd ever slept in and the warmest blankets. You could say it was easily the best night of sleep you'd had in a long time, despite your current problems. You'd been so tired that you hadn't lingered on that actually. In fact, you didn't even strip off your work apron before getting to bed. After taking off your shoes and getting in, you'd promptly passed out.

----

The only reason you woke up when you did was because there was someone knocking at your door.

"(Y/n)!"

Of course it was Shanks. There was no one else here as far as you knew. At least no one else that wasn't currently dead to the world.

"What!?" You shouted back. The bit of irritation you'd felt at work last night had disappeared when you saw him but it was back with a fury. Simply put, he was already getting on your nerves.

"I found a change of clothes for you and there's more you need to know." He popped in, taking your reply as an okay to enter.

"Did I say you could come in?" You snapped as you sat up.

"Grouchy huh?" He placed a small pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. "I hear the closer it gets to the full moon, the moodier you guys get. Though supposedly it's worse for new bloods."

"Yeah, I don't care about that right now. Why can't you just let me sleep?"

"Because you need another lesson on the supernatural. Being part of our world means knowing how to navigate it. Humans get off easy when they make mistakes with us but other supernaturals, not so much. We can't turn you loose to live your life without educating you first."

You scowled at him as he stood at the foot of your bed, ducking slightly under a curtain of fabric. Just like with your first time seeing him, you couldn't help but think about how handsome he was. He dressed simply with light blue jeans and a chocolate brown button up shirt on top, untucked. One sleeve was knotted up and tied off, as you'd come to expect, while the other was pushed up to his elbow. The first few top buttons of his shirt were undone, showing off a tantalizing view of his well toned chest.

It wasn't fair that someone so handsome and likable was getting on your nerves like he was right now.

"I just woke up, I need to clean up and eat something before I even think about sitting down for a lesson." You replied calmly, you could control your mood.

"Mihawk doesn't keep food in the house but I found a place that delivers outside the city. Hope you're in the mood for one of the best breakfast burritos around, it should be here in about 30."

"Cool, can you leave? I'd like to clean up alone."

"You're no fun." He said with a grin. "I'll leave you to it then, you can find me in the dining room when you're done."

As soon as he left, you dragged yourself out of bed and inspected the clothes. There were a few different things in the mix. No bras or panties, but you found a couple pairs of leggings and a pair of shorts that looked about your size. There were a few shirts as well including a couple tees, a tank top, and some kind of tube top that looked like it came straight from the 1980's. You settled on the shorts and the tank top and found a door in the room leading to a private bath.

You were delighted to find everything you needed hidden away in drawers and a pantry. The bathroom was just as nice as your room with heated floors and what you decided had to be a custom claw foot tub. It was much deeper than any kind you'd seen before and easily big enough to hold more than one person. You wouldn't be surprised if this room was meant for a couple now that you had a chance to look at more than just the bed.

There was no shower but a bath sounded nice anyway. If Shanks knew there was only a tub and planned on you being out in 30 minutes, he was sorely mistaken. The second you lowered yourself into the hot water, you let out a satisfied groan and planned on staying put until the water turned cold. The heat of the water did a great job of making your shoulder hurt that much less and it made you feel so much better.

The wound was tender yesterday, this morning it felt like it was practically on fire and the smallest touch hurt. You had a feeling it would be getting worse before it got better. It took a bit longer than you liked to actually clean yourself off but by the time you finished, the water was still warm and you were able to sit back and enjoy it. The soaps you'd found were hibiscus and air around you hung heavy with the sweet, floral scent. Maybe you'd treat this like a bit of a getaway. You could talk Shanks into letting you borrow his phone since your's got left at work, call your boss and tell him some kind of emergency came up, and enjoy what parts of this you could.

Sure things were going to change but the way you were handling it, no one would know. You could keep it a secret and get back to life like nothing had happened. If you ignored the worst parts of all this, it was almost a vacation. Right. You could convince yourself of that.