A gray tabby basked in the morning sunlight atop a crate, tail undulating languidly as it watched the wharf come to life through its enormous emerald eyes. Waves lapped and crashed against the riprap, gulls cawed as they scavenged for scraps, and a pleasant breeze blew through banners and flags. It was too early for the shops and stalls to open but sailors, stevedores, fishers, and more were already buzzing around and preparing for the day.

Port Mesere was large enough to dock three ships but the owners of the single ship occupying a space warranted privacy: everyone else had to wait until it unloaded its cargo. The Duchess of Pale was a modern troopship on its maiden voyage. She had fed and housed 120 Imperial soldiers, their uniforms, and their equipment in her belly as they traveled to Pinto.

The Duchess was the property of House Peleps, one of the Great Houses of the Realm. But it was no mere barge transporting footsoldiers, it was a mobile headquarters for the Wyld Hunt. Whenever abominations threatened the Realm's interests, aspiring heroes and warriors banded together under the guidance of the Immaculate Order to vanquish them.

And Pinto was facing quite the threat indeed. Months ago a small fleet of ships appeared near Pinto and began attacking trading vessels and raiding coastal fishing villages throughout the Wavecrest Archipelago. They were impossible ships made of shimmering gossamer and filled with aquatic raiders. The ships could sail heedless of the wind and even dive beneath the waves to evade detection or flee. Survivors of the raids only spoke of the savage cruelty of the attackers. They never made demands, offered any trades, flew any flags, or negotiated at all.

For the Pinto locals, the arrival of the Wyld Hunt was a blessing. Proof that the Realm still cared for their well-being, proof that their loyalty to the throne wasn't misplaced.

For Ba Ri Peng it was a problem. For one, Peng was considered a threat just as much as the transient raiders. The Immaculate Order considered them Anathema to the Right and True Order of the universe. These hunters would not hesitate to cut them down if they were discovered.

Through enormous emerald eyes they watched soldiers disembark from the Duchess. They all carried their own gear while hired workers unloaded shared equipment and goods from the ship's hold. Barrels of firedust, speartips, javelins, arrows, and other resources were taken to carts and wagons, ready to be transported to the village of tents being erected outside of Port Mesere. Anxiously Peng saw the hulking form of a warstrider being lifted out of one of the hatches. Massive war machines controlled by a single pilot, the presence of even one meant the Realm was taking this threat seriously.

Smaller vessels would be used to take squads to any of the nearby islands and keep patrolling ships staffed by the Realm's finest. It was a significant gesture, and the soldiers themselves, while maintaining professional decorum and knowing what to expect, considered it an opportunity to enjoy themselves in the luxurious West.

The soldiers were the least of Ba Ri Peng's worries however. A Wyld Hunt was never just the soldiers. No, what worried them was the Dragon-Blooded. Exalted champions of Gaia and chosen of the elemental dragons, Dragon-Blooded were the Princes of the Earth, wielders of phenomenal power and leaders of not just the Realm but of all the major civilizations in Creation. Peng could handle themself against one, maybe two, but there were at least twenty on the Duchess. How the Immaculate Order managed to attract so many during this tumultuous time baffled Peng.

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They approached the Duchess, plodding along on their padded feet looking all the world to be an ordinary, if inured to human contact, stray. The mass of soldiers, eager to get out of the bowels of the troopship, were chatty and excited. A lone figure stood on the Duchess's deck, scanning the wharf for signs of trouble. They wore a concealing green cloak which Peng thought must have been too warm in the tropical weather of mid-summer Pinto. A mask covered the lower half of their face: only their viridian eyes were visible. In their hand they wielded a long bow that sparkled with green jade filigree.

Peng thought the figure in green spotted them at first, but they just continued their vigil as the cat made their way down the wharf. They needed to get a look at the cargo. Taking precautions not to behave strangely in front of the lookout, Peng made sure to inspect the soldiers that stopped to pet them, attack a lazy gull eating a fish, and roll over on the hot wood at one point.

After half an hour they had arrived at the staging area where one of the officers was discussing logistics with the laborers. The officer was tall and thin, pale-skinned with a mane of bright red hair. Unlike the green lookout he was wearing a sleeveless vest made of a red, leather-like material, skin-tight lace-up red trousers, and martial arts slippers. They were adorned in jewelry: multiple piercings with gem inlays (including a sapphire belly button stud that was visible thanks to their cropped vest and low-rise pants), rings, and bangles. Despite all the jingling metal they never made a sound as they moved. A paired dagger scabbard housed a set of red jade daggers on his lower back.

This close Peng could hear how bored he was as he talked to the laborers, though he was taking his job seriously. Peng took a moment to enjoy the sight of his body and savor the melodic sound of his voice. He was an enemy of course, but they allowed themself a moment to fantasize a taboo midnight rendezvous.

Sadly, it wasn't to last. Peng detected a surge of violent intent and sprang to the side, narrowly avoiding three arrows fired by the lookout. "Kill the cat!" the lookout shouted. Peng didn't even look behind them before they dashed towards the closest unused dock, but they heard the sprinting footsteps of the man in red.

Unable to outrun a warrior as a housecat, Peng focused and shifted mid-stride into the shape of a green-eyed deer. Revealing themself like this was a risk but they were already being fired at, there weren't any better options. Cries of "Anathema!" went up among the soldiers and they saw more weapons being readied.

With a huge splash, a figure leapt out of the water before Peng could reach the dock. A woman wearing blue silk robes, skin like sauna stones, and dark eyes wielding a blue jade trident tipped with orichalcum points landed in a pose ready to intercept them.

Perhaps the lookout had marked them as soon as they saw the cat. Peng was running out of options. They were effectively surrounded and with the reach of that trident they wouldn't be able to jump around the Water-Aspect woman.

Ah well, they braced themself. The only way through is through! Just before impact with the woman's trident they shifted again into the shape of a bipedal lizard. Five meters long and weighing over 400 kilograms, what the iron-skull devil lacked in speed it made up for in armor-like skin, a bony dome over its skull, and overwhelming mass.

The trident carved a bloody trail across their brow, over their enormous green eye, and down their neck but they slammed into the woman and kept going, leaping into the water. She may have had the wind knocked out of her but Peng knew Water Aspects could breathe underwater and their movements weren't hindered by the depths.

Fortunately, no self-respecting Lunar Exalted would dare be caught in the ocean without a useful aquatic form. Before the trident-wielding huntress could compose herself Peng had shifted again, this time into the shape of a marlin, and swam down and away from the Pinto shore.

They spared only a glance to see if they were being pursued and were relieved to see the Water-Aspect disappear into the distance.