Private Crazy Rich Jedi

[Xian Xiao]

Xian stood very still as the Empress spoke.

Not out of fear—out of instinctive respect.

She kept her hands loosely folded in front of her, posture careful without being rigid, dark eyes lifting only when it felt appropriate. The library felt different this close to the Empress, the air heavier, layered with something she couldn't quite name. Not oppressive. Just… present. The kind of presence that reminded you the world had teeth long before you were born.

When the Empress mentioned pheromones, Xian's brow furrowed slightly, not in discomfort but in quiet processing. It explained more than she expected. Noriko's reactions. The strange pull of the palace. The way the air itself sometimes felt charged, with nothing to do with the Force.

"I didn't realize it worked that way," Xian said honestly, her voice soft but steady. "We're taught to be aware of emotional influence, of the Force and its echoes—but not… this." She hesitated a fraction of a second, then added carefully, "It makes sense. Just not something most outsiders are prepared for."

At the mention of her master, a faint warmth touched her expression. Not amusement exactly. Something more grounded.

"Noriko has always… experienced the galaxy very directly," Xian said, choosing her words with care. "She doesn't turn away from things that affect her. She tries to understand them instead—even when they're overwhelming."

She paused, then inclined her head slightly, acknowledging the weight behind the Empress's observation.

"I don't think she'd take your words lightly," Xian added. "Being remembered across that kind of time carries meaning."

The Empress's mention of the airship drew Xian's gaze upward now, curiosity winning out over restraint. Mountains. Ancient palaces. Dragon riders. Her imagination caught and held.

"That sounds…" She stopped, searching for a word that didn't feel small. "…extraordinary."

A beat. Then, more quietly:

"Thank you. For allowing us passage. And for sharing this place—even briefly."

Xian straightened again, resolve settling back into her spine.

"I'll make sure I appreciate it properly."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

She gave a nod of her head to that. "it can be, there is something to be seen in the older places... not many will remember that most have died out long ago and every empire has been built on top of the dead." The empress laughed though to that as she seemed to be remembering more but it was older foggy in some cases. "You'll see other aspects of it across Atrisia even if I rarely seat this my seat of power, the Chi-oni have discovered some of it. The hollowed world within and below... the worlds beyond the planet in the system that were pulled from places far older then most understand. The jedi are learning and I have shared a few things with them. "

Noriko arrived in the library as she slipped through the door and spoke with a smile on her face. "Empress, thank you for entertaining my padawan." She bowed when she was looking at it all her attention going to the empress but she also looked at Xian when she finally stretched out. "It is alright, you have no need to be as formal yet, I am not in official garments either." The empress said it and stood up finally as she slid the book onto a table but looked down at the pair with a wider grin on her face. "There is plenty you will still have on Atrisia and should you find yourself wanting to come back... well I think next time I will have gotten use to this position and the water palace."

Noriko said it with a nod. "I would love to come back and see a water palace... after we travel around a bit, my padawan needs training and the best place to do that might be somewhere I can put a boot to her butt to get moving." She said it with a grin though as a joke.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian had gone still while the empress spoke, not frozen with fear or awe, but attentive in the way someone listened when they know the words matter more than the tone. Her dark eyes followed the empress's slow movements through the library, tracking not the height or the presence, but the meaning layered into what was being said—empires built on the dead. Worlds folded into one another. Knowledge shared carefully, deliberately.

When the empress finished, Xian dipped her head, not a bow, not quite, but a gesture of respect that felt honest rather than rehearsed.

"I think…that's why I like libraries," she said after a beat, her voice quiet but steady. "They don't pretend the past was clean. They…keep it. Even when it's uncomfortable."

Her gaze flicked briefly to the book the empress had set aside, then back up again. "I'm not very good with grand histories," she admitted, a small, self-aware smile touching her mouth. "But I like knowing what came before, even if it's buried. Especially if it is."

Noriko's arrival pulled her attention sideways, and the tension she hadn't realized she was carrying eased at once. Xian's shoulders relaxed, just a fraction, at the familiar warmth in her master's voice. When Noriko teased about boots and training, Xian snorted softly before she could stop herself, the sound half amusement, half fond resignation.

"I move," she protested mildly, glancing back at Noriko with a look that clearly said she'd heard this speech before. "Just…sometimes in directions that don't involve being kicked."

Then she looked back to the empress, expression sincere again. "Thank you," she said. "For letting me be here. For not…expecting me to understand everything all at once."

There was no fear in her tone. Just gratitude, and curiosity, and the quiet resolve of someone who knew she had a long way to go and was no longer afraid of that fact.

"And if we do come back," Xian added, a hint of a smile returning, "I'd like to see the water palace. Before my master decides it's another place to make me run."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked over as Xian as she spoke and the empress laughed. "Perhaps, though running around the water palace is something fun. eating under the stars on beds that float around the internal passages under moonlight. It has been seen as one of the most beautiful." She said it and walked over a she towered over Noriko and looked down. Hands coming up and running through the jedi masters hair, tilting her head up and leaning down enough as she smiled. "Plus I do enjoy the idea of you being around little jedi." Her laugh came as she let go and backed away walking out of the library to go back towards her throne room and Noriko smiled.

"Oh yeah I got it." She was happy with herself and smiled when she motioned. "Come on we're packed and ready to go once the airship arrives." Noriko was looking at many parts of it while she was moving. her attention going towards the padawan when she had a look. "Come on." She said it and was heading up.. out of the library and into the massive staircase of the palace as they were able to walk and be led towards the massive balcony that the airships came in to dock. Noriko was looking at it as their luggage and stuff was set up and ready. A smile on her face though when she stretched out her arms.

The captain stood poised at the helm of her Atrisian skyship, her form glistening under the relentless sun and whipping winds of the open decks, as if anointed with oil. With distinct norrthern heritage evoking the elegant nobility as she boasts warm golden skin, sharp eyes of deep brown intensity framed by straight bangs, and full lips set in a subtle, knowing smirk. Her dark hair, tinged with auburn highlights, is pulled into a high bun that defies the gusts, allowing tendrils to escape and dance like crimson banners. Noriko looked at the captain as the airship was coming in and she pointed with a small laugh for Xian. "Oh fun."

Clad in a form-fitting pilot's ensemble of sleek black leather that hugs her bosom and hourglass silhouette, accented by red imperial sashes and protective goggles slung low on her neck, she grips the wheel with one hand while the other rests on her hip near a vibro-blade holster. Passengers on the wooden promenades below gaze in awe, not just at the vast cloudscapes, but at her commanding presence a blend of allure and focus amid the hum of repulsorlifts. The airship was docking as the serving staff from the palace were transferring the equipment onto it and the woman spke. "Not often.. or ever I get to come here. Come on master jedi we got places to be and I don't want to be here if they change their minds."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian followed a step behind Noriko as they left the library, the echo of the Empress's laughter still hanging faintly in the air like the afterimage of lightning. She didn't comment on it, not aloud. Some moments were meant to be absorbed rather than answered, and Atrisia seemed to specialize in those.

The grand staircase opened before them, sunlight spilling down its length in pale gold sheets, and Xian slowed just enough to take it in. The scale of the palace still unsettled her a little. Not in fear, but in reminder—of how small one could feel in places built to outlast memory. She adjusted her pack instinctively, fingers brushing the strap at her shoulder, grounding herself in the familiar weight.

By the time they reached the balcony, the wind had picked up, carrying the scent of sky and distant stone. Xian stepped closer to the railing, dark eyes lifting as the airship came into view, its silhouette cutting cleanly through the bright blue. Her brows rose despite herself.

"…Stars," she murmured, the word quiet but sincere.

When Noriko pointed and laughed, Xian followed her gaze to the captain at the helm. For a moment, she watched: taking in the confidence, the ease, the way the woman owned the space she stood in without needing to announce it. Something was grounding about that kind of presence. Familiar, in a way.

Xian turned slightly toward Noriko, lips curving into a small, appreciative smile. "You weren't kidding," she said. "I'm starting to think Atrisia collects memorable people on purpose."

As the ship docked and the staff moved with practiced efficiency, Xian stepped back to give them room, the wind tugging loose strands of her hair until she reached up to smooth it back, habit more than vanity. She glanced once more at the palace behind them, then forward again, shoulders settling.

When the captain called out, Xian nodded immediately, falling into step beside Noriko without hesitation.

"Lead the way," she said calmly. "I think I've had just enough time to be dazzled."

There was no reluctance in her stride as she moved toward the gangway, only readiness, and a quiet certainty that wherever they were going next, she was meant to go there moving forward, not looking back.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at Xian with a look. "No sweetie, Atrisia produces the people. There are maybe enough fugly or not pretty Atrisians you could count on an arkley's hand." She said it while she was walking and found a place. Seeing the captain of the airship with a smile. "We're ready." She said it as the woman gave a nod and waited for them to finish. "Then we are off, next stop. The cloud top." She said it as the airship was going up with a look at the railing. The beauty of the palace was there and then the city around it and the fields as they spread out with tens of thousands of flowers... even more birds and all of their feathers. It was a sight to behold.

The Atrisian flier cut a sharp, silver silhouette against the deepening indigo of the upper atmosphere. Unlike the cumbersome vessels of the lower ranks, this ship was a masterpiece of aerodynamic grace, its hull plated in polished jeweled alloys that shimmered with a faint, iridescent oil-slick sheen. On the open observation deck, the wind was kept at bay by a humming kinetic screen, allowing the passengers to stand at the mahogany-inlaid railings without ruffling their formal robes. The only sound was the melodic, low-frequency thrum of the repulsor engines, a steady heartbeat that felt synchronized with the thinning air.

As the vessel angled its prow upward, the mountain below ceased to look like rock and began to resemble a pedestal of dark velvet. The clouds surrounding the summit were not the gray, heavy vapors of the plains; they were swirling in slow, meditative spirals of gold, lavender, and pale turquoise. The flier drifted through these banks of glowing fog, the metallic hull momentarily vanishing as if the ship were being dissolved into a watercolor painting. Noriko was looking at more of it as she went along the deck of the ship with a smile on her face. THeir other airship had been much more military... this was private market and for pleasure.

Then, the palace revealed itself. It did not sit upon the mountain so much as it bloomed from it. Tiered pagodas of translucent white jade rose like frozen flames, their eaves tipped with bells of hammered gold that rang in frequencies audible in the thin air. The architecture was an impossible geometry of sweeping curves and floating terraces, connected by bridges of solid jeweled crysteel that reflected the area around it making the bridges seem like they were clouds themselves. It was a scene ripped directly from the scrolls of a fantasy, a physical manifestation of the realm of the dragon lords, glowing with an inner light that made the sun seem dim by comparison.

As the Atrisian ship drew closer, the contrast was striking: the sharp, technological precision of the vessel meeting the soft, eternal radiance of the celestial kazue stone. The shadow of the flier lengthened across a courtyard paved in crushed pearls, where ancient pines grew from pots of solid sapphire. There was no soot here, no rust, no decay. Every surface of the palace breathed a scent of chilled sandalwood and ozone. The passengers fell silent, the technological marvel of their own ship suddenly feeling like a mere toy in the presence of a structure built when the stars were young. The voice and sounds carrying with the sounds of music on the breeze.

The voice and sounds carrying with the sounds of music on the breeze originated from a delicate open-air pavilion perched on one of the palace's floating terraces, its curved roof upheld by slender pillars of carved celestial kazue stone that glowed softly in hues of moonlit pearl. Wisteria vines heavy with violet blossoms draped the eaves, their petals drifting lazily in the thin, scented air like silent snow. NOriko was looking as the airship was coming in and the captain had a look on her face. A smile of enjoyment... the others on the ship, on the deck had come out to see the beauty but were staying in the air bubble for temperature and oxygen... Noriko standing on the deck where she could feel the chill of being so high up.

Within the pavilion sat a solitary musician, an elegant Atrisian woman in flowing robes of deep crimson silk embroidered with golden phoenixes. Her long black hair cascaded unbound, framing a face of serene beauty as she cradled a finely crafted pipa—a traditional four-stringed lute of polished rosewood inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Her fingers, graceful and precise, danced across the strings with masterful control, plucking and bending notes that evoked the ancient sorrows and triumphs of the realm. As the airship drifted nearer, the melody resolved into a haunting ballad, her clear voice rising pure and emotive on the wind:

In Jar'Kai's halls, where shadows play,
Tamakatsura and Genji strayed.
Two brothers bound by sword and oath,
Their dreams as one, they swore to both.
Yet fate would carve a path apart,
For love and war would break their heart.

The chorus swelled with the pipa's resonant twang, notes cascading like falling ricewine petals:

Oh, Ricewine, bloom of sorrow's vine,
A love forged true, through war's design.
Through betrayal's scar and grief's long wail,
Their hearts endure, though dreams may fail.

Her playing intensified for the second verse, fingers striking sharper accents to mimic clashing songsteel blades:

With songsteel blades, Tamakatsura led,
On battlefields where honor bled.
By Genji's side, through Sith's dark reign,
They fought for Atrisia's bright refrain.
Akiko danced, her grace a star,
Yet war's grim call would leave its scar.

The chorus returned, her voice lifting higher, carried effortlessly across the cloud tops. As the song progressed through tales of forbidden love, northern exile, and the thunder of Red Cliffs, the pipa's strings wept and roared in turn—vibrato bends for grief, rapid plucks for charging horselords. The final verses spoke of sacrifice, vengeance, and rebirth in gardens of remembrance, her tone softening to a tender lament before the repeating chorus built to a poignant resolve. In the outro, her fingers slowed to gentle arpeggios, voice fading like echoing bells:

Now Ricewine flows through Atrisia's lore,
Of love and loss, forevermore.
Tamakatsura and Akiko stand,
Their scars a map of a healed land.
In starlit fields, their song ascends,
A flame of hope that never ends.

The last notes lingered in the ozone-scented air, blending seamlessly with the palace's eternal radiance, as if the music itself were woven from the clouds. "Ricewine." Noriko said with a smile on her face as she listened to the song. There was interest there when she went over some parts of it. AMusement playing through while the airship was coming in but she looked over the rrailing as she was speaking. "Oh look that cloud is in the shape of a hound."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian had gone quiet somewhere between the palace shrinking beneath them and the clouds beginning to glow.

She stood at the railing, both hands resting lightly on the polished wood, dark eyes lifted as the world unfolded upward rather than away. The climb pressed gently at her ears, the air thinning just enough to be felt, and she breathed through it slowly, deliberately, the way Noriko had taught her. It helped anchor the moment before it could sweep her off her feet entirely.

When the cloud palace revealed itself, she forgot to pretend she'd seen anything like it before.

Her breath left her in a soft, almost reverent exhale. "That's…" She searched for the word, then let it go. Some things didn't need one. The bridges of crysteel catching light like false clouds, the jade towers blooming from stone, the bells singing notes that felt as if they belonged inside her chest rather than her ears: it all made the galaxy feel very large and very old in a way that didn't frighten her. It humbled her.

As the music carried across the open deck, Xian turned slightly, listening with her whole body the way Force-sensitives sometimes did without realizing it. The story threaded through the melody sank into her, love and war and loss braided together until they were impossible to separate. She didn't know all the names. She didn't need to. The feeling translated just fine.

When Noriko spoke again, pointing out the cloud, Xian followed her gaze, and then, despite herself, a small laugh slipped out, quiet and warm.

"It is," she agreed. "A very dignified one. Probably ancient. Definitely judging us."

She leaned her forearms on the railing then, shoulders relaxing as the cold brushed her skin, and glanced sidelong at her master. There was affection there, unguarded, and something like gratitude.

"You know," she said softly, eyes drifting back to the palace, "if this is what Atrisia looks like when it's just being itself…I think I understand why people get confused about it."

The airship drifted closer, the song fading into the hum of engines and wind, and Xian let the moment settle into her bones. Not as a lesson. Not as a test.

Just as something beautiful, she would remember later, when the galaxy felt smaller again.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at Xian as the clouds were dignified and she pointed... "and those looks like boobs." She had a laugh with that as Xian soke about the planet. "Well that and they really don't look at the finer things. They see tea and kimonos and swords..... but they forget the deep core worlds are the oldest civilizations and most were there long before them. Atrisia just has the benefit of strong roots though and really high mountains. can you imagine running up and down the stairs here." NOriko said it with a wicked grin as the airship was continuing forward, the palace was one thing but there were bridges between the peaks leading to other towers. Plateaus where gardens could be seen.

"And it is one of the few places you can grow the finest fruits and nuts. They have wines from cloud grape vines, bulbs for edible flowers. Also breathing skills up here are amazing." She said it as the airship was cutting through the clouds with the metal of the hull reflecting the colors. Noriko stayed where she was though. "So ready to practice your breathing and run around the deck? Up here it will make it fun and no where to sulk off to." She looked at Xian and had a look on her face. "Mawahahahahahaha" She was laughing to herself and got a few looks but composed herself with a look. "Sorry, almost lost my cool there."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian followed Noriko's pointing finger instinctively, dark eyes tracking the slow, sculpted shapes of the clouds as the airship glided forward. For a heartbeat, she was quiet, taking in the vastness of it all—the bridges strung between peaks like deliberate thoughts, the gardens clinging impossibly to stone, the way the whole place felt less built and more grown.

Then Noriko spoke.

Xian stared. Blinked once.

"…I hate that you're right," she said dryly, lips twitching before she could stop them. "I was going to say 'a pair of resting banthas,' but no, you've ruined it forever."

She leaned a little on the railing, the thin, cold air brushing her face as Noriko continued, talking about roots and age and the way Atrisia stood quietly, ancient, while the rest of the galaxy rushed past. Something was grounding in it, something that made Xian listen more carefully than she usually did.

"That's the part people miss," Xian replied, thoughtful now. "They see the surface culture and think that's the whole story. Tea. Silks. Blades. Ceremony." She tipped her head slightly, gaze drifting toward the layered towers ahead. "But places like this don't last by accident. You don't get mountains like these without time doing most of the work."

At the mention of running stairs, she groaned softly, already imagining it. "You realize that sounds less like training and more like a personal vendetta," she said, though there was humor in her eyes. "Those steps are taller than I am."

She inhaled as Noriko spoke of the fruits and wines, and of how breathing changed at altitude. The air felt different: cleaner, sharper, as if every breath went a little deeper than the last.

When Noriko finally turned to her with that unmistakably mischievous look, Xian crossed her arms loosely and raised a brow.

"Practice breathing and running?" she echoed. "Up here. On a deck. With nowhere to hide."

A beat.

"…You know, most Masters ease their Padawans into these things," she added mildly, then shook her head with a small, helpless smile. "But fine. I'll do it."

She straightened, rolling her shoulders once, then drew in a slow, measured breath the way she'd been taught: steady, controlled, letting the air fill her rather than fighting it.

"But," Xian added, glancing back at Noriko with quiet amusement, "if I pass out dramatically, I expect you to pretend at least to feel bad."

Her lips curved, just a little.

"Alright. Lead on. Let's see what these mountains have to say about my lungs."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"I did ease you into it." She said it as she was standing there on the deck and looked at the captain still behind her wheel directing the airship but they were not stopping in the clouds at the palaces... merely passing them when Noriko was running on the wooden deck of the ship. The open area giving them plenty of space for laps. She looked at Xian though and had a look on her face. "But we don't have to run the stairs here in the mountains just on the deck of the ship and never a need for a personal vendetta just build up some muscle on that tiny frame. You look lik you need another sandwich and I know you eat more then me. Like a lot more.

The vast open-air deck of the airship hummed under the sound of her feet as the steady rhythm of boots against polished jade wood as Noriko led the way for Xian to be able to follow her through a grueling lap. High above the planet's surface, the billowing clouds, the distant spires of floating sky palaces glimmering like jewels in the ethereal light. Cool, mist-laden winds whipped across the deck, carrying the faint scent of blooming flora from the sky gardens that were all around. The orchards of fruits and other edible things that gave amazing scents carried on the breeze and winds. Noriko waas checking on more of it before she breathed in deeply.

As they rounded the curve near the central pavilion where the captain was watching with a grin, Noriko's keen eyes caught the graceful forms of two keisai practicing their ancient dances. These courtesans of Atrisia were many things but living art was the first thing, As echoes of legendary beauty embodied refined artistry and subtle allure, their performances a cherished tradition among the elite clans. The first keisai moved with hypnotic precision, her East Atrisian features framed by long black hair woven into elaborate braids that swayed like silken cords. Her luxurious pink silk kimono, embroidered with golden florals, parted daringly as it clung to her upper arms exposing shoulders and curves teasingly but not overt.

A gleaming golden necklace of intricate pendants. White makeup accentuated her poised smile, and as she extended a folding fan in a flourish, the high-altitude breeze caught the fabric, making it flutter like petals in flight. Beside her, in perfect harmony, danced the second keisai a vision of radiant beauty with rich, dark skin glowing under the sunlight. Her black hair was piled high in an ornate updo, secured with golden kanzashi pins from which cherry blossom petals cascaded like a gentle rain. Her pale kimono, patterned with vibrant pink sakura blossoms and emerald leaves, draped loosely, showcasing her form with an air of confidence.

Subtle white face paint highlighted her full lips and serene expression, and in her hands, she twirled a delicate parasol, its spins scattering illusory petals that mingled with the real mist swirling around them. The jedi master had a look on her face when she smiled enjoying much. The lords and Ladies in the passenger areas with the oxygen bubbles were looking upon it all and this was aa large passenger ship... it attracted everyone from across Atrisia. She could see the one lord in the distinctive red armor of the royal army. With him were several vassals under him likely returning from a bigger meeting and in this region it meant the Stormcloud general oversaw things.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian kept pace without complaining, even when the wind burned her lungs, and the deck hummed beneath her boots like it was daring her to stumble. She wasn't sulking, not exactly, but there was a quiet stubbornness in the way she ran, jaw set and breath carefully counted, refusing to let Noriko see her slow first.

"Ease me into it," she echoed between breaths, a breathless huff of a laugh slipping out despite herself. "You say that like you didn't immediately put me on a flying ship, really high up, with thinner air… and people watching."

She flicked a glance sideways at Noriko as they rounded the curve, hair already pulled back and tied neatly, fingers briefly checking the knot to make sure it stayed in place. Even now, even as she ran, she was conscious of how she looked. They were old habits, drilled in early.

"And for the record," Xian added, a little defensive but not angry, "I'm not that tiny. I'm still growing."

There was a beat, then she amended it with quieter honesty.

"I just…don't have a lot of muscle yet."

She didn't slow. Didn't stop. She followed Noriko's stride instinctively, matching pace the way she'd been taught, letting the rhythm settle into her legs even as the air thinned and her chest burned. Training was like that sometimes uncomfortable first, manageable later, and only rewarding once you'd survived it.

As they passed the central pavilion, Xian's attention flicked, almost despite herself, toward the keisai. She didn't stare, but she noticed. The flow of fabric, the balance, the way their movements stayed smooth even with the wind tugging at silk and hair.

"They're really good," she said softly, awe slipping through her focus. "That doesn't look easy."

Her eyes tracked the parasol's turn, the fan's arc, the way each step landed exactly where it was meant to.

"It looks gentle," Xian added, thoughtful now, "but you can tell they've practiced forever."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward the passengers behind the shimmering oxygen screens at the lords, the attendants, the red-armored figure who stood straighter than the rest.

"I think people forget that part," she said. "They see something pretty and think it's supposed to be easy."

She lengthened her stride slightly to keep up with Noriko, refusing to lag even as her breathing grew heavier.

"So…okay," she conceded, breath puffing out in the cold air. "We'll run the deck. I'll practice breathing." A small pause. "But if I collapse, I'm blaming you."

There was no real complaint in it. Just a hint of humor, and the quiet determination of someone who hadn't been hardened yet, but was absolutely on her way.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko was moving and she spoke. "THey are keisei, they are trained from babies in how to dance and be living artworks. Sometimes taken even younger then the jedi might accept children, there are old stories of them paying for the children of the most beautiful ladies on Atrisia." She laughed a little to herself while she was moving over it and jogging on the deck she could see more. Noriko though just enjoyed it as she breathed in. "Now come on you can gawk at the beautiful ladies later, just breathe and run. Let your muscles feel the burn and keep yourself steady with the force." She said it when she was bouncing there and only got more excited. The Keisei looking but were still moving as they both had practiced movements Noriko could see the underlying framework for jedi kata.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian huffed a breath that was half laugh, half effort, and forced her attention back to the rhythm of her feet instead of the dancers. The deck hummed beneath her boots, each step landing just a fraction heavier than the last as the altitude made itself known in her chest. She rolled her shoulders once as she ran, loosening tension the way Noriko had taught her, even if it still felt awkward.

"Yeah," she said between measured breaths, eyes forward now even though she could still feel the pull of movement and color in her peripheral vision. "I can tell."

Her gaze flicked briefly back toward the keisei despite herself, catching the precision hidden beneath the grace. The way their balance never truly broke. The way every turn had an intention behind it.

"They don't move like it's just for show," Xian added, thoughtful rather than distracted. "It's… structured. Like they're always ready to shift if they have to."

She adjusted her breathing then, deliberately slowing it, letting the burn settle into something manageable instead of overwhelming. In through her nose. Out through her mouth. Count it. Feel it. The Force wasn't something loud or dramatic right now, just a quiet thread she could lean on to keep herself steady when her legs wanted to protest.

"I'm not gawking," she protested mildly, though there was no real heat in it. "I'm observing."

Another breath. Another step.

"And that whole 'trained from babies' thing?" she continued, a note of seriousness slipping in. "That's kind of intense."

She didn't slow, even as her calves began to ache in earnest. If anything, she focused harder, letting the burn become information instead of discomfort, the way she was learning to do.

"I get what you mean though," Xian said after a moment, voice quieter now, more focused. "About letting the muscles feel it. If I don't fight it…it's easier to stay balanced."

She glanced sideways at Noriko, a flash of determination cutting through the fatigue.

"Just don't expect me to look elegant while I do it," she added dryly. "If I start dancing, something has gone very wrong."

Still, she kept running. Breathing. Listening.

And even as her body complained, there was a small, stubborn spark of pride in the fact that she hadn't stopped.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"When one wants to be skilled, they train." Noriko said it as rounding the deck there were less people but they were coming around the other side and able to see the Keisei as they continued their movements with the fans. The jedi master grinned though. "But they are regarded as some fo the most talented, offworlders are said to pay a planets worth for a little of their time and many of them in history have been given boons and everything. Palaces with hundreds of servants, treasuries of riches and more. Though they always talk about a floating world... I never would have thought they might have meant up here among the palaces and clouds. Their mountain village is regarded as one of the most mysterious on Atrisia."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed just a fraction as they rounded the curve, not stopping, but easing her pace enough to really look this time. The fans flashed again, silk catching the light, and she felt that strange pull between beauty and discipline settle more clearly into focus. Noriko's words lingered with her as she ran, threading themselves into the steady cadence of her breathing.

"I think people always do that," she said after a moment, voice thoughtful rather than winded. "Turn skill into something distant. Untouchable. Like it stops being work once it gets called art."

Her eyes tracked the keisei again, not with awe now, but with curiosity. She could see the cost in the way they held themselves, the precision that didn't come from talent alone. It came from repetition. From being corrected a thousand times before anyone ever called it beautiful.

"They sound…prized," Xian continued carefully. "But also kind of trapped." She glanced up at the clouds rolling past the rail, then back toward the dancers. "If everyone keeps giving you palaces and riches, I wonder how often you get to choose where you actually want to be."

She inhaled, steadying herself again, letting the thin air stretch her lungs without fighting it. The burn in her legs was sharper now, but manageable. Honest.

"A floating world makes sense, though," she added, a faint smile tugging at her mouth. "If you grow up knowing you're watched from everywhere, you probably start wanting a place no one can reach easily."

Xian picked her pace back up to match Noriko's, determination settling in again.

"I don't think mystery is about hiding," she said quietly. "I think it's about keeping something for yourself when everyone else thinks they're entitled to it."

She didn't look back at the keisei after that. She focused on her footing, her breath, the deck beneath her boots.

"But…yeah," she admitted after a few more strides, a hint of reluctant wonder slipping through. "If there were ever a place to build a floating village, this would be it."

Then, with a small, stubborn grin despite the burn in her legs:

"Still not dancing though."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko kept moving as she spoke. "The Keisei are highly prized, beloved for their abilities and few can match their beauty... well off of Atrisiaa. MOst of the population of Atrisians are exceptionally beautiful, physically fit and now with many of the reforms and medical care being given they are able to live one hundred plus years with more projections." She said it and her interface on her ear, the little personal overlay allowed her to see many of the breakthroughs that were being done on the planet. The airship going as it went under a larger bridge and the palaces were spacing out but the mountain themselves were still there only forming a crescent.

"Ah we are here." She said it with a smile on her face when she was looking ahead. The airship turning to look at the crescent where smaller paths weaved out from it to gates and peaks. "The branches of the spirit." NOriko said it when she was looking over the area. "Thousands of pathways between mountains, maintained now with repulsors and self repairing materials but back then. They were the pathways for the most enlightened to walk." She said it but had a look on her face while she was moving now. THe airship coming in as the captain spoke with a look on her face. "Enjoy yourself you two, the branches are good but fall and well no one to catch you."

Noriko looked at the captain as she waved and gave a smile. "Thank you captain, you should look us up later... or at least me. I wouldn't mind a little night flying." Noriko said it with a grin when she lept from the railing there and onto the bridge. She had space set up and ready for Xian as the airship was heading off and her interface had a chime of communications request. Noriko had a grin while she stood there and the bridges themselves gleamed golden with clouds swirling around and below... some coming over as small railings had been made to guide but it was built to cross and criss.. to join and spread out across the mountains.

She motioned for Xian and was walking as the clouds parted in a slow, deliberate swirl. From the depths rose a magnificent Majokoi dragon, its immense serpentine body uncoiling through the air with effortless grace. The vibration of its repulsor organs and the lightside of the force from the dragon. Scales of pearlescent white caught the golden light of the sun, shifting with hints of pale blue and rose as it looped in a vast, flowing S-curve that encircled the junction of the bridges. NOriko looked at it as it didn't have a rider she could see and the more amazing moments of them flying around. She starred at them in wonder. "Oh babies."

Long, silken whiskers trailed from its regal head, framed by sweeping horns and a mane of ethereal fur that rippled like smoke. Its eyes ancient, luminous gold regarded the pair with calm intelligence as faint motes of light drifted from its form, sparkling in the crisp air. A second spirit dragon emerged moments later, smaller but no less majestic, weaving through the first in harmonious spirals, their bodies framing the two Jedi who stood transfixed on opposite arms of the bridge. Noriko was looking at more of it as she was moving. The clouds moving as they swirled around and she had her equipment pack on her shoulder with clothing and food. Her lightsaber. "See totally awesome, I am the best teacher."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed without realizing she was doing it.

Not because Noriko told her to. Not because of the height or the narrowness of the bridges or even the way the clouds rolled like a living sea beneath her boots. She slowed because something in her chest had gone very quiet all at once, the way it did when the Force stopped being background noise and became a presence you had to listen to.

Her breath caught just slightly as the first Majokoi rose through the clouds.

She had seen holos. Drawings. Temple murals stylized by generations of artists who had never actually stood this close to something so old and so undeniably alive. None of them had prepared her for the scale, or the gentleness in the way the dragon moved, as if the air itself were something it trusted not to break beneath its weight.

"Oh," Xian breathed, the word slipping out before she could stop it.

Her dark eyes tracked the long curve of pearlescent scales as the dragon looped around the bridge junction, light sliding across its body in soft hues that made her think of dawn rather than fire. The Force around it felt…clean. Not overwhelming. Not pressing. Just present, like standing near deep water that didn't need to prove how deep it was.

When the second dragon emerged, weaving through the first with an ease that felt almost playful, Xian felt her shoulders loosen in a way she hadn't realized they were tense. She didn't reach for her saber. Didn't brace. She stood there, hands loose at her sides, letting the moment exist without trying to define it.

She glanced at Noriko when her master spoke, that familiar grin on her face, and Xian shook her head slowly, awe still written plainly across her expression.

"I hate that you're right," she said quietly, the corner of her mouth lifting despite herself. "Because this is…yeah. This is amazing."

Her gaze drifted back to the dragons, lingering on the way their eyes regarded them, not as intruders, not as threats, but as something closer to passing weather. Acknowledged. Accepted. Allowed.

"I think I get it now," Xian added after a moment, voice softer, more thoughtful. "Why they called these paths sacred. It's not about proving you're enlightened enough to walk them." She swallowed, steadying herself, feet firm on the gleaming bridge. "It's about trusting yourself not to fall when nothing is holding you but balance."

She took a careful step forward when Noriko motioned, boots touching the golden surface with deliberate care. The clouds curled up around her calves, cool and damp, and she laughed quietly under her breath, a sound of disbelief more than humor.

"And for the record," Xian added, glancing back at her master with that familiar spark returning to her eyes, "if this is what you call a lesson, I'm starting to see why you're so confident about your teaching methods."

She looked ahead again, toward the branching paths stretching out across the mountains like threads of light.

"…Just don't expect me to admit it out loud later."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at the dragons as they moved and danced in the skies. her eyes turning to Xian when she was speaking and she almost scoffed. "Ummm I am confident in my teaching abilities cause I am like awesome and incredibly hot. Some might even say too hot to fail." She nodded her head while she was walking and allowing the dragons to continue there. her senses expanding outwards. "And totally don't think about how we are so high up in the skies you could spit and it would freeze and thaw out before it even touched the ground." She smiled with that when she was walking along. "Because we have so much to do and don't want you to fall off... or onto one of the dragons they might think you are a midnight snack."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian glanced from the circling dragons back to Noriko, then up again, tracking the way the light slid across their scales as they twisted through the clouds. The height pressed in on her senses in a way she was still getting used to, not fear exactly, but awareness sharpened by open air and endless distance.

She huffed out a quiet breath at Noriko's words, something between a laugh and a groan.

"I am choosing," Xian said, very deliberately, "to believe exactly half of that."

She kept walking, careful with her footing, her attention split between the bridge beneath her and the vast, impossible space around them. The mention of spitting did not help. At all. She very consciously did not look straight down.

"…And I am absolutely thinking about it now," she added, casting Noriko a sideways look. "You saying not to think about it does not help. That is never how that works."

Her gaze flicked back to the dragons, awe slipping through despite herself. The Force around them felt different up here, lighter but deeper at the same time, like it stretched farther than she could follow.

"But," Xian went on, tone steadying as she grounded herself the way she had been taught, "I trust you. Mostly. And I trust the bridge."

A beat.

"And I am very much not planning on falling onto a dragon," she said firmly. "I feel like that would be rude. And possibly fatal."

She drew a slow breath, letting it out through her nose, shoulders easing as she found her balance again.

"So yes," Xian finished, a slight grin tugging at her mouth, "we can keep going. Maybe warn me before you say things that make the ground feel imaginary."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at Xian and shrugged. "THen only believe the half about your master being awesome." She said it while walking with almost a skip to her step she could take on. She was looking at more of it and giving Xian a wider grin and look... now that she waas this high up well she had somehow managed to unclench the stick and relax. She so had to find a way to work in an out of context want to get high joke... she had to his was like a requirement. As the jedi master reached the midpoint of the pathway, she paused, gazing out over the secluded mountain valley below. A vast, isolated expanse unfolded beneath them sharp, jagged peaks cloaked in perpetual mist rose like silent guardians on all sides, their snow-capped summits piercing low-hanging clouds.

Deep in the valley floor, a narrow river wound lazily through lush emerald meadows dotted with ancient, twisted trees, its waters glinting faintly in the diffused sunlight. Layers of rolling fog clung to the lower slopes, softening the rugged terrain and lending an air of profound isolation, as if this hidden realm had remained untouched by the galaxy and planets turmoil for countless millennia. The air carried a crisp chill, scented with pine and damp earth, and the only sounds were the distant rush of waterfalls cascading from hidden cliffs and the occasional cry of a far-off creatures. Noriko was looking at more of it as she pointed and could see from this height much more of it then those who came through the older mountain passes below. "This is one of the areas where out family haas thrived, the palace houses tens of thousands of family."