Bao offered a smile before she looked down at her neighbourhood, her people - not a single tourist among them. The Lantern Parade was just for Chinatown and its usual inhabitants, to those who understood its culture and beliefs. The streets had been cleared, no cars were moving below, though there were a few electric rickshaws or scooters zipping quietly through the space - stragglers hurrying to their location before the parade began. She could hear the rest of the city beyond, their beeps and rushing cars, but here there was an air of anticipation. The crowd that lined the sidewalks were silent.
And then, a roar of joy from the next block and the first glimpse of bobbing light. The first part of the parade rounded the corner after a full five minutes of listening to cheers of delight, and then Bao and Zeus could see the first wave of entertainers. Forty acrobats in shiny gold suits performing pyramids and other human-made structures on the fly, even as they walked. From where Zeus and Bao stood, high on the eighteenth, they would mostly see a moving golden mass of bodies forming patterns - it would look like a living creature. Some patterns were very obviously for those who were on balconies looking down at the parade, for a bird's eye view showed them what looked like morphing golden snowflakes. Walking in front and behind the acrobats were people holding different coloured lanterns on sticks, so that the street lit up with a rainbow hue. There were floats and musicians and Chinese Dragons, all broken up by hundreds of lantern bearing folk, creating a river of multi-coloured light through the streets, and the cheering that went with it.
And then Chtahzus'aak heard gasps and applause, more cheers, as entertainers on fire danced in the streets. Very obviously fire demons. And there were others - all of Bao's kin were in the parade, the Kuei Jin using their talents to show their citizens how powerful they were, that they were worthy of being protectors and guardians. They were respected and loved and feared all at once, and Bao could hear it in the hysterical note of their cheers. It was grand.
"Now is the time, Chtahzus'aak, when you can do what you wish," she said, looking down at the parade at its fullest and busiest, everyone was on the streets.
Bao looked first at Zeus and then closed her eyes briefly to centre her Jade Shintai, then, she crouched like an Olympic sprinter ready to put their feet on the blocks, then leapt. Her jump took her high into the air and then across the parade to the roof of the next building. She turned and grinned at Chtahzus'aak, waving and gesturing for him to follow. She ran across the thin line of tiles, leaping from roof to roof like she was in a platform game.