The princess and her escort

Another soft laugh pulled from the young fae as her uncle reacted to the sudden bright lights around them. He asked her to play a bit more and Iki grinned. "Of course." The girl's digits plucked at the strings and the fireflies surged, dancing to the beat of the music. Ikigai played faster and the shimmering lights flitted about faster and faster as well. It was difficult to take her eyes off of them, their cerulean light reflecting in the girl's mercuric gaze. Faster and faster she played. More and more of the lights accumulated beneath the azumaya, glowing brighter and brighter as though the sun shone blue around them.

The beauty of the lights had gone from delicate dancing to haphazard, fervent vibrating and buzzing. Their movement was chaotic and uncomfortable to watch, but Ikigai was a wolf possessed. She couldn't make her paws stop moving. Unable to even close her eyes against the brightness, the light was bringing spots before her eyes. Panic rose in her, but she couldn't stop. Then, just as she felt that she might scream, one of the strings snapped, lashing back and slicing one of the girl's pads. Ikigai cried out, bringing her paws to her chest and finally closing her eyes against the onslaught of light.

"X"