Saw this writing prompt, and it made me wonder if there's a tooth fairy legend about either the fae or fihrie, and what the Galahdians vs Lucians would think of it
When Selena loses her first milk tooth, the first thing she does is to show it to her brother. She is excited. Losing her first milk tooth will mean learning how to make tea, learning how to hunt and all the other secret things the older children whisper about.
She shows her fallen out tooth to Nyx, her smile showing off the gap left behind, and his first reaction is not excitement like she has expected, but abject horror.
He closes his bedroom door in her face - it nearly hits her nose and actually cracks against her knuckles - before he starts screaming at her to go away and hide the tooth where he will never find it.
Selena does not listen. Instead she does what every nearly six year old would do and starts to cry, running for her mother.
Alyxa Utris had known this would happen one day. She had still thought she would have more time to actually find the words to explain this to her daughter, but it seems like time has run out. So she does her best to console her daughter and when her tears are dry, Alyxa takes Selena into the kitchen and makes her daughter's favourite sweet tea.
"Is it really so bad?" her daughter asks, hiccuping, staring at the tiny tooth on the wooden table top.
Alyxa sighs, scoots her chair as close to Selena's as she can and wraps an arm around her daughter. "It's a sign of getting older, si lehwiga. It's as much a cause for celebration as it is for grief. You leave something behind to gain something new."
"But why was Nyx so mean?"
"You know how your brother is different?" Alyxa asks slowly, carefully.
Selena looks like she has to seriously think about it. "He already has a Name."
That startles a laugh out of Alyxa. "Oh, that's not what I mean, si lehwiga."
"What then?"
"You know how he sometimes turns into a coeurl? Not everyone can do that. And it comes with a very special set of rules your brother has to follow."
"Oh," Selena says like it is an entirely new concept to her that not everyone has an older brother than can turn into an animal their little sisters can cuddle. "Is there a rule that says he's got to be upset about my tooth?"
"No, not that. But if he manages to find and keep it, you will owe him five years and ten months of your life. That scares him."
"Brother isn't scared of anything!" Selena exclaimes entirely scandalised at the very thought. "And he can have my years. Maybe then he'll teach me how to make tea."
Alyxa does her best to keep her panic from her expression and voice. "Selena no! Nyx'll teach you how to make tea without you having to give him your years. He just won't be able to be there until we burn your tooth later tonight."
"Oh," Selena says again. "But I can give him a hug later, right?"
"After we burnt the tooth and spread the ashes, yes, you can," Alyxa says, relieved that a bigger crisis has been averted.
After all of this is done, she thinks she will make that hare stew Nyx likes so much. It can't be easy for her poor boy. On days like these she silently curses the fihrie blood of the Ulric Clan.
.
When Iris loses her first milk tooth, the first thing she does is to show it to her brother. She is excited. Now she has her very own favour to give, should she ever need the help of a fae.
Gladdy looks at it with all the seriousness the situation deserves and guides her into the living room. There, in the display cabinet next to one of the large windows, are three small handcarved wooden cases. Two of them, Iris knows, are already filled with milk teeth. One belongs to her father, the other to her brother. The last one, depicting beautiful iris flowers, is for her. It had been a present from King Regis for her brith.
"You know what to do?" Galddy asks.
Iris rolls her eyes. Of course she does! She's six and a half, not three.
Gladdy opens the cabinet for her and she picks up her wooden case. She carefully opens it and as she gently settles her tooth inside, she recites: "A favour for the future, for the fae of this house. I'll keep it safe until it's needed."
Iris looks at her brother, expectant. Gladdy nods and with an excited bounce the girl sets the wooden case back into the cabinet.
"Did you ever give away one of your teeth?" Iris wants to know.
"I gave one to Cor when I was seven," Gladdy admits with a grimace.
"What favour did you ask for?"
"I really wanted ice cream and dad had said no. Dad was furious when he found out about it."
Iris nods seriously. Silly brother. She would save hers up for something important. Like hot chocolate.













