gifts

what would you do if faery give gift? take? deny? take and discard?
this hard give one "safe" answer.

to take is most kind in faery eyes, but can be danger to you. food might be hard resist. trinket might have unknown magic. with physical objects, you might land in hot water if happen these stolen.
but deny hurt and offend. do you not appreciate them? they think so hard on this gift, spend time and effort find or make.
so... take and discard? once again, if find out, this make feel very disrespect. even if try lie, likely catch on very quick.

if really not have choice and gift need go, or if gift break in some way, let them know and decide what appropriate do. bury in earth, gift along for someone else, salvage and reuse anything possible. but not throw in trash without care.

what about non-object gifts, not physical or chimera? services, performances, knowledge, that sort. these not carry same dangers - but not without any.
performance may captivate so much that never want end. service might not go how expect. but at same time, some faery view memory in self as object you possess, or that you hold little piece of them in you, so to be allow remember things can be very meaningful gift.

• tangent: can say same thing about picture, video, and audio! this why personally ask before take any. even if not reveal anything "of interest", to some faery this feel like violation, or that you take little bits glamour when record. that make records like this also gift, in some way.

gift misuse

what happen if someone misuse faery gift? well, how about look to welsh folk story about morgan ap rhys. as folk story, not everyone tell in same way, but this short version:



in all honesty, think those faeries should do more for morgan's misuse!
to misuse faery gift, especially with context like morgan's, is in very poor taste and can only bring more trouble.

payment

if faery give gift and want return favour, how? what if that gift is service - what do you pay?
stop right there.
when faery give gift, and this include service, you do not pay. why?
fair warn that of course, not all faery think same way on this - some do not mind. but brownies very often do, and not bad keep in mind for others either.

this what brownies here say about payment:
they do work at personal choice. no one say need work, no one ask them to.
in their eyes. they friend who see someone have trouble keep up with everything and choose help out, just because can.
when give gift, this say, "just like you think about me, i think about you," and "i appreciate you."
they do not expect or want any trade, any payment. so if they find you treat as such, as chore or obligation, this make upset. you put wedge in friendship. they not servant, not someone you hire.
this can make feel only care about because they do work for you. that if they stop help. you would shrug and go on without. no thought, no care.
is that really how you feel? maybe not. but faery do not read and understand things in human way. we read things in faery way. between faery, payment only happen when hire. help is gift that choose give.

trades

not secret that we faery make words tricky. many do not lie, no, but very clever in trade and see meanings you do not.
if not lie so important to many, why make trade so hard?

well, sometimes humans use faery as just means to selfish end, want help with things that really should just learn deal with. someone unhappy with riches and want more. someone chase after love that will never return. someone who happily hurt others get taste own medicine and want revenge.
with people like that, we take joy in twist wish against them. no one have right march in and demand we change things for them just because might have power to.

what if someone nice? what if really struggle, need that help? will not deny some faery out there will twist just because think funny.
someone want something that can make happy, just for once. faery trinket now only thing make happy, could get lost just stare at in bliss for hours, to where neglect everything important and waste away. some love cause that pain and struggle.

but. with good reason, many assume that if person approach us with wish and trade, this means can understand, or willing to at least try think about, word clarity.
why would they not? if so desperate approach faery than surely know how respect and stay on same level. else would not try at all when warnings plentiful.

not traditional folklore, but want examine song for example: changeling child by heather dale. this song tell story about woman who can not bear children for self, so approach faery in hopes will help.

this seem all good, right?
well, not as if we get transcript for how all that bargain go...


...and clearly in pleas, she refer to babe again and again.
to humans with linear concept about age, this make sense: baby become toddler become child and so on.
but many faery do not have such clear linear age. we might live for much more time, ages might switch and swing rapidly, or even might not at all. faery babe might indeed be babe forever.

if this all just misunderstand, why faery all fall silent on her?
if one make trade with us, and not happy how turn out... we often see that as that person's own fault. maybe cruel, but again: we reasonably expect that someone who visit our land to bargain with us would have some understanding how things work around here. so, very rare that undo trade.

how can one safely trade with faery? very hard question. motivation, what give and want in return, every single word everyone say - these all important. could bargain for firewood that burn forever, only to set everything ablaze with no hope save. could bargain for magical trinket to keep warm, but then freeze without even in brutal summer. could bargain for simple mittens, but find that they no help at all without any magics. even with charm, though, might find that anything touch with these mittens burn and crumble.

hopefully that help in understand dangers in trade with faery. :)