A thin line of table salt adorned the floor in front of your bedroom. You stood behind it and stared at the demons outside of your doorway. They were staring at the salt.
Leviathan laughed. It reminded him of a low-level defense from a tower defense game. "Is that supposed to keep us out? lol."
"Yeah. I think it's working," you said.
Satan put a hand on his hip. As far as he could tell, it was plain old table salt. No magical properties whatsoever. "How so?"
"Well, none of you are crossing it. Clearly, it's having some kind of effect."
Mammon balked. "Obviously, it's because we're respectin' your privacy!" He stood closest to the line, wanting to cross it most of all.
"You're respecting my privacy by... standing right outside my door?"
Mammon opened his mouth to counter, only to come up with nothing. He stood there with his fists clenched. The feather on his belt swayed as he tapped a foot impatiently, causing the nearest salt to shift a little.
The noise annoyed Asmodeus. "Mammon, go walk through the salt."
"This is ridiculous." Lucifer crossed his arms. "Clean this up. I don't even want to know how this will damage the floors if you leave it."
"It's not even doing anything," Satan pointed out.
"If it's not doing anything, then one of you should cross it," you suggested.
"Why don't you come out to us?" Belphegor proposed. "There's only one of you, seems more fair."
"Yeah!" Asmodeus took a step away from the salt, careful not to get any on his shoes, and raised his hands. "You can run into my arms if you'd like. I'll be sure to catch you."
Their stubbornness astounded you. "Or... You guys can just admit you don't want to cross this salt."
"It's regular salt." Beelzebub knew exactly what the substance was as soon as he laid eyes on it. Plus, the smell was unmistakable. His claim was irrefutable.
"Yes, exactly. Thank you, Beel. I've seen you eat it many times." You had even taken the bag from the shared kitchen.
"Did you try walking over it?" Leviathan asked. "How are we supposed to cross it if you won't?"
"I don't need to. I'm in my room."
"You should come to our room," Belphegor offered. He was getting tired of standing around.
"Come out this instant," Lucifer ordered.
You thought about it for a whopping two seconds. "I think I'm good. I'll be in my room. If any of you need me, feel free to come in."
You retreated back inside with the rest of the half-empty salt bag. The brothers stared at you with a mix of impatience and disbelief until the wall blocked you from view.
