Challenge #01988-E164: Here Comes Trouble
A demon who really loves their job of messing with people accidentally does something really really good or nice and is horrified to find a single angel feather growing on their wings as a result. -- Anon Guest
Hathreon followed the Crowley School of low-grade evil. From little annoyances, big cruelties grow. The demon could count overpriced, slow coffee, constant urban renovations, and the kind of people who insist on going into the backs of crowded elevators when they're only riding one floor. Someone else beat hir to the kids that press every button on the elevator control panels.
Today is the day that the right demon with the right philosophy ticked off the wrong person. Most humans will, when confronted with a bad mood, spread it around to everyone in their aura. Thus having a ripple effect that can, in certain circumstances, turn into a tsunami of vileness.
But not all humans...
Hathreon went with one of hir favourites. The same bullshit inconvenience, multiplied through the day. Like being mere seconds late for a thing. Repeatedly. Nothing angered a human like inconvenience. In this case, it was having a disabled person blocking the way. These people couldn't mount the curbs like every abled other, and slowed those abled others by blocking the way, blocking traffic, and slowing everyone down.
Hathreon savoured the waves of anger and spite washing out from all around. Except for this one human.
This human was thinking.
Hathreon had had the misfortune of pestering a member of the City Works Authority. One of those responsible for the perpetual upgrades happening all over the city. And this human thought of incorporating ramps into the crossings so that those who could not climb the gutters had an easier path to travel.
Which, ultimately, spread a wave of good through the citizens. Through the world, as the concept went viral and became a part of cities all over the world.
And that was why ze had a single, bright and rainbow feather amongst hir dingy, mouldy-grey ones. A definite advertisement that a kernel of good can be found in even the most hateful of creatures. A mark in Hathreon's permanent record.
Hathreon pulled hir head in and focussed on the groups of humans that didn't need much help to choose evil. The ones who hated, discriminated, and didn't want anything to do with "those types". Whatever they decided "those types" were. Black, disabled, single mothers on welfare were usually a favourite group to hate. As were any that didn't follow their religion. Ze got a lot of mileage out of anyone who used the phrase, "racial purity" without any trace of irony.
The problem with that was... how awful they sounded. There were more of "those types" than the group who despised them. Sure, it generated some hate and hate generated cruelty, but there were more and more people who were relentlessly, obstinately, spitefully nice. When faced with administrations who took from the poor and gave to the rich, they began grass roots movements to help the helpless. When faced with discrimination, they opened businesses that refused to discriminate. When faced with laws that attempted to reduce the voter base to the vocal and hateful minority, they moved mountains to stop it.
It was ridiculous.
Almost as if humanity stopped being evil when they found a line that should never be crossed. And worse - little of it had to do with what religion these people held - if they held with one at all. They saw wickedness and automatically moved to end it. Like it was a reflex.
And because it was Hathreon that inspired them to do it... there was more than one bright, rainbow on hir wings, now.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / ezumeimages]
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