"Something," he replied as he got the cap off and thrust the flask forward, spraying its contents in the direction of Melat, who was only a few feet away now. A horrible hissing sound accompanied the fluid's contact with her flesh and she did recoil visibly, though her dead-eyed stare still did not leave them. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

Feofil had descended the stairs again, trying not to whip himself up into a panic. How long had Pari been gone for? Five minutes? Ten? Maybe she was just being stubborn and wouldn't come up until she fixed the power herself, or maybe this was another of her silent treatments at some perceived mistreatment. He veritably ransacked the living room, pulling open what drawers he could find and rummaging through the oddities inside for anything that looked like it might be related. A bottle of holy water. A bundle of herbs, probably sage? A handful of amulet-looking things on small leather cords, each with different intricate symbols on them. God, he should have paid more attention to Vera and Illy's rambling about exorcisms, or to his dad's stupid lecture before they shipped off to this demon-infested country. At least he had the chronokinesis. Did he have that? He knew of one demon who wasn't affected, and that didn't exactly bode well for them.

It was like this that he burst through the door to the basement calling Pari's name, in a frenzy and armed with trinkets he didn't even begin to know what to do with. "Pari?" He called down to the darkness. "Are you still down here?"

"You run," he shot back, fishing in his pocket for the flask of holy water and working to unscrew the cap as the entity steadily approached.

Feo tried to hide a grimace as he braced himself for the outburst of motherly concern that was sure to come. Would he lie? Could he lie, given the bloodstains still on the floorboards? "Everything's okay," he was quick to assure her. "We just had a, um... incident."

Kyros gave Sparrow a look that told her he was on Pari's side on this one.
"You," he gestured to his cousin. "Explain. Was this before or after the demon attack?"
Both had weird implications.

"You're avoiding the question. I'm just trying to calculate implications and repercussions."

"No, no, no, I don't like that," Feofil voiced reflexively, hands suddenly delving into his pockets again and pulling out the first thing he could grab-- the bundle of herbs. He dared to take a step closer to the demon to reach one of the candles that they had lit earlier, its flame flickering weakly against the otherworldly dark. Hopefully, though, it would be enough for the herbs to catch, and then... and then...

"Shit," he exhaled in a labored breath, taking a step back so his back hit the wall behind them. Despite Pari's instructions, he did not relent, maintaining his efforts even as he felt himself being overcome by the pressure of its dark sphere of influence, bringing hopelessness and despair. This was not how they were going to go.

"Yes. Yeah." He couldn't believe it had slipped his mind, though he felt some disdain at her calling it a demon power. He took a deep breath and readied his stance, focusing on stilling his mind. By controlling the flow of his breath, he controlled the flow of time itself. Inner power outwards.

He couldn't fully eradicate the sense of terror deep in his gut, screaming at him to run. He switched gears and attempted to harness it instead, throwing his hands out in front of him with all the willpower in the world. The air around them warped and crackled slightly, and Melat's steady approach was slowed by stuttering halts though none of them fully took hold. Feo redoubled his efforts, gritting his teeth in a desperate attempt to get it to stop.

Feo took her hands in his in an attempt to settle her. "I'm fine." He assured her quietly, "I'll tell you about it later."