Pass the time.

Time moves forwards and much has happened since your first arrival. You applied sunscreen (in a fun way), played around and spoke with the girls, and the day continues on in a similar manner. People soak up the sun, have fun in the water, chat, and eat snacks. It eventually reaches the point where you all start to realize you can't stay on the beach all the way until sundown. There's a small woods not far from where you are, however. And while the legend seems to suggest midnight is the time where the spirit appears, it would be best to be prepared before that.

You suggest everyone takes shelter from the sun in the woods until the evening, and they accept.

It's a bit of walk, but you all arrive there at last with all of your supplies in-hand. Niki collects some wood for a fire, and Yin creates a spark from her finger to easily ignite it, providing some light for when the sun eventually sets.

While most people brought food, Rabbit's Foot and Amara brought enough to share with everyone. You lay out towels and have an early supper of loaded sandwiches and various juices.

"That sunscreen does wonders. I don't think I have a single burn on my body," Luna says. "That's impressive."

"Oh yeah. And it was pretty cheap," says Niki.

"Where'd you even get that?" you ask. "It seems like everyone had the same one. Must be a popular brand."

"The girls that showed up after us had a bunch to share."

"A merchant had them, but I persuaded him to lower the price," Dajy says with a proud smirk.

After dinner, everyone leans and and relaxes with idle chatter. Vivi puts her hand on your shoulder, however, and she looks to you with a surprisingly serious expression. You stand up to face her.

"Can I speak with you over here for a second?" she asks.

You follow her over between some trees. "Leading me to another shack in the woods?"

"No! Shush your mouth. It's about this merchant. Do you find it strange at all?"

"Not really. It's the season where people would need it."

"Something's just bugging me. I don't know why." She holds up a nearly empty bottle of the concoction in question. With all of her might, she squeezes it tightly in her grip, and a tiny bit squeezes out onto the tip of her other hand's finger. She gives it a sniff, and then she plops it into her mouth with a cringe.

"Is that safe?"

"So gross... Possibly not, but that wasn't enough to hurt me." She rolls her tongue around in her mouth. "Weird."

"What's up?"

You give her a moment to ponder the taste. Her brow starts to furl. "Hold on. Is that what I think it is?"

"I have no idea about any of this, so you're gonna need to give me more to work with."

"Ah! Time to go to the bathroom!" she shouts. Nobody really looks over at all, but she grabs your wrist and pulls you into the woods. You're taken far enough away to where you no longer hear the chattering of the other girls, and she looks to you with a piercing stare.

"What the heck are you doing?" you ask. The only sound around you is that of birds chirping, and the wind blowing through the leaves.

"I recognize the main ingredient. It's burningrose. Do you know what this means? The lotion was a setup all along. I should have known! My damned sister probably did this. I bet she knew all along we were coming somehow."

"Is it poison?!"

"You aren't gonna die, but this sunscreen will react to the rising of the moon in a crazy way. We need to make a antidote and get everyone to rub it on before sunset, Kyle. To keep thing simple, burningrose stimulates people's sex drives when exposed to lunar energy."

"Are you serious? Should we tell them?"

"No. Things would descend into chaos, and that's exactly what my sister would want. If we can make the antidote and get it back in time, then every part of her plan will fail. She'll come out and we'll exorcise her once and for all. And that moon is going to rise before it even gets dark, so we probably only have an hour to do this."

"And what happens if we don't get back in time?"

"My guess is this lotion will bring out people's desires, and eliminate any shame in acting on such things near others. You might want to hide if that happens. I can tell some of those girls really care about you. They'll straight up suck you dry in front of everyone."

"Wait. What about you? Didn't you put it on too?"

She purses her lips. "I... I would never fall prey to such a thing. Definitely not. But can we please hurry?"