To the cave.

"Man, he has a nice ass." Nate thought to himself as he followed after Knot, taking in the simple nature of what the other man was wearing; a camouflage tight-fitting tank top clearly to compensate for the heat, an empty gun belt and loose baggy washed-out orange trousers. "Wait, what? What am I thinking?" The treasure hunter thought to himself. Sure, he'd had his fair share of experiences with men before. Some more pleasant than others, but he'd never felt anything for them outside of a quick moment of stress relief. And yet, here he was: sweaty, in need of a cool shower, possibly about to be gunned down by mercenaries and all he could think about was what he could do to the tanned, handsome South African in front of him. Which in turn made him think of home... Of Elena... His wife. "Is she really gone? Have I actually lost her for good this time?"

Despite making it a fair way down the mountain, this thought made Nathan stop dead in his tracks leaning against a nearby boulder. Knot must have heard the sound of Nate's footsteps cease, because he immediately turned around and slowly walked up to him, concerned. "Hey. You alright, Nate? Need some help?" Looking up, Nathan felt a tingle go through him at the sound of his own name coming from the lips of this ex-mercenary. "I... Uh... You wouldn't happen to have some water on you, do you?" At this request, Knot beamed brightly. Reaching into a small pack he'd been carrying he produced a full bottle of crystal clear spring water. "Here you are. All yours." Nate took the bottle appreciatively and took four big gulps, savouring the refreshing liquid as it made its way down his throat, not noticing Knot eyeing his neck hungrily.

Upon finishing the water, Nate handed the bottle back with a smile and a thank you. Knot however could see tiny rivulets of liquid rolling down the adventurer's Adam's Apple to under his shirt, slightly darkening it. "Now you're staring... Knot." Nate couldn't resist taunting the former merc. Knot merely turned away to hide his own blush by preoccupying himself with putting the bottle back in his bag. "It's not far to the beach now. We can make it there fast if you can keep up with me, that is." Nate smiled. "Oh, I think I'll manage."

About an hour later the two men found themselves on the shores of the beach, which had clearly been hit hard by the storm only a couple hours earlier. "The cave's just up around the bend. It's hidden by some trees and hanging vines." Knot began running forward a bit too carelessly, because he failed to notice the tangled roots of a tree underneath him. In seconds he went face-first into the still wet sand! Nate couldn't help but burst out laughing, harder than he had in a while. In this moment he didn't care if every Shoreline mercenary was able to hear him, because in these circumstances it really felt good to laugh when you could. Eventually though, he did decide to go help Knot up. This proved to be both a good deed and a mistake, because one look at the other's face showed him the results of having one's face buried in wet sand. Knot's face was covered completely by the sand which began to slowly drip downwards, and in turn made Nate start to laugh again. "Come on. Let's get this washed off."

Leading him over to the shore, Nate cupped his hands and gently proceeded to ensure Knot wouldn't look like a sand monster. Once he was done, the treasure hunter gazed at the ex-mercenary, pleased with his cleaning work. One thing he had done by accident was wash off the streaks of paint, meaning Knot now had a face free of anything covering it. A slight bit of stubble decorated his jawline, and with his face relaxed like this, Nate could see a very subtle scar on his left cheek. Clearly done by a blade of some sort.

Knot finally opened his eyes and Nate couldn't help but lose himself in those dark yet tranquil orbs staring back at him. "Cheers for that. Spent all morning getting those streaks just right, but eh. It doesn't matter." Nate instinctively held out his hand to help the other to his feet. Knot took it and stood up carefully, not wanting to fall again. Nate then remembered exactly where they were meant to be going. "So... The uh, cave is around here somewhere?" Knot nodded and pointed further up the beach. "Just past those two downed palms. You'll finally be able to relax a bit, partner." Nate smiled and started following the other man again, eager to see his brother and hopefully persuade him to give up this goose chase. "Lead on."