Another hour had passed before the two finally emerged from his tent. She was somewhat thrilled at the idea that she'd finally be away from him for the long trek ahead. However, Sandy quickly found herself very disappointed while being seated, sidesaddle, right in front of him on his mount. Luckily, he was only wearing leather armor for the ride, as she was already uncomfortable enough without being pressed into hard metal surrounding him for the remainder of the day.
She'd occasionally looked around and daydreamed about how far she would make if she attempted to escape at that very moment. Sandy knew she wouldn't make it far as she was denied shoes and her hands were again bound, even though if only just lightly in front of her. To top it all off Shadow was surrounded on all sides by his men, also riding steeds, so the idea she'd make it past all of them before being captured was very unlikely.
"You're not thinking about running, are you?" Shadow question seemingly amused.
"Get outta my head." Her mumble was met by small chuckle from him.
After only a few hours of riding Sandy found her whole body starting to ache. She bearing had road on many chocobos in her life and never sidesaddle before. She rolled her neck and let out a small moan of discomfort as he lower back throbbed.
"If you're uncomfortable you can lean against me." Shadow offered while keeping his eyes glued to the road in front of them.
"I'd rather fall off this here bird and break my neck on the ground than willingly touch ya." She scoffed.
"That would be truly unfortunate." Shadow glanced towards her so his eyes met her disgusted glare. "If you were to fall and get injured, we'd have to take refuge in one of the wagons. But at least we'd have more privacy."
Sandy's angry face quickly turned to annoyance as she looked away from him and then let her body fall towards his chest, so his strong frame would keep her propped up for the remainder of the ride. Leaning against him still wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was far more bearable than trying to keep her balance on her own.
"Much better." Shadow smiled as he leaned into the top of her head and took in a long breath.
"Don't cha have some other gal ya'd rather bother fer the rest of the day?" Sandy begged of him far more than asking.
"If you keep up that attitude of yours, I may never grow tired of you." He continued to sport a light grin as he wrapped one of his arms around her waist.
"I gotta keep my mouth shut." She told herself in her head. Sandy then bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes in frustration. "I'm so screwed!" She lightly huffed under her breath.
"Happy to know we're both on the same page, my dear." Shadow didn't even bother looking back at her as his smile grew larger.
His hearing is so unnaturally good it could only be rooted in pure evil she thought to herself.