So they were entering a giant forest that likely could kill them if they didn’t stay on the proper path. Oh yes. Dwarves and anything that wasn’t elf would likely fall spellbound to whatever dark magic the forest was emitting from it, which meant that they only had so long before they were sure to go insane or something. Kili thought about their past little adventures, with the goblin king, the moving mountains, and the trolls. Biblo baggins had previously stated before they had been chased by those cursed Orcs that he believed the worse of their journey was over. 

Kili hadn’t believed that then, and he certainly didn’t believe it now. Saeril’s offer with holding her made Kili glance to the ground, hoping the older dwarves wouldn’t chuckle at the elf’s affection. He was young, but he was still a full grown dwarf. He sighed inwardly. His elf-mother was being protective. That wasn’t a bad thing, that was just something that was happening. 
“Thanks for the offer Master Elf, but I believe I can do fine walking on my own.” Hopefully she wouldn’t take offense to that. He would still be close on the trail. A regret though, was they didn’t have horses any longer. Which meant the journey’s urgency for completion just went up a notch. 

===========

Tajjus had listened to the wizard and elfs talk, as he had listened to everyones. He remained walking by Saeril, his body seeming to swim through his surroundings. He could still track these dwarves by smell just fine, though he was not a creature specializing in smell, the herbal scents he’d dappled them with could be smelled uite some distance away. Still, he would have to follow them if he wished to stay alive on through this part of his travels. His next words were spoken as if he were smiling at the elf. 
“My name is Tajjus.” He stated simply, “I was offered a bounty for your head. Let me make that very clear.” Tajjus seemed to pause, as he continued to tread next to her. 
“Seeing as I dislike being threatened into hunting, and you seem to be more than the one-dimensional creature I heard of, I am going to see if you are worth helping rather than fighting. Give me reasons, I can be a valuable ally.” He seemed to genuinely offer. He himself truly didn’t like the thought of being given orders by the orcs, though he knew they’d appear again. 

“The Orcs disclose Saeril. Pick your allies while you can, and know your enemies.” Tajjus stated simply, before he seemed to vanish after he went by a tree. Something in his voice was more earnest than his previous visit, where his voice was more amused and reserved.