"It's fine," he replied with a small, nonchalant shrug.

Mostly true. He would rather travel alone, but Cyril wasn't terrible company, and perhaps he could help the elf in ways no one else could. He had experience on his side- of getting free, of trying to find some vague sense of normalcy again. He could offer this.

"I may need to leave quickly, if I find a nest of slavers nearby- but I would not mind the company, for a while."