Eloise struggled for a moment trying to think of what to say.
This man was looking at her so strangely. It brought to mind all the other looks she'd been getting, recently.
She didn't want people to think she was crazy, even if she had to question if being unused to society was enough to warrant craziness at all. Eloise was sure she wasn't really. She couldn't be. If she were insane, she wouldn't question her own sanity. Hadn't people always said that was one way to make sure? (And what was so bad about being insane, anyway, regardless of the fact that she wasn't? Mad world and all that.)
Blinking, Ellie shrugged. "I mean -- no. N-not really. It wasn't mine to begin with." She couldn't remember where she'd picked it up, but she almost certainly hadn't had it when she left her previous community. "I just don't think there's any point in being protective of these things. There's enough to go around here; I won't die if you take this from me."
She watched him slip the machete back in her bag. It was nice to have it back again, but she made no move to pull her bag closer. Instead she began wrapping the cord of her earphones around the ipod, trying to piece together the last few minutes.
"Anyway, a creature of habit. That's almost a... A need." Her eyes flicked back up to his, calm and steady.