"I guess I learned it the hard way, huh?" The android said grimly. She bent over, cradling her forehead in her hands. "Boy, was I stupid, or what?"
"Don't talk like that!" The elf shook his head resolutely. "You're not stupid. You just made a mistake; that's all. And besides, that kid was the one to blame. He was the one who stole your purse, after all. Hey, that reminds me …"
He removed his hip satchel from his belt, and unzipped its mouth. "Here," he said, "you can have this."
"Oh, no!" the android said, pushing it away the moment he presented it. "I couldn't possibly-"
"No, I insist," the elf said, pushing it back her way. "Besides, it's full of stuff that I don't really need. Go ahead. Take a look inside."
She wiped the stray tears from her face and eyed him suspiciously. But she was quickly disarmed by his calm and pleasant nature. She reached inside.
The moment she removed the first item, her expression changed dramatically. Eyes red and sore slowly widened in utter disbelief. Her mouth, once plastered in a miserable frown hung wide open in a very vocal gasp as she removed a small, flat, rectangular device from the satchel. There was a tiny, clear orb at one end.
"Oh, my god!" She exclaimed, turning the device around in her hand, eyes widening to near inhuman proportions, as the elf watched on amusedly. "Oh my god! It's my ether link!"
She placed the device down beside her, and then tore into the satchel, removing a makeup compact, various unidentifiable odds and ends, wallet, multiple lists on paper, and what seemed like twenty or more pens, pencils, and loose coins.
"My god!" The android ran a calculating hand through the objects that now lay between them. "By the maker, it's all here! Everything!" She beamed at Aldrec. "How … how did you-?"
"Even males have some secrets to keep," the elf said with a playful shake of his finger. "But I'm glad that I could at least be of some-"
Before he could finish, he was nearly knocked backwards onto the porch as the android launched herself into his arms. She threw her arms around his waist, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Thank you!" She whispered. "You don't know how much this means to me, you really don't!" The last few words of her sentence came out in a broken whisper as once again, she coughed out great sobs into his tunic, tears seeping through the fabric. And through the timbre of her cries, the elf realized that they were not tears of joy. Gently, he pried himself from the android's grip, and handed her another clean handkerchief.