"Oh, you're a hobbit," Eliot says with interest, "Sort of."

Because if she'd read or seen Lord of the Rings, it was a fair bet she wasn't from Middle Earth. Also, she very much looks like a little girl, not a slightly differently proportioned smaller adult female.

He walks over, looking around, and sits down where she'd indicated. "This is cute."

It probably sounds condescending, but he means the comment genuinely enough.