"Cole, huh?" Anders asked. He could tell something was wrong but he wasn't sure what. "Not..." He wanted to make a joke, to pick some silly virtue like 'Punctuality' in an attempt to lighten the mood but the word was supplied for him by the back corners of his mind. "Compassion?"

He leaned a little closer to put his arm around Cole to guide him back to his flat. He planned to use that time to see if there was sign of more of the poison.