A few of the cats climb into his lap and Cole feels his heart swelling at the realization that they are happy with him. The cats at Skyhold used to bat at him because he didn't smell right, didn't smell like a human should. Like they could see that he was different. The cats in the Capitol have no such qualms, possibly because he isn't different after all. Not here. They climb into his lap and he gasps with all the delight of a child discovering something for the first time. Affection, softness, warmth.

But there's someone else. The cats hear him before Cole does, because his senses aren't what they were like when he was a spirit. He makes clicking noises like an insect might, like the crickets do as night begins to fall. Trying not to scare them, he thinks. It's harder to know for sure when he can't reach into his motivations like he used to.

Cole doesn't disturb the quiet, either. He makes a soft humming noise, soothing the cats as they begin to sniff at the newcomer.