Years of dealing with the Halliwells have trained Cole to always be prepared for the unexpected and try to turn the outcome in his favor. He may not be successful in taking out the sisters, but he always came away from his dealings with his life and pride intact, which was far more than many others could say. So Cole was completely prepared for anything the young whitelighter could throw at him, which really wasn't much and Cole laughed the attempts at upsetting him off and kept his grip firm on Chris's chin.

"Past tense, little whitelighter, but points for trying to upset me. You didn't succeed, though it was a good attempt," he said almost cheerfully. Talking helped make Chris focus on him and thus plant the seeds into his mind that would spread and root itself deeply there so that Cole would twist and pull into what he wanted. Give him enough time and the whitelighter would be his. "And your eyes are beautiful, a nice green. Nobody's ever told you that before, have they?"