There's a flicker of recognition at the word spirit, then a flicker of annoyance when he responds to something else that Rita's pretty sure she only said in her head. Not that she wouldn't say it out loud too, though.

"A spirit..." Now that actually sounds like an answer. "What kind of spirit?" The spirits in Terca Lumireis all seemed to have some kind of innate elemental affinity... something like earth, wind, fire, or water. She can't see anything quite so distinctly recognizable in Cole, though.