#brightwindsbarony

"Maybe later, " Hope says "Plans need to be considered" Perhaps coming to the rescue

"Sure." Kev nods "Patience is a virtue" A pause and he looks down "Don't see any in my cup"

"Patience, or virtue?"

"Ha" A grin from Kev

"I guess... the first step... would be to have someone with an eye on the inside. Someone who has been there for their entire life may not realize if things have gotten bad. It's like that horribly analogy about how if you put a frog in a pot and slowly heat up the water, it won't notice and will just be boiled alive." She winces a bit. "Gradual change may have made things worse in ways that are more evident to outsiders.

Or maybe what we'll see is that things aren't really as bad as they seem, and I should keep my nose in my own business." She sounds hopeful - yet doubtful.

"I think that is where you might come in, Kev?"

"Well, if they put me in thumb screws they still won't get the truth out of me, but... neither will someone who rubs my belly. I could at least try to put my best paw forward" He offers then says "I'm totally here for the bucks and not the good deeds"

She smiles at him, trying to put together his meaning. "Even if we don't find anything out, yes, you'd be helping people who do truly need a ball in their court."

"Ah shucks, " his tail wags behind him "You had me at ball"

Hope covers a smile at that

"And... most importantly - don't put yourself out there." She reaches over and rests her hands on his arms in emphasis. "If you think you're in trouble, you pull out. You call me, I'll... I'll find a way to fix things. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Kev nods eyes more serious

Then he says "No good dog goes unpunished, but I'll try to keep my guard up"

"That's the ticket. Thank you, Kev." Sincerely. "I'm going to owe you for this, you know?" She smiles, showing that she doesn't mind.

"Wait, I do good and get paid for it? " A brow "What's the catch?"

"The catch... I suppose.... is that if you see something that is not exactly Kosher in the big guy's territory, you have to keep up appearances instead of making noise so that we can collect evidence about the problems. That might be tough."

"Ruff" He says then looks apologetic "Sorry, nervous tick"

She hides a smiles.

"Code word?"

"Call up and order a lavender latte from Hope if you need to share information, or a mocha if you need help. Either way, you'll get it." She nods, glancing to Hope. "If you don't mind relaying messages?"

"I find it rather exciting' she says

"I think I'm going to need help." She admits. "I'll.. ask around."

"A fraid I left my pack in my other pants" Kev replies

"No worries, Kev, you're golden." A grin. "I just don't want things to get away from me, like a runaway train."

She considers. "We should have a codeword so you know if someone else is working on the... um. Project, with us."

Realizing now that might be what Kev meant initially as well.

"Let's go with... Bluebonnet. It's the Texas state flower. I can get you a blue hat if you like, too. " Grinning. "Is that too silly? It's like.. a spy movie from the 60's."

"Or a boutonniere you can wear if that's more your style."

"Blue Bonnet? I LOVE ice cream" He nods

She laughs at that. "You name the flavor, it's a date."

"Oh shucks" He blushes, then grows kind of serious "One thing we luck dragons do is get folks talking."

"I was hoping so. If you can help me help them, well, that would be most appreciated. Just don't let yourself go flat like that again." Mildly scolding for how he had been temporarily forgotten earlier.

He looks down chagrinned

"Oops?" He tries

She passes him a scone. "Forgiven."

He takes it "mmm it's a kickback, puppy pack, give the dog a scone"

"mm " Hope nods 'Maybe he should spend one night by the fire"

"I'm certain that wouldn't be a problem. I can escort you to BrightWinds, show you around?"

"Well, okay but it's the first date" He says

And soon, they're on their way to the hold.