The following morning, or what passes for morning in the sunless winters of the north, Toby met with Pete to discuss his problem. "Tell me everything," Toby urged. "I want to be sure we don't miss anything."

"Well," Pete explained, "it was pretty run-of-the-mill. I saw her, asked if she'd like to go out, she said yes."

When the husky said nothing further, Toby asked, "Just like that?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Recipe for disaster, Toby mentally noted, but knew better than to say it out loud. "So then what happened?"

Pete groaned. "Well, we were together for about two days when―"

"Two?" Toby interrupted with one ear and one eyebrow raised. Pete had never been able to hold onto a girl longer than a day before, and 90% percent of the others had ditched him after less than twelve hours. "Are you sure you're telling the truth on that?"

Pete growled. "Very funny. Yes, it was two days, and I felt pretty good about that."

Toby's doubts about the report certainly weren't without reason, but he had to admit that holding onto a girl for two days was quite an accomplishment considering Pete's track record. "Then what happened?"

"Well, I made one little remark and she totally went off her rocker."

Toby's ears perked a notch. "What exactly did you say to her?"

Pete shrugged. "Something like, 'You know, we've been going for two days solid. We're practically mates.'"

Toby's ears, jaw and tail abruptly met the floor. "You didn't!" Pete nodded. When he finally spoke, it was in a quiet groan with one paw over his eyes in a gesture of utter hopelessness. "I think I found your problem."

"What?"

Toby shook his head. "Pete, you don't just say something like that to a girl you barely know."

"We'd been dating for two days," Pete replied defensively.

"Which is great," Toby countered, trying to at least sound gentle. It wasn't easy. "But not so great, all things considered."

Pete rolled his eyes. "Okay, so watch what I say. Is that it?"

Toby shook his head. "Not by a long shot," he answered. "Your whole problem, I think, is that you don't take it seriously enough. Relationships are about more than just finding some girl to kiss and stuff. It's got to be from the heart."

Pete snorted. "That how you caught yours?" he asked.

"It wasn't like that," Toby replied. "I didn't catch Luna; she caught me."

"Is that so?" asked Pete, bemused. "Good for you then, fish."

Toby rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Heaven help us," he muttered. "The point is, you have to think. Why are you going into this?"

Pete shrugged. "I want a hot girl."

"Okay, red flag," Toby replied, praying like he'd never prayed before that this would be the only time he'd have to go through this. "Relationships can't be just about making you happy. Girls aren't there just for you to drool over. You have to put something into it to make it work."

Now it was Pete's turn to roll his eyes. "You sound just like Mom."

"I should," he retorted. "she's my mom too, you know."

"Don't remind me."

"Hey, you said you'd be nice," Toby protested.

"Yeah, but that was before you said I didn't have to."

Toby groaned, making a mental note that Pete really needed to learn some things about keeping his word. "Okay, back to the point," he persevered. "If you're trying to find a girl just because you want one, I can't help you." He leveled a weighty stare at Pete. "But if you want one out of a desire to be kind and understanding, then maybe I can do something. But I'm not a wizard, and it's no overnight thing; you have to work with me. Now, are you willing to be serious about this or not?" Pete nodded. His posture didn't show much indication of submission, but Toby wasn't sure if this was bad acting or simply Pete's habit of refusing to submit. "Okay," he conceded. "Now this girl, what did you like about her besides the fact that she tolerated you for two whole days?"

Pete thought carefully before he answered, knowing that Toby would give him up for a lost cause if he said what immediately came to mind. "Well, she was nice."

"Nice how?" Toby pressed. "In what way?"

Pete's face wrinkled slightly. "I don't know, there was just…something different about her. Most girls…" He trailed off, his bitterness reasserting itself. "Gah, why should I tell you what most girls treat me like?" he wondered aloud.

Toby was struggling not to explode. "Well, for starters," he pointed out, "you came to me for help. And I can't help much unless you supply me with information. And second," he added, trying not to smirk, "I know how most girls treat you. I saw Luna kick your butt that time she had amnesia, remember?"

Pete's expression made it all too clear that Toby had touched a nerve. "Yeah, well, most girls don't beat me up," he retorted. "Most of them just tell me off the first time I do or say something they don't like. Always the same; they blow up over the littlest things."

Trying to ignore the fact that Pete's definition of "the littlest thing" wasn't a match for Webster's, Toby took it in. He had a feeling that what the husky said about girls' sensitivity was, in all probability, a bit exaggerated; that some girls just put up with Pete for a while and only blew up when the dam broke. Luna had said as much about her experience with him. "So this Trixie girl is different, huh?"

Pete nodded. "Yeah. She was kinda touchy and she made a stink about a lot of things I said, but when she did, she was nice about it. She never even talked loud until I made the mate remark."

Privately, Toby thought this girl sounded a bit too good for Pete. "So what exactly do you want?" he asked.

Pete shrugged. "I want her back," he replied honestly.

Toby clicked his tongue. Somehow, I was afraid of that.

Two days of lessons later, Toby was having serious doubts of ever getting his half-brother to change. Pete had motivation, that much was clear, but his reluctance to take instruction was beyond question. Not only that, but Toby had the sinking feeling that Pete wasn't learning anything but pickup lines. The third day, though, resolved any question when Pete showed up with a black eye and an even blacker disposition. "What happened?" asked Toby.

"You don't want to know," muttered Pete.

"Yes, I do," insisted Toby.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No you―"

"Pete, tell me what happened."

"Okay," Pete conceded.

"That's better."

"Then I don't want to tell you."

Toby got a sneaking suspicion. "Pete," he asked, "did you try to talk to a girl?"

Pete rolled his good eye. "Trixie," he muttered. "I wanted to see if all your tips would work, so I tried to say hi and…"

Toby groaned. "Pete…"

Pete cut him off. "What if you talk to her for me? You know, soften her up a little."

Toby tried to imagine Luna's reaction if he showed up to visit with a black eye. "I think we should wait until you've made some improvement."

"Please," Pete persisted. "Just tell her I'm trying to change."

Toby shook his head. "Pete, think about how that's going to come across to her. 'Hey, Trixie, I just wanted to tell you that the guy who suggested that you be mates wants you to wait and not date anyone else while I make a decent dog out of him.' I'd be lucky to come out of it looking like you."

Pete shrugged. "Yeah, but you're good at making stuff like that sound nice. You can come up with something, right?"

Toby's ears drooped. "I probably could," he confessed, "but I really think it's a bad idea. Especially if you've been after her lately."

"That's why I need you to do it. She won't give me the light of day for anything."

"Gee. I wonder why," Toby said sarcastically.

"Toby, please!" Pete begged. "I need you to do this. For me."

Toby rolled his eyes heavenward. "Why me?" he muttered aloud.

"Because you're the only one who can," Pete answered. Reasonable for once.

Toby sighed. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll try, but only once. If she's not interested, I'm not talking to her about you again. At all. Ever. Understood?"

Pete nodded and slapped a paw down in the snow. "Perfectly," he agreed, lifting it away to show a print.

Toby raised an eyebrow. I didn't teach him that, he thought.