Alfred set the drinks and plates full of food as gently as he could on the table. They landed with soft clicks as they met the hard wooden surface. Then, once he fiddled around with the positions of the forks and knives to be sure that they were straitened he dusted his hands off on the back of his pants. "Dig in!"

"What is it?"

"It's cheesecake." He grinned as he pulled his chair out and sat down. "Just try it. It'll be good, I promise."

Toris nodded before picking up his fork and cutting into the small slice of cake in front of him. He picked the piece he'd cut off and placed it carefully into his mouth. A mixture of sweet but thick cream was what he tasted next. Instead of swallowing he simply let the taste of it sink into his taste buds. It was a heavy sort of dessert, almost sickeningly so; however there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that it was delicious. Alfred had never been the best cook amongst the nations (not after growing up with England's cooking) but he'd never been a poor one, either. Back when Toris had lived in Alfred's house Alfred had asked him to show him how to cook a few times. His dishes hadn't come out badly- so long as he didn't set them on fire. It wasn't too long before Toris had banned the man from his own kitchen unless he was there to supervise. It was obvious now, though, that he'd learned how to somehow cook without filling the house with smoke...

"Does it taste bad?"

Toris blinked out of his stupor as his eyes came back into focus. He looked up at the blond sitting opposite of him and stared at him for a few moments in confused.

"Does it taste bad?" Alfred repeated as he pointed to Toris' barely touched dessert.

"Hmm?" Toris looked down and "mm!"d in surprise as he covered his full mouth and swallowed. "No, no; it's actually really good. You've gotten better, Alfred."

"Good." He chuckled with a clear sense of satisfaction as he leaned back in his seat. "If you don't like it, though, I'll eat it for you."

Toris could only laugh before he took another bite. Once again he let the dessert marinate in his mouth but not as long as he had before. It was too thick for him to eat quickly in the first place and he was only halfway through the slice when he had to put his fork down and push the plate towards Alfred. Alfred didn't waste any time in picking up the plate eating what had been left and cleaning the dish. He finished eating in less than a quarter of the time that Toris had taken to eat and didn't seem to be affected by the heaviness of the cake at all.

Then, instead of getting up to wash the dishes, Alfred leaned back in his seat; legs crossed and chin resting on his knuckles. A calm silence settled between them, filling the room to the brim with what Toris could have sworn was a nostalgic feeling.

The silence, however, didn't last long. It was Toris who broke it with a deep, heavy sigh as he propped his elbow up on the arm of the chair and rested the side of his head on his hand with his head tilted down. His eyes were cast low but not closed, locked on the corner of the table.

"Are you alright?" Alfred asked as he started to get out of his seat. He stopped when Toris raised his hand up but didn't sit, palm on the table and eyes resting on the brunette.

"Just tired." Toris stated wearily as he rolled his head down and pressed the side of his hand against his temple. He'd been under so much stress lately- regaining his independence and reestablishing his connections with Poland had not been an easy feet, especially not with Russia. "It's been busy. Very, very busy."

"Yeah..." Alfred answered slowly as he sank down in his chair. "It was really nice to see you, though- even if it took a really long time to get here... I thought Lithuania was a lot closer. I was kind of upset when I realized I was going to have to get on an airplane for hours." He smiled and cocked his head to the side before adding, "You look really worn out though. Specially with that bruise and all." He gestured towards the multicolored blotch that was sitting on the upper right of Toris's forehead. "You hit your head?"

Toris was slow to react. Just as he'd done with the cheesecake he let the question sit and marinate in the silence. After a few seconds Alfred shifted in his seat, unable to stay still for long even when waiting for an answer to a serious question. It was only after a drawn-out silence Alfred realized that Toris wasn't going to answer. All that he'd done was pull his hand away from his head and set it down on his lap. "Uhm..." Alfred blinked and bit down on his bottom lip before continuing. "Russia?"

"He wasn't pleased with me leaving him, no. But this wasn't from that." Toris finally answered as he looked from the floor to the plates to Alfred. "This happened a while ago. It's taking a long time to heal, that's all."

"Yeah." Alfred's lips twitched from side to side as he glanced over at the sink.

"…I'm sorry. Talking about this must make you uncomfortable."

"Err, no! It's not that!" Alfred responded immediately as his eyes snapped back towards Toris. "...Uhm, alright, so it is a little- but I don't mind. I'd prefer that you said what was on your mind instead of shutting it up." Toris' eyebrow barely twitched in mild amusement- it was interesting how Alfred was telling him to speak his mind when at world meetings he rarely let other countries stick their own opinions into his ideas.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"No, I mean seriously- are you okay?" Alfred repeated as he tensed to get out of his chair for the third time.

"I'm fine," Toris' eyebrows lifted as a small smile touched his lips. "Just worn out is all. You don't need to get up."

"No, c'mon- you've got a fireplace or somethin' around here, right?" Alfred got up out of his chair with a sudden burst of determination. Dirty dishes ignored, Alfred walked around the other side of the table and pulled Toris' chair out. He'd half-led Toris to where the fireplace was up until he realized that he didn't actually know where the fireplace was (or if there was even one to begin with). Instead of asking where it was he let Toris go and disappeared down the hall. A minute later Alfred let out a small whoop before coming back and pulling Toris into his living room.

Alfred pushed Toris onto the couch, headed over to the fireplace and then looked around the room. Toris watched as Alfred moved around his living room to pick up the logs he'd had stacked up in the corner and place them into the fireplace. Alfred then left the room briefly and returned with a roll of newspaper which he stuffed underneath the logs and then looked around the room. "Do have some matches? Wait, no- I gotta lighter." He mumbled the last bit to himself as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a lighter with the American flag's stars and stripes on it. He flicked it open and used the small flame to set the newspaper on fire. He snapped the lighter shut and stuffed it back into his pocket as he watched the flames eat away at the newspaper. It wasn't until the fire had reached the wood and started burning it that he stood back up. He stretched his legs for a moment before dusting his hands off and then heading over to sit down. He flopped down on the couch that Toris was sitting on and didn't even seem to notice the loud creaking that the couch made in protest. "There, that's better. S'a shame that you ain't got any marshmallows or graham crackers, though. We could've made smores... wait, do you have any?"

"No," Toris laughed as he finally relaxed in his seat. "I don't think I could eat any, though. That cheesecake was really heavy."

"Oh, yeah. Did you like it?"

"It was really good. Different from what I'm used to."

"Used to?" Alfred's head cocked over like a curious pup. "Do you have cheesecake here?"

Toris nodded. "Poland makes cheesecake sometimes. He uses potatoes in his, though, and sometimes dried fruit." He tilted his head as he watched the flames lick at the darkening surface of the wood.

"...That sounds gross."

"It's not that bad. Different, but not bad. I'll have to make you some in payment someday."

"You don't have to do that," Alfred grinned and scratched the side of his head nervously. "I uh, actually bought mine... I tried to make my own but the fire alarm kept on going off. I could've done it the easy way where you don't have to use an oven but I just wanted to get it over with."

Toris laughed loudly before he rested his head on the back of the couch. Alfred joined in the laughter, looking from the fire to the window where frost had grown. He studied the intricate pale transparent designs and the soft white land beyond. "I'm sorry I didn't come earlier. It's already winter."

"That's alright," Toris replied with a tired sigh. "I'd prefer it this way. I was too busy before so we'd really only have a moment to greet each other." Sitting and actually being able to converse comfortably was a more ideal situation to him- especially with Alfred. The man had been his employer but that hadn't stopped Alfred from being one of the friendliest people Toris had ever had the fortune of meeting.

"Yeah." Alfred nodded as he looked away from the window and back at Toris. "It must be nice to be back in your own house now."

"It is," Toris nodded as he gently rubbed the top of his hand with his thumb. "A bit lonely, though."

"You must be happy to get away, though. From Russia. Right?"

Toris didn't answer immediately. He took his time, studying the texture of his ceiling. Alfred waited, only turning his head to peer at the brunette through his glasses. "I am, but..."

"But?"

"I'm worried. Maybe."

Alfred blinked and his mouth was open a second before noise even started coming from it. "Worried?"

"Russia is..."

"I thought you hated him?" Alfred asked with a mix of shock and curiosity. Toris rolled his head on the back of the couch so that he could look at Alfred. "Don't you?"

"I..." Toris began slowly, trying to sort out the words that were in his head. After a moment he sighed and straitened up, ignoring the ache in the back of his neck. "I don't hate him."

"Why?"

"It's like... trying to hate a child," he explained with a furrowed brow. He paused, nibbling on his lower lip before going on. "I know that he... but, if a child hits its mother, does the mother then hate her child? Or does she still love him because she knows he doesn't know any better?"

"But Russia's not a child," Alfred pointed out quickly. "And even a kid knows right from wrong."

"You're right." Toris nodded slowly, fingers subconsciously rising to gently touch the large bruise on his forehead. "But Russia's mind isn't... sound." He paused as his hand slipped away from his head. "And Russia could be gentle," he added in a soft, whisper-like voice. "Very gentle. He just... didn't know how to control himself or what to do when he got upset." He drew a breath as he gently rubbed his wrist. "Russia's childhood wasn't a good one... he's just..." his dark green eyes tore away from Alfred's and focused on the fire. "Sometimes hurting people is the way that he shows that he likes them."

Alfred paused, jaw moving as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "But you don't love him, right?"

"Mm."

"...Say it out loud." Alfred stated as he tilted his head forward so that he could peer at Lithuania over his glasses. "So you mean it."

"I don't love him..." Toris replied as he looked back at America with an odd expression. "Alfred… why does it matter? To you?"

"I just hate it when I see stuff like this." Alfred answered as he swallowed hard and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Toris watched him for a moment and realized that his possibly harsh reply had offended the younger nation. "I just... I hate it.... And... I don't really understand what you mean when you say you don't hate him."

"I'm sorry." Toris murmured back as he looked down at his palms. He licked his lips and sucked his bottom lip before adding: "What about England?"

"Arthur?" He repeated with a note of surprise. "What's he got to do with this?"

"Your revolution. England killed many of your people and you the same to him." Toris stated in a soft voice as he looked back at Alfred's still shocked expression. "But you don't hate him, do you?"

"I... well, no... that was a really long time ago," Alfred cocked his head to the side and scratched the rim of his earlobe, eyebrows still up. "I don't hate him. But, I know he sure as hell hates me."

"I don't think so."

"But he does," Alfred craned his neck from side to side before setting his elbows on his knees and leaning on them. "I know he does. All that he does now is yell or argue with me- that's all he ever does. He didn't do that back when I was still his colony." One hand moved up to rub his dried bottom lip. "Back then he was always so happy to see me. He didn't come too often but I always knew that he tried really hard to get his work done so that he could come over to play with me. He really treated me like his little brother." His eyes lowered and he reached up to pull off his glasses. "But the taxes got higher and... a lot of my people wanted to get away from him and become an independent nation. It was what my people wanted... I knew what I had to do. But so many of my people wanted to stay with England, too. I remember walking up and down my streets having no idea what to do... I was so confused. Felt like half of my head wanted to tear itself apart."

Alfred paused in his speech as he looked down at his glasses as he slowly twirled them. Toris waited for him to speak patiently, empathetic eyes on him.

"...But... eventually I knew what I had to do. I had to become my own nation- it's what my people wanted and what my bosses wanted. So I fought for independence... and I can still remember how much Arthur cried when I won the war. I ain't ever seen him cry like that before and I haven't since." Alfred slowly licked his lips and looked past his glasses and at his feet.

"Alfred..."

"…Now all we do is argue…. It's like I can't say anything without him disagreeing with me, even when we're on the same side- and I had to kill so many people to win that war." Alfred gave a harsh sigh, running his hands through his hair as he looked down at the floor. "You know, back during the Revolution, I had to shoot down people who lived with me but had sided with England. And, I know that they were part of Arthur's army because they were the ones that joined with him, but... they were still my people, somehow, and I still shot them down." He shook his head and rubbed his calloused hands against his forehead as he pulled his glasses off. "I'm honestly not sure what's worse. Having Arthur hating me after that or knowing that I killed a lot of my own people."

Toris was silent as he looked at Alfred- really looked. In the fire light he could see some features of Alfred's face that he could remember seeing before. 'He really has grown up since I last saw him,' he couldn't help but think to himself as he reached out and laid a gentle hand on Alfred's shoulder. Alfred lifted his head and looked back at Toris with a sad smile on his face. Toris could tell that Alfred still looked quite the same. His blond hair was neat yet a bit disheveled, chin set and blue eyes as bright and yet deep as ever… however Toris couldn't help but think that his cheeks looked thinner and his face structure a bit sharper since the last time Toris had been this physically close to him.

"I ain't got any regrets, though." Alfred stated as he looked away from Toris so that he could clean his glasses on his shirt. "And I'm really happy about being here right now. Besides, if I hadn't become my own nation you probably wouldn't have come over to stay at my house so we might've never really met like we did." He finished rubbing the lens of his glasses between his shirt and held them up to his face so he could see if they were clean. "And I'm really happy about that. Gotta count your blessings. Y'know?"

"It's how I get by sometimes," Toris answered as he gave Alfred's shoulder a little squeeze.

"Yeah, I know." Alfred turned his head to face the other and smiled. "Hey, Toris."

Toris blinked back as if it'd been the first time he'd heard Alfred use his human name. "Hm?"

"Thank you for listening to me." He chuckled as he faced his lap and twirled Texas in his hands. "Even today some of the other countries don't take me that seriously. You're one of the few people who I can talk to and feel like... I don't know, like I'm not a kid?" He laughed and leaned back into the couch, spreading his arms out over the back of it. "I mean, I know that I've still got a way to go and I'm kind of dense sometimes, but..." his voice trailed off as he lifted an arm and rubbed the bottom of his chin with calloused fingers."Thank you, you know. Just, thank you."

For a moment Toris was going to give an answer similar to what Alfred had just said: Thank you. Not just for being treated like an adult, however- for being treated like someone who had an opinion and could stand on their own two feet. The words rose up from his stomach and got caught his throat, creating a lump that evaporated into cold air and instead sank down uncomfortably into his stomach. "You're welcome." He replied simply as he humbly bowed his head. And even though he couldn't see him he could feel Alfred's smile. There was something that changed in the air every time he did it. That was one quality that Alfred hadn't lost.

Then he took in a deep breath before pushing himself out of his seat. "Stay there," he ordered when Alfred motioned to stand up as well. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Alfred watched Toris walk around the couch and off into a dark blotch on the wall. Alfred blinked before he put his glasses back on and realized that the dark blotch was actually the doorway that led into the hall. He nodded shallowly to himself as he turned back around his seat and looked back to the fireplace. The fire was now starting to roar up pretty strong. He watched the flames dance until he felt the warmth of the room start to make him nod off. With a heavy yawn he lay down on his side and propped his feet up on the arm of the couch. Toris wouldn't mind. He rolled onto his side and looked up at the ceiling above him with low eyes, finally putting his glasses back on.

Their conversation replayed in his head. His lips were set into a drawn-off frown as his half-lidded eyes stared upwards at the ceiling that Toris had been looking at before. He could hear the sounds that drifted out from the kitchen. They were gentle clinks and clunks as Toris moved around and picked things up. And for a moment Alfred that he might have been doing the dishes and rose up on his elbows to look over the back of the couch to listen. When he heard no water, however, he fell back and sighed. He took a deep breath in, eyes closing as he recognized a familiar scent- was it… cinnamon? It was something that burned a bit but was still sweet. He drove into his memories to try and remember where it was that he remembered the smell from.

Then he remembered: It was from way back when. Back when Toris had been living with him. Alfred could remember the same smell drifting around the house every so often. Where it was really evident was on Toris himself, though .Whenever Alfred had gotten close enough he could smell the warm smell lingering in the air around him. He could even remember it from the weekend mornings. When Alfred didn't have work he'd sleep up until Toris would come in and gently try to wake him up. He would gently shake Alfred's shoulder until the blond would roll over and cover his pillow over his head, refusing to get out of bed or even open his eyes. Eventually Toris would sit on the edge of his bed, tugging at the pillow until Alfred let it go and then would slowly wake Alfred up by talking to him while he held the pillow on his lap. Oddly enough talking to Alfred was the same way that Toris got him to sleep during some insomnia filled nights.

He'd been about to fall asleep with his memories when he heard footsteps in the hallway. He sat up and propped his arm up behind him to support himself as he pulled his knees towards his chest.

"I hope you like hot cocoa."

"Really!?" Alfred exclaimed with a sudden burst of energy as his previous thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind. He immediately sat up and set both feet on the floor just as Toris reentered the room carrying a plate with two steaming cups on the top of it. The moment that Toris sat down Alfred picked up one of the cups and lifted it to his mouth. For a terrifying moment Toris thought that Alfred was actually going to try and drink the hot cocoa before it had even started to cool. To his relief Alfred seemed to have caught onto the fact that the contents of the cup would likely scold him if he tried to drink it and lowered it away from his face. "Man. This is just like Japan's Cup Noodles."

Toris lifted his eyebrows and blinked as he rested the plate on the stand beside the couch. "Cup noodles?"

"Yeah. It's a thing of noodles that you get in a styrophoam cup. You just have to fill it up with boiling water. 'Cept y'gotta wait three minutes before you can eat it." Alfred explained as he lifted the cup back up to his face to smell it. "Which I hate. Crap, this is steaming up my glasses."

"Pull it away from your face," Toris told him with a bemused tone as Alfred shrugged and just took his glasses off.

"Here," Toris took the glasses from Alfred's hands and set them down beside the plate.

"Thanks," Alfred smiled before he started blowing on his hot cocoa. Once he felt that it was probably cool enough to drink he pressed the rim up against his lips and sipped. He flinched from the heat but "mm"d in appreciate. "Toris, you make a mean cup of hot chocolate."

"Thank you," Toris laughed before he picked up his own cup.

The rest of the evening was spent bantering. Neither of them tried to lead the conversation back to where it had been before, both having reached a silent agreement that heavy topics would be excluded. By the time they finished talking it was well into the night and the fire that Alfred had been feeding wood to over the evening was starting to die down. Deciding that now would be a good time to go to bed Alfred stood up, stretched, bid Toris goodnight and then headed off into the guest room. Ten minutes later the lights in the room went out, as did the noise.

Toris, however, remained in his seat; emptied cups on the plate, hands on his lap and eyes fixed on fire that was beginning to dwindle. Eventually the flames disappeared and all that was left were the glowing embers that burned his eyes as he stared at them. At one point Toris closed his eyes simply for the sake of giving his dried eyes a rest. However it wasn't long before he fell asleep, head dipping forward and shoulders slumping forward as he lost consciousness.

It was Alfred who found him an hour or two later. He'd woken up to go to the bathroom and on his way back he'd noticed that Toris was still sitting on the couch. He'd thought that the nation was awake up until he stepped into the living room and looked right at him. Toris was crumpled over, head resting on the couch's arm at an awkward angle and arms wrapped around his torso in an attempt to keep himself warm. Alfred scratched his head and left the room, returning soon after with the extra comforter Toris had left in his room. Alfred set the comforter on the floor before very, very carefully grabbing Toris and slowly pushing him over so that he was lying down instead of sitting. Alfred froze when Toris jerked awake halfway through the motion, eyes flying open and muscles stiffening in surprise. Toris grabbed Alfred's shirt with surprisingly tight fingers and looked straight at him for a good six seconds. Alfred stared back until Toris' eerily penetrating eyes blinked. His body then relaxed and lowered his head back down while mumbling something to himself. It was only when the fingers that had wound themselves up in his shirt loosened and fell down on the couch that Alfred realized Toris had fallen back asleep. With a quiet, relieved sigh he lowered Toris onto the couch. He pulled Toris further up the couch and then picked his legs up and set them on the couch before picking up the comforter and spreading it out over the Baltic's sleeping body.

"G'night, Toris," Alfred whispered as he gently patted Toris' head. Then, after a quick check to be sure that Toris' feet weren't sticking out of the blanket, sighed and crouched over the couch. He'd had the intention of putting Toris to bed and then leaving to go to his own room but he suddenly lacked the energy to get up and do so. Instead he watched Lithuania sleep, eyes studying the contours of the thinner male's face and the bruise that was taking up residence on his pale forehead. Seeing him like this once again reminded him of when Toris had been living him back before his Great Depression had hit. He could remember when he'd first seen enter his country: the brunette had looked pale, skin sticking to his bones and white lips stretched out into a polite and subtly nervous smile. He actually looked almost the same now except his smile looked more tired out than before.

Alfred could remember that Toris would stand by the radio as he cooked, cleaned or did the laundry, often whispering things to himself as he did so. He always had his shirt tucked in, was never seen without it, even when he was wearing his pajamas. He was awake before Alfred and always went to bed after him. He'd been constantly vigilant in his duties and Alfred had no trouble admitting that Toris had been the best help he'd ever had around the house. There was something dedicated about how he acted and every day he seemed honestly happy to be doing the kind of work that most men and some women would do their best to avoid. Even when the Great Depression had come sliding through Toris had worked just as well, if not better, than he had before.

"I wonder..." Alfred whispered to himself as he tilted his head and blinked. "How things would've turned out if the Great Depression hadn't come 'round." He sighed and rubbed the back of his thumb up against his chin, blue eyes dark.

A few seconds ticked by and he rose up with a soft crack from one of his knees. He then reached out and gently petted the side of Toris' head. He paused in his movements as he looked at the small opening Toris' shirt made right around his neck. Alfred had always wondered why Toris would never take his shirt off. He'd come down to the conclusion that he was either too shy about it or that he had some sort of a scar or tattoo hiding underneath. He half contemplated reaching over and taking a peek, however the thought was dismissed just as quickly as it had come. He pulled his hand from Toris' hair and then walked away, feet quietly pattering down the hall and into his room.

He crawled into bed, pulled his glasses off and rolled onto his stomach. He studied the twisting and ever changing colors behind his eyelids as he tried to sleep. Sleep, however, refused to come and he soon found himself tossing and turning in an attempt to get in a more comfortable position out of the hopes that it might help him relax. What had to have been an hour passed and he found himself farther away from sleep than when he had started. With a sigh he sat up, rubbing his temples as he pulled his legs up and growled. He rubbed his eyes, sighing before he lifted his head up at the sound of footsteps right outside his room. "Toris?"

There was a pause in the sound and as he sat up could barely make out the new array of colors that was standing in the doorway. As he groped around for his glasses he heard, "Alfred? Are you awake?"

He was half tempted to ask the same question but found himself too tired to. He put off his answer as he put his glasses on and blinked a few times as his eyes readjusted. He looked forward and could see Toris' head and half of his body sticking out of the doorway. "I can't sleep."

"Is it too cold for you?"

"No…" Alfred shook his head as he stifled a yawn. "I'm fine. Just can't sleep."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, no… just go to bed." Alfred waved him off as he sniffled to clear his nose and ran his hands through his hair again. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the mattress sink, eyes snapping upward as he saw Toris sitting down on his bed. "Toris?"

"Lay down." Toris patted the pillow behind Alfred before pressing his hand against his chest to push him down. Alfred let himself be pushed and stared up at Toris with a look of confusion. He blinked when Toris slowly picked his glasses off and leaned over Alfred to set them down on the nightstand.

"Toris?"

"Sleep," Toris told him quietly as he reached out, fingers brushing first over Alfred's forehead and then his hair. The next words that slipped out from Toris' mouth sounded like complete gibberish. It wasn't until Alfred listened harder that he realized the other wasn't speaking in English.

No, Toris was singing. Softly but deeply, in what Alfred could only guess was Lithuanian. The words flowed and melded into one another, sinking into the air and fading off. Alfred listened as he turned his head into Toris' hand as his fingers petted and brushed through his hair. He closed his eyes, his attention swayed away from his insomnia and onto the warmth of those fingers and the sound of those deep, rich words that flowed from his lips. Even as he fell off into sleep he could still hear the song as it echoed through his head long after Toris had stopped singing.

Dead silence filled the room now. Alfred slept and breathed quietly and Toris remained completely still with his fingers still tangled in Alfred's blond hair. His green eyes were focused on the window where he thought he could see the faint traces beginning to leak in from the sky. He couldn't be sure, though- he really had no idea what time it was, just that the room was comfortable and filled with a thick warm that he could almost wrap around himself.

The sleep that he'd been enveloped in earlier was returning to him. It pressed against his senses and swiftly began digging itself into his mind. He slowly sat up, carefully pulling his hand out of Alfred's hair. He stopped when Alfred twitched, head jerking to the side and lips parting to murmur something. Toris felt humor stir in him but did not smile. He rose up, careful not to move the bed too much, and then slipped out of Alfred's room and back into the darkness of the hallway.

Please give me feedback and critique if you can. Thank you.

Cryptic...