Laika looked agitated for a moment. Why did he have to be so formal, even in private settings? He tried to shrug it off, and resume his typical neutral expression.
"Tone down the formalities, Utkin." Laika said, crossing his arms. "I’m not here for work."
There was a pause before he stated his purpose. “I was thinking that, since you know Creamlandic so well, you could help me study it. Or at least provide assistance when I asked.” His tough exterior faltered slightly, a bit of the person seen at the hospital showing through.
It was awkward asking a recruit for help, with himself being an officer. But Matvei was the only person around that he knew would help him with this, and he probably knew why too.
"Um, right, ah..." Matvei shifted, his eyes darting toward the door, as if expecting someone to suddenly burst inside the room and scold him for what he was about to do. "As you say...er, Mister Laika?" It was a shot in the dark, but eventually he'd get it something that worked. He had a few more ideas in mind that he could hope the lieutenant might approve of.
"But why would you need..." he trailed off, a sudden realisation striking him. At the hospital, Laika and Pride had used primarily Japanese to speak to one another. It had been the nurses who used Creamlandic, and the princess had generally been the one who responded in the language, if at all. When he thought about it, he'd only seen Pride use Sharonian when they were speaking with Malenkov.
It didn't take long for all the pieces to quickly fall into place, and soon the young private was grinning. Translators weren't exactly difficult to find, but the fact that Laika had come to him was an honour he couldn't describe. And likely never would. "I can help," he nodded eagerly, his tone switching from short and formal to his natural friendly one. "Whenever and whatever you need me for; I'd be happy to. I've really only taught fencing, but Creamlandic won't be too difficult, I'd imagine."