Xaviers!

"I am sure you were, Mr. Martin.

But we are just talking, after all. Nothing more than idle chatter. Yes?"

Nika can't help but look at Katarina with a faint smile. She'd expressed the sentiment Nika herself had only managed to turn into a snide remark in a much more cutting little speech that somehow still remained polite. But more importantly than her decorum, she got what Nika had meant despite her own inability to really express it or explain her pride for her country without sounding like the militaristic idiot she is sometimes.

Catching herself she taps into that mindset of military drills to force a neutral expression again. Gotta stay professional.

"Right. Yes. Hypotheticals."

"Completely hypothetical," he smiled, slipping back into his usual demeanor. Or character, if you asked Nika. He never actually denied being more than a mere student.