Brady: *Pant, pant, wheeze* Need...air...HAAA...ngh...*sputter, pant* D-Dammit...
Avatar: Brady, what's the matter?
Brady: Ain't *pant* n-nothin' *pant* matter *wheeze*...
Avatar: I thought you were out training with the rest of the troops?
Brady: Well duh, that's EXACTLY *cough* what I was doin'. So get off my back!
Avatar: You overdid it, didn't you?
Brady: Sh-shut yer yapper!
Avatar: Do you need a glass of water? Or maybe a damp towel would help?
Brady: N-No... I'm perfectly... *cough* fine. Dammit...gotta get back there...rest of 'em...learnin' stuff...gettin' ahead of me... Gotta...train...more...*sniff*...
Avatar: Er, Brady. Are you crying?
Brady: I SAID shut yer *sniff* yapper. I NEVER cry, yeah?!
Avatar: I think you're being much too hard on yourself here, Brady. You have to understand, you're already an important part of this army. Look, here's a handkerchief. Why don't you blow your nose?
Brady: That ain't snot, it's tears! I don't need ya wipin' my nose like a sap, see?
Avatar: But you never cry, yeah?
Brady: You ain't nearly as nice as everyone says you is.
Avatar: I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't tease. But seriously, Brady. Are you really so desperate to get stronger?
Brady: Well, yeah. Of course I am. It's pretty much all I care about.
Avatar: Then let me help you.
Brady: What, I'm supposed to just have you drill me? Teach me to fight better? You?
Avatar: Basically, yes.
Brady: Yeah, well...I suppose that's...fine. Do what ya gotta do.
Avatar: Then it's settled! Excellent...

Avatar: Well, Brady. Ready to begin training? It's time we toughened you up.
Brady: Yeah, I guess. Where do we start?
Avatar: First thing we need to do is work on your habits off the battlefield.
Brady: Huh? What's that got to do with fightin' and gettin' strong?
Avatar: It has everything to do with it, actually. Your problem is a lack of stamina. We have to make sure the basics are covered before we get into combat.
Brady: Sounds like a buncha malarkey if ya ask me, but whatever.
Avatar: Now, folks tell me that you're rather picky when it comes to food...
Brady: Yeah, I guess. Ain't everyone?
Avatar: If you want to get stronger, you can't just eat the things you like. You need a balanced diet, with a full spectrum of nutrients and vitamins.
Brady: What, ya mean like equal parts beef AND pork...?
Avatar: No, I mean meat, grains, fruits and veggies and dairy. Oh, and no more late nights. A dissolute lifestyle leads to all kinds of health problems.
Brady: Fine, fine. So if I eat right and go to bed early, that'll make me strong?
Avatar: It won't happen overnight, but little by little, you'll find your stamina improving.
Brady: Gettin' good at fightin' sure has a lot less fightin' than I thought. A bit borin' ain't it?
Avatar: If you don't want to hear my advice, I so have other things I could be doing...
Brady: Oh, no, no! I ain't complainin'! I'll stick to yer program like glue.

Avatar: Good, you're here. Let's get started, shall we? First, I have something for you.
Brady: What is it? A weight machine? A new practice sword? A fencin' dummy?
Avatar: It's a bowl of my secret soup!
Brady: What the hey does soup have to do with buildin' my cannons?
Avatar: It's a key part of the program. Now eat the whole bowl, please.
Brady: Soup ain't gonna do nothin' for nobody! ...Unless you put secret stuff in here, yeah?
Avatar: Only if you consider carrots, turnips, leeks, and pig trotters "secret stuff."
Brady: Just regular soup, huh? All right. Down the hatch, I guess... *slurp* EEEEEEEEW! What in blazes?! This tastes horrible!
Avatar: Oh, it's not that bad. ...There must be some reason you're still eating it, right?
Brady: *Slurp* It's kinda...addictive...even though...*slurp* ...it ain't tastin' better.
Avatar: You know why? Because it's full of nutrients that your body's been craving.
Brady: *Slurp* Yeah?
Avatar: That's right. I analyzed your likes and dislikes to customize the recipe for you. It wasn't easy, either. I was up half the night working on it.
Brady: Well, ain't you a peach? *sluuuuuurp*
Avatar: My pleasure. If you want results, sometimes you just have to work hard. All I ask in return is that you finish all of it...and there we are. All done!
Brady: Oh, yeah. I couldn't stop eating it...
Avatar: Well, Brady, I'm impressed. I'll make another batch right away. We'll fix your nutritional problems yet!
Brady: Heck, if eatin' that stuff will make me strong, I'll take a whole barrel!

Avatar: Ah, there you are.
Brady: Lookin' for me, [Avatar]?
Avatar: We haven't had much chance for chat. I thought I'd rectify that.
Brady: Afraid I ain't much of a conversationalist. I'd probably bore ya stiff.
Avatar: I'm sure that's not true.
Brady: Plus, I got no place talkin' to an overachiever like you to begin with. We two just ain't a good fit, see?
Avatar: Well, what sort of person WOULD be a good fit?
Brady: Oh, I dunno. Maybe somebody like that...one fella. The one with the axe. ...Wait a sec, who do I usually talk to? Gotta be SOMEONE, right? Hells bells... Do I not have any friends?
Avatar: Wow, I, uh... I'm sorry I asked?
Brady: Augh, it's embarrassing enough without you pitying me! I guess I don't really have much in the way of buddies... But what I need is a mentor! Someone who knows how a real organization works and does it all by the book. Yessir, it's ironclad hierarchy for me!
Avatar: You want an ironclad hierarchy?
Brady: 'Course! The sort of outfit I wanna be a part of is run by the boys up top. When the saps down below screw up, they get smacked back in line!
Avatar: Sounds like you'd make for a pretty stern boss.
Brady: Eventually, maybe. But I ain't planning to be the big cheese anytime soon. I'm the new kid. I want somebody who's gonna show me what's what. A guy with gravitas, yeah? Manly and tough, but dedicated. Little fire in his belly! The sort of fella what I can admire.
Avatar: Sounds pretty stoic.
Brady: Yeah, exactly! Stoic! Respect for authority mixed with a liberal dose of old-fashioned male bonding! The boss makes his boys into men, and the men defend the boss with their lives!
Avatar: Heh, well I guess the trick is finding the right boss, then.
Brady: I'm hoping to find somebody up for the job right in this here army.
Avatar: I can keep my eye out for likely candidates if you want.
Brady: Naw, forget it! This ain't the sort of thing what you can find lookin' for it. It's fate as much as anything else. I'll see who the stars lead me to.
Avatar: If you're sure...

Brady: Hmm... Everybody likes him... They trust him as a tactician... His orders are so darn precise... He keeps his eye on the whole field... I know I wouldn't be scrappin' half as well if he wasn't telling me what to do. Plus the guy's a beast in combat, always defending the rest of us...
Avatar: Hmm? Who's that over there...?
Brady: I think I've found my man!
Avatar: Oh, hello, Brady? What'd you find?
Brady: Wha-?! [Avatar]! ...N-no, nothin'.
Avatar: You sure? If there's something on your mind, I'm always happy to listen.
Brady: ...Okay, well... When you make a plan, what's the most important thing?
Avatar: Huh? Where's this coming from?
Brady: Don't clam up now, just answer the question.
Avatar: Hmm... I suppose it's finding a clear path.
Brady: A path's an awfully liberal answer. I was expecting something... I dunno. Fluffier. "Faith in one another" or "ties that bind." That sorta malarkey. Or at least some kinda wacky concept like "efficiency" or "finesse."
Avatar: I think everything you just mentioned is important. But I view my job as charting a path from wherever we are to victory. That way, when I give out the directions, there's a context. A logical continuity. I'd say that's first and foremost for me.
Brady: So you DO mean it as more of an abstract thing!
Avatar: Well, literal roads are important too, but yes. I'm navigating our way through this war, but everyone else is on the ship. We all share in the journey, so I need to be sure we agree on the course.
Brady: So it's important it has a "logical continuity"... Huh.
Avatar: Does that answer your question?
Brady: I dunno. Gimme some time to mull it over. ...Alone.
Avatar: I wonder what that was all about?

Brady: Hey, [Avatar]! I want to be yer boy, and I want you to make me a man!
Avatar: ...I'm sure I must be misunderstanding you.
Brady: I want you to be the boss what keeps me in line! Remember? We talked about this! I've been looking for someone I could lay my life down for in this here army. A mentor! A big cheese who shows me the ropes!
Avatar: Riiight. I remember that much.
Brady: Well, I decided YOU'RE gonna be that someone! Sure, you're not exactly the gruff, manly type, and "gravitas" ain't a word I'd use... But what you said before, about seeing a clear path? It kinda got me right here.
Avatar: Er, I'm flattered, but I don't know if I'm the sort of superhuman you're looking for.
Brady: Whoa, whoa. Hold it right there. A boss has gotta ACT like a boss, you know? Have some bravado. Some swagger! Never play modest, especially in front of the boys! Now, let's try this again. Lay some orders on me, boss! Lemme have it!
Avatar: I'm still not really sure what you're looking for me to do here...
Brady: Put me to work! Send me on errands! Whatever ya needs! If anyone in this camp's givin' you lip, lemme smack 'em around. Fellas? Dames? Old ladies? Don't matter none to ol' Brady!
Avatar: I don't want anybody smacked around!
Brady: When you walk around camp, I'll be one step ahead, clearin' your path. When you go to eat, I'll shoo people away from your special table!
Avatar: It's starting to sound like you want a gang kingpin, not a mentor.
Brady: Exactly! You'd be the boss, which would make me your second! All I ask is that ya worked me ragged. If I can draw my last breath after taking an arrow for ya, I'll be happy!
Avatar: What?! I don't want you dying, for me or otherwise!
Brady: ...What, I don't make the cut? Not good enough to be one of your boys?
Avatar: Ugh, Brady...
Brady: Yeah, boss?! Whaddya need? Just name it!
Avatar: I'll do my best to mentor you, but not in the way you're thinking. I'm not looking for "boys," and I don't want to be anyone's "boss." I want everyone here to support each other as equals. Not as pawns or kingpins.
Brady: ...Sure I can't change your mind? We could get a gang together...
Avatar: We have a gang together, Brady! Our army, a field of equals. I consider all of you brothers and sisters—peers—as should you. We're already bound together, and that's not going to change.
Brady: Fair enough, boss. Er, [Avatar]. After all, I wouldn't have chose to serve ya if ya didn't have a magnanimous streak.
Avatar: Brady, I just said...
Brady: Oh, I heard ya. And don't worry. In my heart of hearts, you're still the boss, even if ya wanna just be small potatoes.
Avatar: Thanks, Brady. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I'll take it. I'm proud to consider you a friend, as well as an ally.
Brady: Heh, I guess if I can't have a boss, I'll settle for a partner.
Avatar: Welcome to the gang, Brady.