“Leader?” Adrian all but sputtered, an odd mixture of perplexed and borderline offended at such a proposition, “Hardly. I am simply one of the Water Kingdom’s few tactical minds that is actually worth a damn.” His tone had returned to its usual evenness as he continued, “Individually, I am probably of the same caliber in combat as either Ward or Coy, but my tactical sense is supposedly going to make up for being one person short.”

Adrian took a moment to consider Ashaad’s question before stating rather matter-of-factly, “You haven’t heard of me for good reason. The battles I engage in don’t make for good stories,” he said, leveling his gaze at Issen’roy, “And I don’t paint myself a hero by going out of my way to save people and puppies,” he finished, shifting his attention to Ashaad. While his words could certainly be taken as condescending, there was no hint of self-gratifying superiority in his voice. To Adrian, he was simply stating the truth as he saw it. "I'm a soldier first and foremost and I am here because I was ordered to, nothing more."