remember.

      The man agreed that, yes, they were idle for much too long. Yuan Shu would only bring them so much safety, and the House of Sun would go absolutely nowhere. This couldn’t be what Han Dang wanted either. Ce had to consider all of his options, even if he was sure that his brother and sister would happily follow whatever Ce said was going to happen. The most appealing option overall had been one location: Wujun. 

    Wujun was the land of his forefathers, and if Ce was going to lead the House of Sun, he wanted to begin from there. It was only natural…and he would need everyone’s help, from Han Dang to his sister. Ce would lead the charge but everyone would do their part, and they’d be home where they belonged. But first…

      "Use what you still have," he suggested. Of course, Han Dang was no strategist, but he knew well of making use of what he did have. For him, that was strength and unbending allegiance. That was what made him of use. "--Take what is yours, my lord. Your father didn't leave you empty-handed." The seasoned warrior bowed his head at the mention of the late Sun Jian. His passing had been a tragic one, and something that Yigong frequently beat himself up over knowing full well that he could have done something to prevent it. If he'd only listened to that gnawing, gut instinct--

DW MASTERLIST — ACTIVE CHARACTERS

There was no hiding Sun Ce’s anger, not after Cheng Pu had informed him that Yuan Shu chose Liu Xun to receive the promotion after all of the hard work the eldest son of Sun Jian put forward for it. Anyone with patience counted to five—ten if Ce was less angry—before Ce actually let out a few curses and idle threats in the comforts of his own encampment. This was yet another moment in which Yuan Shu passed him over and left him to simply stay there and answer another command, and put more of his men at risk.

This kind of servitude—this kind of obedience and no reward—drove Ce not crazy, but toward fits of anger. Anyone who had no idea of what he was like would see it as a big tantrum, that Ce was merely acting like a brat who didn’t get what he wanted, but it was just frustration mounting and taking its toll. Instead of making any sort of effort to keep it bottled in, Ce always curbed his frustration physically. He would break things, going from the smallest and then escalating until there hadn’t been much left and his quarters were a mess.

Sun Ce wasn’t one for stillness, as soon as one place was destroyed he was on his way out to find another place to tear apart. He may have been angry and sometimes acted like, according to his father, a wild boar, but he wasn’t stupid. As much as he wanted to strangle Yuan Shu, that would immediately place him and his loved ones in danger. But, to sit there, serving a man who seemingly had no intentions of giving Ce what he worked hard to earn, and for several years at that…

"Damn it, Yuan Shu…" Ce growled.

      He was cautious at first, tentative even, but prepared enough to be hit with something in the other's state of frustration and possible state of temporary amnesia. It happened frequently enough that Han Dang began to expect it, regardless of how familiar Sun Jian's children might have been with him. Wentai never forgot, but those outside of his immediate family never cared enough to remember his name, let alone who he was.

      "Lord Sun Ce," he called out, voice hushed due to the tightening of his throat. The general cleared it then as a hand reached back to rub the pads of his fingers against his hairline near the base of his head before taking another breath--enough to call out to draw the impatient conqueror's attention again:

      "If I may," he began as his hand dropped, palm presented before him to insist that he did not mean to invoke any offense if his interjection was not to the other's liking. Yigong wanted to advise the young warlord with the best intentions; through virtues of patience and self-strength, but he felt himself pausing, recognizing the anxious fire within him despite the prevalent irritation, and it reminded him greatly of Sun Jian. As a result, initial proposition changed before it even left his mouth:

"Yes, I am well. No need to worry about an old man like me. It's men like Lord Sun Ce that need it--and certainly provoke it." The latter part was mumbled, though definitely loud enough for her to hear. The increasing loss of hair was enough proof of that.