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The pieces of the regicide board shook as the door to Guilliman's parlor slammed open.
It was easy to forget, in moments like these, that Sanguinius was the shortest of the three of them, if his wings were disregarded. Guilliman didn't think that counting the wings would be very fair, as none of their other brothers had wings.
"Roboute! I demand an answer!"
Guilliman's hand had been on the Ecclesiarch piece, as he considered his move. He hadn't been entirely sure he was ready to commit. But when he looked Sanguinius in the eye, he decided it best. Let the Lion focus on his next move, while Guilliman contemplated a different move on another board. "Perhaps if I knew the question, my liege."
The Lion studied the board, though it was obvious that he watched both of his brothers out of the corner of his eyes.
Sanguinius advanced on them, stopping and arms-length away. "I had a conversation with some of our nephews, and they've informed me of something you told them, about leadership."
"Oh?" He couldn't recall anything recent. Nothing that would invoke the Angel's ire. "You'll have to be more specific."
Perhaps his attitude came off badly, as this seemed to make Sanguinius more angry. "They said that you had secured your position of power, before our Legions appeared, by saying that you had seniority."
"That's true," Guilliman said, "both in that I said it, and that I had it."
"That's not what I take issue with," Sanguinius said. "You told our nephews that you would maintain command until someone with more seniority arrives."
Guilliman felt the heavy gaze of both his brothers in the silence the followed.
"...yes," he said, after several moments, "that is also true."
The Angel grit his teeth, his fangs longer than they usually were.
The complications started to make themselves known. And yet, Sanguinius' anger reminded Guilliman of when he provoked certain senators in debate - akin to poking a bear while they slept. Usually unwise. But Guilliman was a primarch. "Where do you take issue with these facts, brother?"
"You are the eldest of the three of us, Roboute!" Of course, Sanguinius was also a primarch. "You still have the highest seniority!"
Ah. He saw now.
The Lion made his move, and Guilliman considered his options. He picked up the Tetrarch, and it hovered over the board. There were only a few directions it could go, and already he saw the Lion eying each of them.
"When I said that," he said, "I was working off of the stratagem that you had been lost to us." Guilliman put the Tetrarch in a more daring position, challenging the Lion's Divinitarch. He looked up to Sanguinius, and his smile softened. "It is part of war to change strategy when new information has been presented." He let go of the piece, but did not sit back in his chair again. "When I made that claim, the list of brothers that would apply to was vanishingly slim," he said. "It worked well enough, in the moment."
The sobering nature of their new reality cooled Sangiuinius' anger. His feathers even started to relax. Guilliman was reminded again of the bear, as he reached out to take one of the Angel's long pinions between his fore and middle fingers. He'd gone a bit too far, in an attempt to bring the anger to a simmer.
There was more than one way to rectify that.
"It appears that we need more misunderstandings among the triumvirate," he said, holding the feather in his fingers. "You do look rather adorable when you're posturing."
"Not sure that 'adorable' is the correct word to use," the Lion said. Guilliman didn't miss the way his eyes had dilated.
That did it. If Sanguinius had noticed, he didn't acknowledge it. His feathers puffed back up again as he stepped closer. "Listen here you little shit-"
Guilliman grinned. "Sanguinius, you yourself have clarified that by age, I am - in fact - your elder. I think this would make me a," he paused for dramatic emphasis, "'big shit.'"
The Lion finished his next move, his eyes glittering with a humored smile. "Your words, Roboute, not mine."