He had been having trouble sleeping that night. Maybe it was the constant rocking of the boat. Or the sounds it made that reminded him too much of a metal tower threatening to collapse. But he couldn't fucking sleep.

Normally, Andreios, or Rei as most liked to call him could fall asleep in the worst conditions. He had, after all been in them enough to get enough practice. But on rare nights like this when sleep seemed almost helpless, he often found Raven in her study, mulling over a book or fidgeting with the knife he had given her for her birthday. But for once, the girl had been asleep. She needed it, however. She had been awake nearly every night for weeks, sleeping only when he came to sit beside her and stroked her hair. So he sat in his room alone, and thought of his past.

His father had been a personal guard to the Redbird clan, much like his father before him. They had been all over the world, excavating, exploring, and researching anything they could get a whiff of for as long as birds could fly his father always used to say. Rei just assumed he meant since planes were invented.

But still, Andreios had grown up alongside the two youngest Redbirds, and found it almost natural to gain a protective instinct over them. . His family had liked the adventure the Redbirds provided for them, and had never once been treated as less than an equal. So when Raven had decided to go after her brother, he came along with her.

It felt like hours passed before Rei grew restless enough to leave his room and venture towards the deck, although the walk took longer than he expected. He hardly noticed it at first, an occasional jostle of the ship, the groaning of the metal… It seemed quite normal. Though in time each step felt like the ship was rocking in a different direction, and soon he had to hold on to the walls to keep himself steady. He walked faster, until he finally reached the hatch. What happened then, felt all too much like a dream.

The boat had been losing control long before he had seen the outside world. It would have been pitch black if not for the constant onslaught of lightning. What he should have seen was each member of the crew had buckled down, tethering themselves to the boat to keep from going overboard. The captain trying desperately to regain control of the ship, maybe even his life flashing before his eyes. But all he saw was the jagged mess of rocks jutting out from the sea bed. And how close they were getting.

Andreios wrapped his arm a bit tighter and groaned loudly at the pain. Beside him sat his blade, still red from the heat of the fire he used, and the large piece of shrapnel he had pulled from his bicep. The wound had been bleeding for hours before he had managed to cauterize it, and he had little energy to do much else. But there he sat, a few miles from the wreck of the ship, completely and utterly alone.

He remembered very little from when the boat crashed into the rocks. Or more or less when he crashed intothem but the constant throb of the gash across his forehead was enough to make him not want to remember. Still, he figured the only reason he was out on his own was how far he had been thrown out from the ship when it was crashing. From what he had seen, everyone else was either dead, or had been taken as prisoners. He felt a twinge in his chest at the thought.

Raven…

Crack.

Cartilage gave way beneath the weight of her forehead as she brought it down and the sound echoed in her ears. It felt like the world had begun to move in slow motion as she began to look up a look of victory in her eyes. The last thing she saw however, was the look of rage within his, as red as the blood pouring from his nose.

She wasn't surprised when she woke some time later in a rickety cage completely alone. Her head throbbed in time with her aching side, but she still managed to survey her surroundings.

Her hands were bound above her head now. High enough that it kept her in a standing position at all times. She felt a faint tingling within them that told her they were on the verge of going numb. She had to have been out for a while. She tugged idly on her restraints, and found that they hardly gave way.

The cage itself didn't seem like it was well done. Sticks of thick bamboo stuck into the ground and woven together with rope. A padlock holding the door closed. They clearly were relying on the fact that she wouldn't be able to escape her bindings long enough to try and work on the cage.

The sound of whistling in the distance brought her away from her studies, and she instinctively slumped her head back down and closed her eyes. The footsteps drew closer, and the whistling only stopped when a hand came out to rattle the cage. Raven did her best to stay still.

There was a grunt, and then the static of a small radio. "She's still out cold boss."

More static. "Of course she is dumb shit! You see what she fucking did to my face?! She's lucky I didn't kill her like her little friend! But I'll be cool, brother, I'll be cool. She's about to pay it off to me." Another pause. "Stay there until she wakes up, then let me know… I still plan on hearing my song."

Hey Guys!

I am SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOOOO sorry this took ages to post. I was in and out of the hospital for a little while there, and just finished moving, so I didn't have internet until recently!

But never fear! I'm back and planning on updating frequently~

I know this chapter isn't the longest, but I wanted to give a little backstory to our man Rei before we see some of what Vaas has in store.

Plan for some unpleasentries!