JRWI tings :P

No. 69

//Riptide :')

hAHAHAHA FUNNY NUMBER-

THIS IS A REQUEST :D  hercega  Thank you very much for the requestttt I hope I do this justice, this is v cute >:)

I've been so slow at working on this I apologise!! I struggled with trying to figure out how Ollie would react to heading home and with more eps of Riptide coming out that's kinda messed with the angst of small boy yk? also bonus points for me for guessing these losers play tag /j

TW// Mention of character death,

(If there are any others please lemme know! <3)

-----------------------

The atmosphere aboard The Albatross was a rare one indeed. Tensions had been high before between crew members, sure, but that was either from a fight or some kind of argument. However, as soon as the sun welcomed a new day upon The Riptide Pirates, a confirmation was made. Today would be the day in which the journey to return Ollie home started. The Albatross would dock at the island, leaving with one less crew member.

The morning was quiet. Jay had wordlessly already made her way to direct the ship on the course to Zero, spyglass raised as she questioned the future weather and such. Gillion had been up early, greeting Jay as cheerfully as he could muster, a bittersweetness to his smile. Chip hadn't come up to the top deck yet. The brunette found it difficult to give the energy to get out of his cot, to be his usual energetic, bastard self.

Realistically, this day should've come much sooner. Maybe if it had, this wouldn't be so hard... The pirate knew that this entire thing had started as trying to replicate simpler times. The irony of looking after a young, bright-eyed kid is almost painful. The only stark difference was that this bright-eyed kid wasn't an orphan. He didn't stumble across Chip before he left Zero, begging to be let on the ship, crying about how he had nobody. Ollie had a mother, who was probably so so worried about him. Chip knew, that no matter how much the half-elf reminded him of his younger self, he wasn't him. And Chip certainly wasn't Arlin. Gillion wasn't his grandfather, Jay wasn't her uncle... Living in the past wasn't an option. If he showed how difficult this was, it'd only make Ollie struggle even more. So he had to suck it up. It was easier, to tell himself to be vital to other people. He had a good reason. Being strong for himself didn't give him that same determination. He supposed that probably wasn't a healthy way to think constantly, but it'd gotten him this far, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

Willing himself out of bed, he ran a lazy hand through his tangled hair, messily combing it with his fingers and into a small ponytail, stealing a spare band from Jay. He knew that she'd probably eye the hair tie in record time, but he could do with some petty argument today. He wasn't sure if he wanted time to slow down or to fly by him or if getting this day over with would make this easier or harder. All he knew for certain was that he wasn't looking forward to seeing Ollie's face this morning. But he wouldn't let his last day on The Millennium Chipper be a sad one. He'd make his kid have a great last day. After all, he'd need to tell the other kids of Zero all the cool stories about The Riptide Pirates. Nobody would believe him if he came back all sad and glum.
---

Taking a deep breath, dressed and ready to start the day, Chip made his way onto the main deck, the early morning sun and breeze being the first to greet him. Looking around, he saw Jay speaking with Alphonse and Gryffon, the spyglass still in hand. Standing at the railings, looking out onto the sea were Gillion and Ollie. From what little he could gather from their conversation, Gillion was talking about some kind of tale from the Undersea. After everything that had come up with the Undersea, Chip's interest was piqued, making his way over quietly.