He is the way // fanfic about chip

9

"But you'll visit soon, right?", Ollie asked with teary eyes when he watched them finishing up their preparations for departure.
Chip got on one knee in front of him and smiled. "Of course. We'll be here before we leave to the Black Sea, I promise", he said and then after a quick glance around he pulled him into a hug, a hand on his head and whispered, "You wanna pray?" "Yes", Ollie sobbed and nodded against his shoulder. "Dear Lord, I thank you for Ollie who is so awesome in all he does. Help him be strong in this moment, let his courage be his guide in difficult times and hold him safely in your arms until you grant me and the crew a safe return. Guide him and may he be the light in the lives of others, like his is in ours. In Jesus name, Amen.", he whispered and listened to Ollie's sobs slowly getting quieter, until he stopped crying.

They hugged for a moment longer, before Ollie let go and smiled at him. "I'll miss you" "I'll miss you too, but we'll be back soon", he promised and took his bag as he stood up.
"We're ready!", Jay shouted from up in the air, as she flew above the ship.
Chip saluted Ollie and gave him a wink as he walked backwards, then turning on his heel and boarding the ship.

The departure was smooth and they sailed off towards his greatest challenge yet, but it wasn't as scary anymore, because he drew his strength from the Almighty, because he wasn't alone. "Chip, catch!", Jay yelled and he turned around, reflexively grabbing at what she tossed him, "Our stops on the way and prognostic for the days we'll need"
"Thanks", he said, taking it to the kitchen, putting it on the counter to read over.

Few hours in Allport and then a two day stop at Noctis and then they'd arrive at their final destination. Three weeks travel. He nodded to himself, reminding himself that this wasn't as scary as it felt. The fears and anxieties were in God's hand and he wouldn't let him get hurt by them. That eased his mind and he sighed in relief.
The anxiety left him and he found himself excited for the breaks in Allport and Noctis, though his last experience in Noctis was more like a fever dream then reality due to Kuba Kentas nightmare curse.
Maybe this time he'd see the beauty in the island.

He went off to spend time with the crew, playing cards and starting half a war against Pretzel in chess. Earl brought orange juice for everyone and as he put down the tray he gently squeezed at Chips shoulder drawing a cross on it with his thumb like a blessing as he gave a warm nod to him before walking off. Chip smiled and looked back down at his cards with a peace in his heart, before taking his turn in the game.

"Will the time in Allport be enough for us to do something there?", he then asked Jay and she shook her head. "No, just transfer time in the water lanes, we won't even dock. That's why we stop at Noctis to restock and all", she replied and he nodded. "Alright" "Why, you wanna visit Roofus?" "Not just that, but when there's no time that fine", he said and put down a card on his turn.
"I just thought we should keep it at a pass through, we'll need the luck of staying for longer once we restock there for the black sea before going there", she said. "You're right, that's good" "Yeah, just like this", she replied and smirking as she put down her last card. Him and Gryffon both dropped their cards with a groan of frustration. "Again?" "Yeah, this is no fun", Gryffon said and Jay laughed. "One more? For honor?" "Sure", Chip chuckled and started shuffling the cards, "Earl, you wanna play too? And where's Gill?" "He is training on the main deck", Earl said as he said down, taking the deck of cards from Chip, "Now gimme that, I'll teach you how to play cards"

With that Earl gave the deck a fast shuffle, that looked more professional then what any of Chips shuffles had. "You're playing a grand master now", Earl said and handed out the cards just as quickly as he had shuffled them. "I'm kinda worried for my win streak", Jay said and Chip laughed. "Oh, I think you should be" "Yes. You should be. Now let's go", Earl replied and gestured for Chip to start.

To no ones surprise Earl won. "Ha! This old man still got it", he laughed and stood up, "Now what do you kids want for dinner?"
"Can I help you with anything?", Chip asked and Earl shook his head. "You'll burn something, just tell me what you wanna eat"
"Pasta?", Chip asked and Jay quickly chimed in. "Uhh, yes, remember that tomato cream pasta you made a few weeks ago?"
He thought for a moment before remembering. "Right, I'll go make some"
"Thank you, Earl", they all said in unison and Chip swore he saw him smirk.