Chaos Walking Imagines

My Viola | Todd Hewitt/Viola Eade

requested by toddhewitts. the name writing thing was her idea from her own imagine, too, so go check out her story!

this does not include any spoilers from the books. it's just a one shot kind of deal. it doesn't follow or belong to any of them.

//

In the dim, orange light, Todd only focused on the feeling of Viola's hand pressed into his. The flickering flames of the fire drew shapes and shadows across their faces. It was quiet besides the few whispers of Noise coming from the squirrels and crickets in the trees and the grass.

She shivered slightly, bringing her hands further into the sleeves of her shirt, glaring unforgivingly at the cloudless, starry sky.

"If it isn't going to bother to snow," she said, "then why does it have to be so unbearably cold?"

Todd immediately pictured pulling her against his side, wrapping his arms around her and letting her head settle where his neck curves, but he quickly waved that thought away and instead focused on the feeling of her cold fingertips. He drew their hands closer to the flames and turned partly towards her.

If she had paid attention to his Noise (she probably did) she didn't say anything. Instead she gave Todd's hand a gentle squeeze and stared at the flashes of ember rising out of the smoke.

"Snow'll come in a few days," Todd said. "It's gettin' to be cold enough."

"It can't come soon enough," Viola replied, her voice soft and wispy. She closed her eyes and smiled. She loved snow.

Todd smiled, too, his heart warming at the dreamy look on her face. He reached his hand down and at their feet to find their shared rucksack. During his search for a bottle of water, he found a notepad and a pen.

He stared at them, at the writing on the paper - Viola's writing - and felt his lips turn into a frown.

The lines were filled with black ink that had no particular meaning for Todd. He couldn't understand anymore than the letters he knew from his name. And, as ashamed as he was to admit, he was disappointed that none of those letters he knew were all together like he'd hoped.

Did she ever write his name down?

Why would she?

Why wouldn't she?

He started to put the pad of paper back into the bag, but Viola took it from him. She flipped a couple of pages and pointed to a line.

"There's your name," she said gently.

He found it, the only series of letters he ever understood, and then found it a dozen more times. What was she writing about him? It didn't matter. She had written about him and that was more than enough.

"Oh." He looked away, Noise red, feeling embarrassed. He wanted to take her hand again but he didn't. "How do you spell yer name?"

"My name?" she asked.

He nodded, glancing back at her. She held up a finger and grabbed the pen. She held out her hand for Todd's. He hesitated, not because he didn't trust her - he trusted her with his entire life - but because he didn't understand why she needed his hand to write her name.

He placed his hand on hers anyway and felt her fingers curl up around his, a comfortable and homey feeling he loved more than anything. She tugged gingerly on his arm until it was on her lap and then she brought the tip of the pen to his skin, just below the elbow.

He jerked in surprise.

She looked at him. "It's okay, Todd. It's just so you'll always have it on you. That way you'll always know." And she smiled.

"Okay," he said.

He looked down at her hand while she leaned down, hair falling around her face. She took time to position his arm in a way where she could get some light from the fire. He ended up having to bend forward, arm twisted a little too much, Noise filled with an uncomfortable stretch of minor complaints.

"Sorry," she mumbled, and she started to write.

The ink was cold against his already cold skin and, despite her cold fingers, she felt warm against him. He started out watching the words appear from under her gentle movements, but then he switched to watching her face.

His Noise grew all warm and fuzzy and bright, like it always did when he thought about her.

Viola smiled.

"There," she said, giving his arm back to him.

He peered down at it. He wanted to trace his finger over the ink she left but didn't want to smear it. Instead, he smiled at her.

She placed a pointer finger under the first set of letters. "Viola," she read, and then, moving her finger to the right, said, "Eade." She went back to the beginning. "V-I-O-L-A E-A-D-E."

The only letters familiar to Todd were the I, O, D, and E. That left only three new ones. If he sat down and practiced, he would learn the difference between A's and V's. A's were like mountains and V's were the same, just upside down.

"Thank you," he said. He finally allowed himself to touch the writing. He smiled, running his pinky finger across her first name.

Viola. He smiled deeper as he ran his finger across it one last time. Viola.

He looked back at her and found her hand again. Pulling it to his chest, they stared at one another, Viola staring at him as she warmly, fondly, listened to his Noise that said again and again -

Viola. My Viola. Viola, Viola, Viola-

It never ended.

And it never would.