Apologies for the late post; I feel asleep early last night!

Title: From the Depths of His Heart
Fandom: The Eagle (2011 movie), Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff book)
Pairing: Marcus Flavius Aquila/Esca Mac Cunoval
Categories: AU, Drama, Romance, Creature (Werewolves)
Length: Long (31,308 words)
Warnings: per author: "Some ableist attitudes. For those especially sensitive to animal harm, there is some animal peril/injury, but nothing permanently bad happens to non-food animals unless you count references to past character death and a mentioned animal sacrifice."

Author on LJ: sineala / sineala
Author Website: Sineala

Summary:
After his injury at Isca Dumnoniorum and subsequent discharge from the army, Marcus moves to Calleva, learns to live with himself again, and happens to fall in love with a young British man on the way. Also, Esca is a werewolf.

Review:
In this canon-era AU, Marcus never goes on a quest for the Eagle and Esca is not a slave, but a hunter living on the edges of Calleva society. Marcus, coping with his injury and loss, is lonely and at odds with his situation. When he runs into Esca in the market he's intrigued by the angry man with the sad eyes. Later, he saves a wolf and Cottia's gossip that Esca is a shifter proves true. There follows the slow build up of a friendship and romance between the two isolated men, despite their differences, including Marcus's fear of skin-changer from Roman lore, Esca's hardened heart from past grief.

Written for eagle_bigbang 2012, this long story sinks us into daily life in Calleva and into Marcus's point-of-view: his loneliness and floundering after all the changes to his life, and his increasing interest in Esca. We see Esca through his eyes, and the changes in both of them through the story. A sweet romance and enjoyable read.

( Click here to read an excerpt. )

From the Depths of His Heart

Apologies for the late post; I feel asleep early last night!

Title: From the Depths of His Heart
Fandom: The Eagle (2011 movie), Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff book)
Pairing: Marcus Flavius Aquila/Esca Mac Cunoval
Categories: AU, Drama, Romance, Creature (Werewolves)
Length: Long (31,308 words)
Warnings: per author: "Some ableist attitudes. For those especially sensitive to animal harm, there is some animal peril/injury, but nothing permanently bad happens to non-food animals unless you count references to past character death and a mentioned animal sacrifice."

Author on LJ: sineala / sineala
Author Website: Sineala

Summary:
After his injury at Isca Dumnoniorum and subsequent discharge from the army, Marcus moves to Calleva, learns to live with himself again, and happens to fall in love with a young British man on the way. Also, Esca is a werewolf.

Review:
In this canon-era AU, Marcus never goes on a quest for the Eagle and Esca is not a slave, but a hunter living on the edges of Calleva society. Marcus, coping with his injury and loss, is lonely and at odds with his situation. When he runs into Esca in the market he's intrigued by the angry man with the sad eyes. Later, he saves a wolf and Cottia's gossip that Esca is a shifter proves true. There follows the slow build up of a friendship and romance between the two isolated men, despite their differences, including Marcus's fear of skin-changer from Roman lore, Esca's hardened heart from past grief.

Written for eagle_bigbang 2012, this long story sinks us into daily life in Calleva and into Marcus's point-of-view: his loneliness and floundering after all the changes to his life, and his increasing interest in Esca. We see Esca through his eyes, and the changes in both of them through the story. A sweet romance and enjoyable read.

( Click here to read an excerpt. )

From the Depths of His Heart