one god, one land, one king

Right back at you!  We should have another sometime, Aesop would probably be a big wuss about it.  He's all shaken up.

"A life for a life?  How poetic," he mused.  How idealistic, he thought, but he would not look upon this gift unfavorably.  Mercy and fate proved to work together in mysterious and often vexing ways sometimes.  He let himself hope that this would turn the tides somehow, that ripples would make waves.  He liked to think he was important.

When Burke sped up, so too did Aesop.  He would be pleased to see the back of the intruder.  Once they reached the pack borders, he slowed, allowing the man to cross them peacefully.  "And you," Aesop said automatically in response.  He watched the male disappear, relaxing incrementally until he was no more than a speck in the distance.  And then, once all was said and done, he returned to his den to lick his wounds and get some well deserved rest.