i'm fairly local, i've been around

At the words 'It doesn't sound familiar', Aesop's shoulders fell with his spiraling mood.  It would be just like him to promise he had a handle on a situation and then get irrevocably lost in the middle of the wilderness.  He knew how to get home, but he couldn't be sure that Alastor would forgive him for missing their meeting.  And what if he forgot about him?

It was a depressing train of thought, one he was quickly broken out of by the stranger's continuation.  Perhaps he'd only taken a wrong turn after all!  "Double back, got it.  Thanks, man.  You're a lifesaver," Aesop said, gratitude and relief evident.  He was quick to relax but not quick to trust, but above all he was sure to remain outwardly genial.  It was his nature, less a conscious decision and more a natural reaction to first meeting someone.  First impressions, after all, were important.

He saw no reason not to tell the stranger his business, though.  He had innocent intentions, after all.  "I have a friend that lives there.  We agreed to meet up around now," Aesop explained.  Then, because it's rude and disadvantageous to not know a bit about your conversational partner, he added, "what about you?  With wounds like those, I'd suspect you live 'round here?  And I don't think I got your name."