Oh. Well, that's strangely endearing. Cricket can't quite ignore that he's got a demon looming over him, but he clearly was a human once, before dying. And if anyone can relate to nostalgia right now, it's Cricket. He's been suffering from homesickness for a while.

His smile is still tentative, because he does know when he's being intimidated and pushed around, even if the endgame is just to get a good meal, but it kind of sounds like they have some earthly background in common. And Cricket doesn't see how being nice to someone is going to endanger his immortal soul, so...hell, he can unclench a little.

He looks at the claws as if trying to decide how to maneuver so as to shake hands without losing fingers, but he does accept the handshake, clasping firmly. "Ain't gonna lie, then, Alastor; you're about the scariest thing I've seen here, but I reckon you're expanding my horizons, so it's nice to make your acquaintance, too."

"If it ain't rude to ask, where were you from...before? 'Cause it sounds like maybe not so far from where I come from. Virginia. Mountains. Franklin County."