The Artist had been almost...purposeful in his aversion to introducing himself. Admittedly, in the well to do circles, his surname had a tendency of drawing often unwanted attention. His father's reputation had a tendency to provoke ire on those who had found themselves on the opposite side of the man in the courtroom, or awe and intrigue at his unparalleled win ratio. How Alistair abhorred it, that effort to get in good with his family. If only they knew how wasted their efforts were upon the boy. Still, it wasn't just that which made him hesitate to admit who he was. The bid the Mayor had placed upon his artwork lingered heavily upon his mind. Though he wouldn't see a cent of it, the artist was still somewhat...surprised that anyone valued his paintings that much. It was surely just a show for charity. The mayor likely chose a piece at every venue he visited just for the public display of putting his money behind whatever his political agenda was. Still, it would be rude to deny the Mayor of their fine city the information he sought and Alistair had been raised to be entirely polite, albeit begrudgingly. The very utterance of those syllables was rewarded with a brief nod from the politician beside him before Dareios held out his hand.

Alistair reached out, fitting his hand firmly within the other man's own. The stark contrast of Dareios' cold flesh against his hand caught the Dark Hunter off guard, the corners of his features tugged downward in a small frown though Alistair said little of his contemplations. "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Mayor." He responded smoothly before releasing Dareios' hand in favor of the liquor so sweetly awaiting him. For a brief moment, the emerald of his eyes shifted from the politician at his side as several other patrons approached the bar top around them. It was only Dareios' voice that drew Alistair's attention back towards him and yet, the artist was hardly prepared for the inquiry upon the Mayor's lips. His brow rose briefly before his tongue flicked across his bottom lip in consideration of the man's gentle probing. Really, he supposed the question shouldn't have caught him off guard as much as it had. His encounters with the rest of his kind had been...limited and rather brief and yet, Alistair had noticed their kind had a tendency to be...rough around the edges. They were so often brash and floundered at the slightest social reaction - the very opposite of the way Alistair had been taught to portray himself in public. "The art did. The hunting was a...life or death situation."

He was careful not to expand upon the details surrounding his near death experience. After all, it was the Mayor's kind that had brought him to the very brink of extinction. Still, Alistair was not so blinded by vengeance to ignore the vast differences between the man in front of him and the undead creature who had strived to make him his evening meal. Those rows of razor sharp teeth, after all, were impossible to forget. It was almost as if he could still feel them, shredding through the flesh on his shoulder and for a moment Alistair shifted almost uncomfortably, the man bringing his drink to his lips in an attempt to wash away the memory before he made some effort to change the conversation. "So, why did you decide to run for Mayor? You might be good at speeches but this doesn't seem quite like your...thing." At the very least, Alistair was capable of identifying another man suffering through the drolls of social obligation.