Daluh (Dallas) Mostafa Montana was a product of passionate, mundane human love. His parents met by chance while his father, Jeff, took an assignment writing on culinary experiences in Cairo, Egypt. Following the news of the creation of Dallas, his parents quickly wed, and Mirian, his mother, relocated to the United States in hopes of keeping their sudden family together. Their hasty marriage proved worthy of fairytales (despite their contrasting family) as their love for one another deepened as they raised Dallas on traditional values of love, respect, and food. Perhaps it was because their parents met over their first love that cooking together became their family language (that and the language barrier between parents). Regardless, Dallas fell deep into the culinary world at a young age, absolutely enamored by all things edible. Most of Dallas' childhood was spent in his family's small but well-loved restaurant, shyly taking orders, cleaning up, running food, and eventually, once he was old enough, cooking with his mother in the kitchen as his father drifted towards a host role. Working every day, before and after school, meant there was little time for the quickly growing boy to get into trouble, not that he seemed to have the spirit for it. An absolute momma's boy, he wanted nothing more than to spend every second with her, learning her craft, language, and anything else she would share. Dallas was growing up to be gentle and kind, just like his mother, but unlike his strong mother, Dallas was growing up to be painfully shy, using his work and journals to hide from interacting with the outside world, happy to hide around mom while she murmured stories of ghouls, goblins, magical creatures, and how they exist all around them with magical abilities of varying degrees. It appealed to a young mind, and instead of fearing the boogeyman that might've lived under his bed, Dallas left candy for them, writing little made up stories on what magic might've looked like, but it was only stories, right? It wasn't until high school that his father began to wonder if they were making a mistake with their shy, but well-behaved son. Any friends the boy ever spent time with were visiting relatives, or regulars who stopped in to ask how Dallas was doing in school. For a father who grew up with strict views on masculine and feminine roles, Dallas' father feared they were raising a growing problem. He urged Dallas to join a sport, forced him out on camping trips, and sent him home from the restaurant on slower days in hopes he'd make a man of himself. Sports, unfortunately, were not in Dallas' cards despite his looming height and long reach, it wasn't long before he'd tried and failed every sport at school. With no other 'allowed' masculine after-school activities, there wasn't much Dallas' dad could do except take him fishing, hunting, and camping. Much to his dad's dismay, Dallas spent that time doing what he loved most: writing, napping, and daydreaming about making sweet treats the world had yet to discover. Worries for Dallas subsided when a girl followed him home from school one day, loud and opinionated, she took a liking to him after watching him walk to every class like a little ghost with a journal in his face; it was only a matter of weeks before they were 'Facebook official'. Dallas was too gentle, and much too soft-spoken to really voice his opinion on anything, letting the girl dictate their relationship down to what outfits they wore on nights out: Dallas didn't mind as he was happy she seemed to be. He was a pet project and a frustrating one at that, she knew he could be all these great things if he just changed everything about himself, but Dallas didn't want to change, he liked himself, even if he knew he looked a little funny. They dated for three years until one day, she showed up at his college campus and dumped him in the courtyards for being too boring. Not a bone in him could be angry as every word she screamed was true: Dallas was calm, an ever-flowing tide, absolutely consistent but terribly bland. No one pushed him to date after that. Free to enjoy his life of seclusion, Dallas graduated college and culinary school with high marks, eventually working himself to a chef position at a lofty restaurant outside of his hometown. He was on his own now in a small apartment, filled with little things that brought him joy like stickers, journals full of recipes, and small knick-knacks he picked up around town. It was in this safe, mundane routine of living that Dallas really put away his feelings about magic, deciding they were just kind stories his mother made up for him to keep him interested on long days working in the kitchen. He wanted to believe it existed, but things didn't work that way, right? Dallas excelled in his position at work, his shy personality keeping him well out of the way of any usual kitchen drama, Dallas was reliable, and so more and more responsibility began to fall on his lap. Work was busy, but Dallas enjoyed keeping his head down, only looking up to pass the occasional comment to his favorite coworker, Hadley Hopper, who was quickly gaining his favor. The smaller man was such a spark of life, the total opposite of Dallas in every way, and maybe that was why Dallas was so stupidly infatuated with their budding friendship. Work was always fun, and Dallas looked forward to every shared shift when the boys could talk in passing about whatever was on their minds; Dallas was comfortable and safe here. Steady waters came to rushing rapids, and soon, Dallas' serene, cozy life was about to change forever. Without warning, the restaurant owners sold their business to retire. Worse, the new owners had no intention of keeping the place a restaurant, and everyone was out of a job. He, and every other employee, were let go that day, and while the rest angrily stormed off, Dallas sat on the steps and weighed his future. What was a man to do? The docile boy didn't know what to do with spontaneity, and for a while, Dallas really thought his life was over: what was a chef if they had nowhere to cook? Dallas sat and despaired, not even sure how to speak to Hadley, not even a clue as to where to go from here, but it seemed Hadley already knew for the both of them. He waved a big plan in front of his face, all things they'd joked about in the past, silly things like Dallas buying a food truck and how much money they'd make from it. Only, Dallas had secretly wanted that life, but was too scared to make the purchase, and with the server talking it up like it was the greatest idea, Dallas broke character and dove headfirst. A rash decision to dump out his savings on a food truck they'd never seen in person was a stupid idea, but hearing it out of Hadley's mouth made it look like a perfect idea. Even after they drove across the country and found the truck was nearly unsalvageable, Hadley painted such a pretty picture, and his tenacity and adaptability to chaos enchanted Dallas in such a way he couldn't be scared. With no money, just a small apartment, and a food truck in need of massive repairs, Dallas had turned his life upside down on a whim to chase after a fantastical dream of living in the moment with his best friend and soon-to-be business partner.