username: Bentley
name: Dakota
gender: Male
relationship prompt:
Dakota’s a creature of freedom - free will, free spirit, free heart. As such, he has a lot of contacts, though very few actual friends, because he can’t seem to stay in place long enough to nurture a kindling relationship - be it friendship or something greater. However, he has managed to connect with a fellow wandering soul every now and then, and they keep in touch in several ways, some very typical, and some… rather unique.
Durango is more of an adventure-seeker. With his old stetson and his absolute mess of pins and adornments on the faded gold thread around the band, his heart is set on experiencing everything the world has to offer, and collecting pins to mark his path around the world so many times over. He has seen so much, from the devastating loss of his brother to the sunrise over Mount Kilimanjaro, where it could have been the beginning of time or the present, it was so raw and moving.
The pair met while they were traversing the Rocky Mountains in Montana - Dakota, simply because he wanted to, and Durango, for the sheer experience of looking out over the foothills and feeling his heart stutter over the impossible beauty of the landscape. Far from soulmates, the two found a kindred spirit in each other’s path, despite their reasons becoming a point of debate; Durango doesn’t understand wandering without direction, Dakota cannot comprehend restricting himself with a drive to do one thing after another.
They met only the once, but it was enough for them. Dakota’s giving nature inspired him to give Durango a Christmas gift that year, but with neither having a proper address to send the package, a new method had to be created. And so, he took the box to Crater Lake and hid it in a tree, then sent his friend a simple email with only two lines:
42.939787, -122.148474
Happy birthday
From then on, the two left each other letters, packages, or, in Dakota’s case, points of interest for Durango to experience that aren’t listed in the usual channels for travel. It’s budded into something special, something unbound but so rich and precious that it’s impossible to properly describe the joy they feel whenever they get a message from the other with a mysterious set of coordinates and promised adventure ahead!
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Dakota started life on the wind. Constantly roaming, endlessly moving, always, always going somewhere and only hesitating when he fancied a short break. He started... well, it was probably somewhere in the Rockies, but it could just have easily been the Southwest. Or maybe somewhere in the Plains? Perhaps he came from Texas -- he honestly doesn't know, and doesn't really care to take note of it, because he wants to live in the present and not worry about the path that's already behind him. He does, however, carry a journal with him that he logs interesting encounters and finds, and maybe a couple of mementos, like postcards and feathers that he's picked up along the way.
He dresses the way he wants, which could be anywhere between a light and airy tunic and pants to heavy leather jackets -- or, honestly, he's had his experimental moments. However, a few things remain constant -- he carries a soft leather bracelet that he's had for longer than he cares to remember, a feather necklace, a red string to keep his scruffy mane out of his eyes, and a long red sash that goes back and forth between being a belt and a scarf, depending on the weather. And, of course, whatever he gets from Durango sticks with him!
He isn't one to be attached to a location -- but being loosely connected to another wanderer is a dream come true for him. It doesn't have to be more than friendly, it's still so beneficial for him to have someone to write to when he needs to communicate, especially since he hardly talks. He doesn't need to speak when he has no one to actually speak to, which has resulted in some stunted communication skills when he actually
does need his words.