ORIGIN

The air stung his face.

Mongo was careful not to move his face, to let his frustration show. That would only hurt more. He needed to find something to cover the burnt flesh, something that would protect it from the stinging winds.

So he had headed for Canis. It was the room of Bones, so surely there would be some bones he could use?

After some digging, something caught his eye. A skull? Yes, that was perfect. Carefully bounding down from his cairne, the fossa approached the skull, which was partially buried by another pile of bones.

Carefully, Mongo manipulated the bones until he felt comfortable pulling the skull free. It was definitely useful, he could tell just from looking at it. It looked like it would fit just right and, tugging on a curved bone, he was startled to realize it had horns. Curved back, like a ram's.

Gently, he pulled the skull free, dragging it away from the pile and looking it over. It was missing its lower jaw, which pleased him. The bones were bleached, but looked healthy, with deadly sharp points to the horns. The holes seemed to fit where his eyes were, and despite looking to belong to a herbivore, there were a pair of sabre teeth at the front of the muzzle, where his canines would be.

Taking a deep breath, Mongo carefully slid his nose under the back of the skull. He wriggled under it, carefully pushing the skull up and over, until it settled on top of his head. It felt as though it had been built solely for him, hugging his muzzle and head in just the right ways. The holes under the horns were big enough for him to hear out of, and the lack of a lower jaw enabled him to still use his mouth. The holes where the beast's eyes had been were in the perfect place for him to see out of.

Rolling his shoulders, the skull settled, and he stood up, getting used to the weight. Deciding that this was good enough, he trotted out of Canis.

EXIT MONGO