The Kenyan Mask Exhibit

Lorenzo and bob were walking around the museum and sat down in the African Mask exhibit. After a few seconds both of them simultaneously felt something bump their heads. The impact was echoed by two different clatters on the floor instantly. At the same time they both looked down to see a mask laying on the floor in front of them. Lorenzo saw a zebra head, Bob beheld a stranger one, like someone’s’ face stretched out.

Lorenzo called out, "Whoops, Looks like someone didn't secure these on the wall very well. We should probably put them back up, they might think we’ve stolen them, and might get into trouble." "I don't know,” Bob said, "I have a feeling that we should just leave them where they are and get out right now. We’ve got nothing left to see and its closing time in a few minutes."

Lorenzo was adamant. “Hey come on, nothing is going to happen! I mean it's just two randomly stupid masks that fell off the wall. What are you afraid of? What can possibly go wrong? We’d be doing the right thing.” Bob just shrugged and he followed Lorenzo in picking up the mask that fell before him up off the floor.

The effects were instantaneous. As soon as either of them touched “their” mask, they felt what an electric shock. The sudden jolt brought up a sudden connection and hypnotic stare at the mask. Both Lorenzo and Bob held them in front of themselves. Lost to the reality around them, they became mirror images of each other’s motions. It wasn’t long until they felt some discomfort. Lorenzo’s ears itched dully, while Bob’s clothes started to feel tight on him. It wasn’t until the sounds of tearing and ripping woke them from their daze, and they saw what was happening to them.

Simply put they were both becoming animals. Lorenzo was becoming a zebra while Bob was becoming a rhino. Both wanted to scream, run, Bob wished he had just walked away, Lorenzo wished he hadn’t gotten up this morning. But they just sat there, staring fearfully dumbstruck at what was happening to them. Bob’s belly and chest were pushing out stretching and ripping his shirt to the point of it becoming rags, while Lorenzo’s feet just ripped right out of his shoes. But it wasn’t his toes that came out, but full fledged hooves. His ears already traveled up his head and changed into ears designed for a Zebra in the savannah, as Bobs ears just started to craw up the sides of his head and start to become pointed.

Slowly horns emerged from Bob’s nose, giving him the attribute Rhinos were most famous for, two horns. While a long striped rope-like tail ripped its way out the back of Lorenzo’s pants. His face had already finishing pushing out into the muzzle of zebra while Bob’s was just starting to push out.

All while this was happening, both Lorenzo and Bob tried to hold on to the masks, even as their fingers melted and lost digits. They stared at their hands, signals of how far the change was going, horrified. Lorenzo’s fingers where tipped with small hooves while Bob’s were getting thicker and shorter.

By now they realized that it was the masks that were changing them. Bob dropped his mask, while it fell out of Lorenzo’s zebra hooves. But it was already too late, the curse within the masks had already soaked into them, making sure that the change would complete. The zebra and the rhino both tried to get up, and in the process losing the last of their clothes to their growing bodies. But they couldn’t stay up long. The increased mass and their inhuman feet made it impossible to stay long on their hind legs as they fell forward onto their now front legs.

Lorenzo let out a loud whinny as Bob tried to scream with a mixture of human and rhino vocal sounds, all while the final changes took over their bodies. Bob’s face finally pushed completely out into the snout of a rhino, triumphantly horned. While Lorenzo’s body filled itself out to suit his new form. Black and white stripped fur finished covering his new body.

Once the changes stopped, they felt like it was finally finished. For the first time since the two picked up the masks, they looked at what happened and then to each other. “OH MY GOD, It happened to you too!” yelled Bob. “This isn’t possible. This is not possible! How can mask change us into ANIMALS!” Lorenzo repeated nervously.

“Sounds like you never have been cursed before.” Snorted Bob, “At least you got to be a zebra. I got to be a stinking rhino.” Lorenzo stuttered, “What!? This has happened to you BEFORE!? Why haven’t I heard any of this before?” The zebra asked turning his long face toward his rhino friend.

PHHHHT! PHHHHT! Were the last two sounds that both heard before they passed out. When they both woke up, they were in a zoo exhibit. Luckily for the two friends, they had been placed in the same exhibit, right next to each other. That was because of the masks triggering the transformation simultaneously. Unluckily they would discover that they could only talk to each other. Sadly the other animals and humans could not understand them. They could only hope that the curse would not last that long.

As for the masks, in time they were put back onto the wall where they were before it all happened. The museum owners only thought that they fell because of the loose animals that somehow got in. But unknown to them, the masks were simply biding their time, resting, recharging to place another curse on their next victims. As so were the other masks that shared the same wall.
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Story and art Collaboration with

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He randomly suggested two animals, and we went with it. His character picks up a medicine man mask from the Kenyan exhibit.

My character, Lorenzo is becoming a non-morphic Zebra, Metamorpher's character Bob is becoming a non-morphic Rhino.

Lorenzo is (C) to me
Bob is (c) to
Story written and edited by and me.