Billy gazed in disdain at the dinosaur staring back at him. The gentle chaos that the lake's lazy ripples added to his reflection offered some small comfort...but still.
"You look so handsome!" his mother had said in a tone dripping with politeness and parental obligation.
He remained silent as she ushered him back to their nest. Away from the villainous acquaintance who claimed to have cracked the code for trimming feathers so you could see while retaining the right "vibe".
Far from the revolutionary stylist they claimed to be, Billy could only assume that they were either a malicious liar or completely delusional.
His once flowing locks had been cut down to mere stubs. The "long on the top" that he had so clearly articulated as a requirement had been taken as a mere suggestion.
To add insult to the physical destruction that had been wreaked upon his head, the villain had added some kind of plant goop and slicked his feathers straight back. He had essentially walked under his mother the entire way home to avoid the jeering stares of his peers.
Not that they encountered any, but one can never be too careful after a bad haircut.
So here he was, sitting sullenly by the lake at the perfectly solid block of feathers on the top of his head. His once free flowing feathers locked in place.
In a burst of desperation Billy dunked his head under the water and used his claws to try and work out the goo. He could feel his feathers breaking free of the mold they had been cast into, but it was clear the goop was going nowhere.
When he resurfaced and dared to glance back down, he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. No longer slicked back to reveal the exact curvature of his scalp and spine, his feathers now defiantly stuck up in every direction. It was like they had been ruffled by a violent wind and then a sudden chill had frozen them in place. Not quite the luscious feathers he had started the day with, but he could work with this.
Billy strutted back to his nest and lay down; it had been an emotionally and physically exhausting day. The goop certainly added some extra weight he wasn't used to, but he was starting to think he might need to get accustomed to it.
'Oh well,' he sighed to himself, contemplating the time and goop he would need to keep up the look, 'heavy is the crown...'