The smoothie's color is a bit off-putting, but it smells wonderful, like a sunny meadow. You take a cautious sip and then smile and drink deeper. You wouldn't think a vegetarian drink like this would taste so sweet, but it's like your favorite milkshake, with a bright flavor that leaves you feeling light-headed. As you continue sipping, you don't even notice your face slowly pushing out into a muzzle covered with fine, pale hairs.
Time passes. Eventually Seth stands up - strange, he seems so much taller all of a sudden - and gently takes the glass away from you, setting it back on the table.
"That's enough, buddy," he says. "We don't want to spoil your dinner."
You're confused for a moment. The shampoo and the sweater was nice and all, but now he's deciding your diet for you? But then Seth starts to undo the rollers and you forget what you were thinking about; your head's filled with a vague, pleasant tingling as your hair spills around the barber's cape. You've practically disappeared in a sea of white curls. Through the strands covering your face, you see the other woman - your mother, that's your mother - still getting clipped by Bo, her own hair growing a shade lighter.
Seth puts a hand on your shoulder, gently but firmly. His breath tickles your pointed ear.
"Here we go," he says quietly. "You scared like last time?"
You try to ask what he means - this is your first time getting cut by him, after all. But instead you hear yourself say in a soft and high voice, "Uh-uh."
"Good boy. Remember, if you get nervous, just imagine all those feelings getting combed out into your wool, alright? And Daddy will snip-snip them all away."
Before you can say anything, Seth starts to comb out your curls in long, easy strokes. The faint tugging sensation on your scalp is incredibly pleasurable; you can almost feel your body collapsing into yourself with every tug. But the snip-snip sound of Papa's scissors - Bo's, you mean - still make you feel scared. You squeeze your eyes shut and do what Daddy told you, and think of all the bad feelings coming out into your wool.
Papa looks away from the lady. "You're doing great, kiddo."
"He sure is," Daddy agrees. "Here we go. I'll be quick."
Snip, snip, go the scissors. Your wool drops away from you in long white tendrils. And as it does, more wool sprouts under your sweater - now far smaller than it had been before you'd sat down, though still quite oversized - and your shoes slip off and disappear, revealing dainty hooves. You whimper a little under your breath as the scissors come near your ears, but Daddy stops and waits until you're okay before he calms down. Papa takes the lady's curlers off and lets her gray hair spill free and she watches you, smiling, her own nose turning black and pushing out.
"One, and two, and...three! All done," says Daddy, and you let out a breath. "That wasn't so bad, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"He's so cute," says the lady. "How old is he?"
"You wanna tell her, big guy?" Papa asks, unclipping her cape.
You nod and hold up four thick-nailed fingers. "I'm this many."
Now you remember. Papa and Daddy had said you were moving right after your birthday. You were scared, but Daddy promised it would be nicer here. Sometimes in the big city, it was so loud that you couldn't sleep, and the tall buildings made you feel dizzy all the time.
"He's the main reason we moved," Daddy says. "City life's just too darn over-stimulating for a lamb his age. And he's a little on the timid side, you might've noticed."
"First haircut was an adventure," Papa grunts.
The lady makes a baa-ing laugh. "They always are."
"But he did so good this time!" Daddy says brightly, and brings a mirror up in front of your face. "Here you go, kiddo. Look good?"
Your soft, white-furred muzzle is framed by bangs of delicate wool. You blink your blue eyes as a lock sways in front of your vision, and Daddy passes a hand over your face, tucking the wayward strands behind your ear. When he takes his hand away, your eyes are amber-colored, with rectangle pupils. Like they always were.
You smile at your reflection. "Yes, Daddy."