Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It enjoys running through a nearby pumpkin patch.

And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing.

Young dragons are relatively defenseless. They are born with relatively soft scales, which are shed and replaced with harder ones as the hatchling matures. Once a hatchling’s wings grow in, it typically marks the beginning of maturation. At this point they are often capable of hunting on their own and are usually left alone by their mother.

Squish loves all small, shiny things and squishing them with all his hatchling might. A toy Darling gave him this past Christmas, a little stuffed Bluna, makes the cutest noise when he squishes it in his little paws. Happily distracted, Squish never noticed the little tidbits Darling received in thanks from other dragons in the cave. Before he had his delightful new toy, Squish would squeeze every little thing he could hold in his tiny paws, usually resulting in breaking the item. Disgruntled, he would drop the broken object on the floor and move on to the next small, shiny object. Now he is happy with his toy, the older dragons are happy with their little baubles remaining unbroken and Darling is happy with her tidbits.