Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It is clearly a water animal.

And look! Its fins have grown larger! 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.

Ecco loves playing with the dolphins and small whales far more than playing with those stupid, land-dwelling dragon hatchlings. If he really likes another hatchling, he will invite them to swim with him and one of the local schools. Hatchies who declined that offer were never given a second glance, but those who went with Ecco learned jumps and spins they would have never dreamed of.