Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has a large, shield-like object at the end of its tail that it uses for protection.

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.

Although too young to possess any real strength, Althair spends her time watching diligently over the eggs in the cave, keeping them safe, warm, and dry—she curls around the unborn dragons and uses her shield as a sort of umbrella when the wind blows rain into the dragons' lair. She's patient enough to stand guard over them for days on end without so much as moving. Really, though, she's in just as much danger as getting whisked away by overzealous thieves as they are.