Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age. Adolescence is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling's wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. Once they hit adolescence, hatchlings change quickly, maturing to their full forms in only 2 years.

Dragons don't communicate with each other verbally, but they will growl to scare off predators and frighten prey. Young dragons will emit an extremely high-pitched squeal when they are frightened. To communicate, they use telepathy with each other and to speak to other creatures.

Frilled dragons are smaller than most other breeds, but when threatened, they stretch out their wings and frills to appear larger. They generally do not like to fight and prefer hiding to confrontation. Frilled dragons live in small groups and often band together to scare off potential threats. Males also use their frills as a way to attract mates, with those displaying the "best" frills being more likely to breed.

Akahata's name means "red flag," and is a reference to her brightly-colored frills.  She is a somewhat nervous but good-tempered dragon.  The magi hatchling Dattebayo used to have a hard time pronouncing her name, and just started calling her "Aha."  That led to a running joke of the other dragons -- usually the silly young ones -- jumping out at her and yelling "Aha!"  This causes Akahata to brace and flare out her frills.  Then a rousing game of chase ensues, and it usually ends with her rolling on the ground with the offender while both have a laugh over the joke.