Blacktip Dragons are a small, shore-dwelling breed that tend to nest on sheer ocean side cliffs. They live in groups under a dominant female, who prevents her subordinates from breeding. During the mating season, a group of Blacktips can be very noisy and smelly indeed; males produce a distinctive musky odor and loud, low-pitched honking noises in an attempt to woo the alpha female.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons 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. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Poppette is a dominant female who likes to be entertained. She prevents her subservient females from breeding by demanding that they decorate covers for their claws to look like mini-dragons (or other creatures) and then put on a show of these decorated claw-covers talking to one another. She gives extra privileges and treats those who perform particularly well with the claw-covers, so each dragon does their best to please her.

Even the males participate in hopes of gaining a mate. The best-performing male usually becomes Poppette's mate. Unbeknownst to Poppette, often there is "love in the wings" with pairings backstage. It is the perfect opportunity for a tryst while most of the dragons are distracted by other performers.

Poppette probably would not be terribly upset if she found out, as long as she got her pick of the males, the hatchlings were entertained, and the females continued to defer to her.