Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon... except for the tangle of dangerous-looking vines surrounding it...

Now there are even more vines. Perhaps something is happening?

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.

The Botanist is an outcast simply because he has a way with plants. The hatchlings all come and tease him. "Plants are for eating," the herbivores will say, and snap at the vines hungrily. The carnivores watch and later make fun of him for playing with their prey's food. Their parents and the other adults say nothing after witnessing the cruel rain of words. But when the hatchlings are done with their comments, The Botanist is completely ignored, which suits him very well as he tends to the small patch of flowers he grows and watches as his vines slowly expand. No dragon has cared enough to notice that the small hatchling has been tending to his plants for well over the time it should take for a baby to grow up.