Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It likes to play in small piles of sand.

And look! Its wings 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.

Some waverunner hatchlings 'play' in the sand. This one, however, does nothing of the sort. Diligent, serious, and focused, this young female creates sand sculptures of such immense size and beauty that adult dragons of numerous species can often be seen pausing to gape at them. She takes great pride in her constructions, and often erects sandtowers near her sandcastles, from which she keeps a wary eye on any bumbling hatchling who might smash into her works.