It’s an undead baby dragon, produced by a failed magical spell. It probably would be cute if it weren’t partially decayed.

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.

On the thirty-first day of the tenth month, the vampires in the weyr, maddened with an uncontrollable bloodlust, attacked the vulnerable, unhatched eggs. One egg became like the vampires themselves, cold and deathlike. The other truly died, and in his horrified madness, He Who Is Sharp Of Teeth struck out at the one remaining hatchling in the nest, killing it. His silver friends immediately swooped down to separate him from the others, while the white and magi dragons banded together to try to save the hatchling. However, it took the magic in the bite of She Who Pierces Hearts to truly resurrect the hatchling-though it would never be the same again. One Who Is Continuously Young is now a tiny, decaying dragon; She Who Pierces Hearts finds it adorable, and has welcomed it into her nest. It hunts very well with other hatchlings; it feigns death, attracting scavengers. Then, it revives and bites the throats out of the very surprised ex-predators. The other hatchlings then finish the job.