Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. Its eyes glow brightly at night, and it enjoys attacking insects and small animals.

And look! It has grown wings! 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.

Zashiki warashi takes her name from a Japanese youkai, childlike in appearance, who lives in a home and brings good fortune wherever they go.  Zashiki Waraishi are great signs of good fortune, however, if they leave a home, disaster and ruin are sure to follow.  

This Zashiki warashi is the first kept youngling of her group, though her sudden and seemingly mystical pause in growing confused her parents for quite some time.  She is treasured for the eternal youth she has, giving her parents and the rest of her clan a youngling to nurture and adore.  Childlike, happy, and energetic, this youngling enjoys the attention and welcomes each new member of her family, be they others eternally young, like her, or adults.