Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. Its downy feathers are luxuriously soft.

And look! Its wings have grown larger, and sharp golden spines have appeared under its feathers. 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.

Comparator says he may look like a soft wimp, and he really is. He has no delusions about his limits and no shame about asking for help. He dislikes making promises because if he cannot keep whatever he promised, it'll upset others and make them think less of him. He does do his chores and is capable of everything the adults expect of him at his age, but he just doesn't like to claim it, and every time he uses magic to help one of his group members, he demands that nobody tell anybody else because he doesn't want people to get the wrong idea and then be disappointed later. Comparator lives atop a rock pillar with his caretaker and four of his friends. The five youngsters have known each other for as long as they can remember. They go exploring and try new things together, and they don't always get along, but that's all right. Comparator believes that they'll all go their separate ways to new lands after a couple more years under guardianship, and that makes him sad.