Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has long toes, and likes to wander around on lily pads.

And look! Its toes have grown longer and developed webbing! 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.

Little Creature grew up in a swamp just outside a small village. He was very shy, but when humans weren't around he spent much of his time gliding across the water and chasing frogs. He loved having his little pond, but he also dreamed of one day finding a large body of water, one that stretched beyond as far as the eye could see. For a long time he lived happily in his pond, until one day a human spotting him before he could duck into the reeds. The human raced off and a few days later more humans came and poked around the pond with sticks. Little Creature escaped by hiding at the very bottom, but he heard them talking about a swamp monster. He tried to find it, but didn't come up with anything. That was when he realized they were talking about him. He decided it was best to leave, for he didn't wish to scare the humans. He hopped from rivers to lake, to streams, always looking for the body of water he had dreamed of. He avoided humans, not wanting to scare them like he did before.