Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has a large stone on its tail.

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.

Dureen the Shy's birth and hatching was a joyous time for his family. The first born of Ythe the Handsome and Lichi the Shy, the grandson twice over of Sun Devil the Ruthless and the grandson of Sun Devil's mates, Moon Flower the Beautiful and Niliea the Shy, led for him to be doted on.

However tragedy struck, and a rockslide buried him while others were working in the cave above him. His grandfather's mate Fellra the Dangerous, who was the only one home at the time, fought to drag him out. The internal damages were so great that the whites were sure he wouldn't survive. When he did though it was known he'd never be the same, and so he was frozen to make it easier for him to relearn how to get around.

He spends time gathering fruit with his mother now, and doesn't seem to hear the whispers that the rockslide was an omen, because his grandfather took three mates and his father and mother are half-siblings.