Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has brightly colored fins on its back.

And look! It has grown larger fins! 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.

Derek Ark is the child of Rose Ark and Gray Tempura, though his parents are not married. Derek was supposed to be the first red dorsal of the cave, but he turned out purple and ended up being frozen. His true father never made an appearence in his life, but he was raised by his mother and her husband, Fooper Treble. They are close with both his mother's and father's families, which are becoming larger by the minute. Derek often ignores the other dragons, but when his grandpa Shade Ark comes by, he bursts to life.