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.

Behold, seeker of the dragon lore, Hoshonin of the black dragons. It is a complete mystery why this hatchling never grew into an adult dragon or why he wandered into a hunter's hut in the forest of his own accord when he hadn't even grown wings. He did, anyway, and the hunter's she-dog adopted him instantly which is why Hoshonin seems to think that he actually is a dog himself. He even tries to bark and howl at the moon with his adopted mother. The hunter found him quite useful when he had grown wings because he can catch pheasants and other birds in flight.