Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. Water behaves strangely around it, though the hatchling doesn’t seem to notice.

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.

This hatchling loves to ride on the back of large sea creatures. She likes to sit on her back end on top of them and grab onto any available fins with her forepaws. Some of the sea creatures do not mind, but others get upset if she pokes them too hard with her claw. She was dunked on multiple occasions when they dove in protest, and had to be rescued by adults nearby. Since her wings grew in, she has learned to take off before being pulled under. The adults do not need to come to her rescue anymore.