It’s an undead baby dragon, produced by a failed magical spell. It probably would be cute if it weren’t partially decayed.

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.

A time ago, a dragonslayer crept into the cave in the skin of the cave's owner. He killed a mint hatchling, and the tiny creature met his eyes with a look of betrayal. He had only ever killed adult dragons before, and it hit him what a heinous thing he had done. He left the hatchling's body lying there, a knife protruding from its chest. The true owner of the cave returned to find the hatchling she had nutured dead. In desperation, she called upon magic to try and bring it back. But it had been too long, and its soul was gone. It was reanimated, but not alive and without a soul. The dragons now whisper about it, fearful of the little hatchling who was so wrongly slain.