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.

Ptep, floating on a piece of driftwood, arrived one night at Dactyl, the island where Pteprocks' Clan lives. The dragons of the clan took a liking to him, and they allowed him to stay until he could find a way off the island. He met Ptero-Rosa Synstylus, a hatchling in the clan that had been inflicted accidentally with a permanent anti-aging spell. He felt sorry for her, and went to Ptero-Lea, a Magi dragon and the leader of the clan. He asked Lea to cast the same anti-aging spell on him so Rosa would have somebody to play with. For this great sacrifice, he was honorarily named after the creator of the clan, Pteprocks, free of the clan's family name. Ptep is now good friends with Rosa Synstylus and with the other dorsal dragons of the clan and their mates. His friends affectionately refer to him as "Pteppy."

More recently, ancient texts have been unearthed by the clan's human proprietor, which seem to prophesy that Ptep will be the Hero to defeat an evil One Who Brings Dishonor.