Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It has a large, shield-like object at the end of its tail that it uses for protection.

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.

Steel's shield, while not actually made of steel, is exceptionally hard and nearly impossible to even dent. He can be slightly over protective of younger hatchlings, whom he feels are far too weak to defend themselves from even the smallest critter. Most of the hatchlings don't see it that way and try to come up with ways to elude the young Guardian as a sort of game.