Blue-Streaked Dragon

Another project for Dragon Cave. Againnn. dragcave.net

Egg - hatchling - mature hatchling - adult male - adult female

Edit: fixed some things here and there.
Edit #2: fixed/changed more details.

Egg: This egg is placed on higher ground than the others.
Hatchling: Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It keeps on climbing as high as it can.
Hatchling s2: Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It keeps on climbing as high as it can. And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing.
Adult: Blue-Streaked Dragons have a great affinity for the sky that begins as soon as they hatch. Aside from their breeding season in the spring, individuals are antisocial and solitary; they’re usually seen fighting with other dragons at high altitudes attempting to claim the airspace as their own. When they are not working on claiming more territory, they rest on mountain peaks or hunt for birds and smaller dragons. Blue-Streaked Dragons raised by humans are surprisingly well behaved even in the sky, and due to that they are often used as transport.

...But wait, there is more text.

APPEARANCE
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Quadrupedal and western-type, Blue-Streaked Dragons take their name after the markings appearing on their bodies; while their primary color is silver. The healthier the dragon is, the brighter the markings are. Spacing between tail stripes and their thickness varies a little between individuals. At first sight both genders look the same, however females can be recognized by longer tails. Blue-Streaked Dragons are one of bigger breeds, measuring 14,5 ft from their feet to the shoulders/back, and their bodies are rather averagely built if we’re talking about musculature. An unique feature is a pair of “ear-wings” located on the head. They’re built and foldable just like real wings and, depending on the situation and the dragon’s mood, they can stay open or closed; during flight they are open all the time and serve as stabilizers.

HABITAT
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The easiest way to meet a wild Blue-Streaked Dragon is to travel to areas located higher, like mountains, since mountain peaks are their favorite places to rest and sleep. They prefer to stay as close to the sky as possible and truly hate descending lower. Good luck at making one go down a cave.

DIET
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Blue-Streaked Dragons are carnivores and will kill pretty much every living thing smaller than themselves when hungry; other dragons, birds, sometimes bats and bigger land mammals. In extreme cases they go cannibalistic. The dragons don’t mind eating carrion, but it’s not something they would enjoy daily.

BEHAVIOR
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Wild Blue-Streaked Dragons spend most of the time in the air, and they won’t tolerate any companion. Expanding their sky territory is the priority and they’re ready to chase away even bigger and stronger dragons, however they choose to give up and flee if they find out the opponent is way too strong. Blue-Streaked Dragons don’t see any point in killing an opponent who has surrendered and isn’t intended to become a meal – though some unintentional “oops” moments happen occasionally.
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The mating season occurring every year in spring is very short and lasts around ten days. At this time, Blue-Streaked Dragons gather together in one place, temporarily leaving their territory defense duties. There is no real mating dance, but rather a patience test. The male presents his bright stripes by spreading his wings and ear-wings wide, walking around with optional tail wagging. If his markings are vivid enough, he wins the female, who is very picky and it may take many hours for her to make a final decision. Most of the males get bored and irritated because of all this waiting and just leave, going back to their daily basis. When the female finally chooses her partner, she shows it by nibbling his tail tip, and then the male does the same to her in response. But it’s not the happy end yet, the male has to go through another gehenna, that is choosing a place for the female to lay eggs; she’s picky about it too, but it’s not a part of the competition and her mate doesn’t lose anything… except nerves. These dragons don’t mate for life, and the male leaves his partner as soon as the hatchlings break through their eggshells.
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The female has to hunt and feed her babies without help. Tiny dragons are hyperactive, curious, and are easy to spot by predators because of their bright coloring contrasting with dull grey mountain rocks and green plantation, so the mother does a clever thing – she covers them in mud and dirt (collected before they hatched) as a camouflage, and thanks to that she doesn’t have to worry about them when they’re left alone. In case one of the “dirty” hatchlings wanders too far away from the nest, its mother finds it rather by the scent than relying on sight.
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Blue-Streaked Dragons are "sky-associated" more mentally at this development stage; like human children and their fantasies about adulthood: "when I grow up, I'll become a...". The hatchling, being fully aware of the fact it can't fly yet, still climbs as high as it's possible to feel how GREAT it is up there (and it doesn't have to worry about falling down, since it always lands on four paws like a cat). And when the wings finally grow, the little dragon starts to -really- exercise to achieve its life goal.

MAGIC
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ These dragons are completely incapable of magic. They can’t even do a stupid "find a card" trick.

LIFE WITH HUMANS
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Blue-Streaked Dragons that have been raised by humans don’t show their aggressive, bossy behavior against other dragons, instead they’re obedient and submissive, and will attack only when threatened. Their love of flying makes them great help in transporting people and objects. Adult dragons are quite strong and durable, they’re capable of carrying additional 1/3 of their own weight on their backs and fly with it dozens of miles without need to rest (if the dragon feels it’s “overloaded”, it will decide to not take off at all). Besides, this way of travelling takes less time than on land or water. However, there is still a risk of being attacked by a wild individual of this dragon breed. To keep the “airfreight” and people safe, they’re escorted by one or two other dragons, preferably magic users.