The Holly Pygmy

General Information

Holly pygmies are found in the northern forest regions of the veil, often refereed to as the taiga by local residents. They are often found in colonies of upwards of four hundred or more, in large nests in the tops of conifers. They often share communal nests and cleaning duties, and also will care for the hatchlings of others in their colony. They also have odd hunting habits, often a group of twenty will fly from the colony for weeks on end, each finding a piece of prey and stalking it until it can find the perfect time to strike. As a result of this behavior, holly pygmies are often raised for use as trackers for assassin guilds and other nefarious groups, but due to the decline of their population in the wild, the use of them for this purpose is declining.

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Holly pygmies have a slightly unsavory reputation, thanks to being associated with assassins and other such groups, but their tracking skills can be used for more benign purposes as well. Some search-and-rescue groups use hollies to find lost travelers, as although they can't always connect a picture with a living individual, they can squeeze into places that a human cannot. At the castle, hollies are often employed to keep an eye on escape-prone creatures or used in the infirmary to keep troublesome patients from escaping while the healers are distracted.

Egg Information

This brown egg has a few spiny leaves attached to it.

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Holly pygmies will line a communal nest with holly leaves before the first egg is laid in it. The eggs are a plain brown when laid, but soon get holly leaves stuck to them. These should be left alone, as removing the leaves will weaken the egg. Besides, these leaves often form a hatchling holly's first meal. Holly pygmy eggs need no particular special treatment, though they should be kept away from anything that might try to chew on the leaves.

Baby Information

The hatchling that emerged from the egg is the same dull brown, but it does have a few spots of red on its tail. It loves to climb trees and spy on your other creatures.

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In the wild, holly hatchlings figure out what's good to eat by snatching morsels from grown hollies. At the castle, they figure this out by stealing bites off their mage's plate. They should be taught as early as possible to wait until they are offered food and should never be allowed to take food from a stranger. Castle mages can generally be trusted, but the wider world has been known to be less than tolerant of tiny potential spies. Holly hatchlings should not be left unattended for long periods of time, as they have a tendency to follow around any creature that catches their eye, whether it's a harmless toad or an aggressive singularity, but it's generally a simple matter to find a reliable older creature to keep an eye on them. They will often take to spying on the mage who is raising them, which is unsettling, but harmless.

Teen Information

Your hatchling has grown some more, and it now has two small leaves jutting from either side of its back. It still prefers to climb trees and spy on your other creatures, and now it blends in quite well with the canopy.

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At this age, a holly pygmy is old enough to be trained and should be given some simple job to perform, as those with too much time on their claws will make their own amusement. Creativity is a must, as even reliable hatchlings have a low boredom threshold. Some mages have had success with setting a group of holly pygmies to watch each other, with the roles of hunter and hunted switching from day to day. Others have used their young holly pygmies for a toad census or to keep an eye on shink hatchlings, though these jobs are best left to well-disciplined hollies that aren't likely to view their objects of study as potential snacks.

Adult Information

Your hatchling has finally reached adulthood, and it now prefers to hang out around your vegetable dragons. You often spot it at the edge of the forest though, sitting in a tree and quietly watching your other creatures go about their business. It often prefers to spend long hours focusing on one creature, watching what it does and how it goes about its day, often it will change its locations to match its subject. Sometimes you have to call it to tell it to stop watching your other creatures, as sometimes it will follow them for weeks on end.

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Holly pygmies are happiest in groups, but don't need to be kept with their own kind. They get along reasonably well with other small draco, including leafsprites and pyro raptoria, as well as with most plant dragons, with the exception of balsas and snapdragons. Holly pygmies are especially fond of lifesprites, playing elaborate games of hide-and-seek with them that can last for days. Though their numbers are declining in the wild, holly pygmies are increasingly common at the castle, to the point where some mages have started to plan a reintroduction program to increase the wild population.