Male Hatchling
Name: unnamed
Species: Tau
Birthday: Monday, December 25, 2017
Owner: Kestrad
Element: Earth 
A tau hatchling is soft when it first hatches, its fur downy and fine for its first few weeks. It doesn't begin to develop the ability to become stone until after its first year, and before that is usually guarded fiercely by its parents. Tau hatchlings spend most of their time sleeping in the sun, but when awake are energetic and playful, often racing each other down hallways and pouncing on anything that moves. They're happiest in a large group, where they can cuddle and wrestle with siblings, nkoe hatchlings, and even magi willing to risk the occasional painful bite or scratch before the tau hatchling learns to be soft with delicate magi skin. They despise water and will often wail if their magi needs to give them a bath, but they recover quickly and don't hold grudges.
Legend says that the first nkoe and the first tau were found in the same ancient tomb deep in the Ixan Jungle, thought to be nothing more than stone reliefs upon the tomb's walls. The magi who found them took shelter in the tomb escaping a storm and while camping there, were startled to see the reliefs on the wall unfold themselves and drop down to the stone floor. These magi were then presented with eggs to take back with them to civilization, which is where the nkoe and tau spread throughout the world as fierce protectors of magi. The descendants of these first nkoe and tau still have the ability to change into stone, both as statues and as reliefs upon convenient walls.
Sprite art: Tekla (hatchling) | Description: Sochitelya