Drake, Milk

Description

The milk drake is a rare species of dragon-like creatures that have learned to live in the world of man, not as a pest, but as an ally of sorts. Appearing as four limbed dragonet, the front two limbs forming leathery wings the rear two for standing and perching, the milk drake is cream colored on top and more whitish beneath. Its eyes are rather large, golden with huge black pupils.

Despite its white color, the milk drake does not get its name from its appearance. Milk drakes have learned to make large barns their homes, lairing in out of the way places on the farm, generally up in the rafters of such buildings. Superstitious peasants believe that the milk drake steals milk from cows and goats, coming down in the evening to suckle; to them this explains not only their coloration but their presence on farms.

In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth. Milk drakes are nocturnal predators, basically mousers. They feed on rats, mice, as well as the odd snake, lizard, bat, or large insect. They do take small birds on occasion, but are not really adapted to do so; most of their prey dwells on the ground. Hunting in the evening hours and late at night, they use their especially keen night vision to find their prey. Even starlight is enough for them to find their way around in the dark, able to dart and weave among pillars and horses in the barn without a sound.

Milk drakes catch their prey largely through grabbing them with their claws (for 1-2/1-2 points of damage) and delivering a swift bite to silence it. Though their mouths are small, their teeth are numerous and very sharp; a bite inflicts 1-4 points of damage.

For defensive purposes, twice a day a milk drake can offer a breath weapon, range 10 feet and area of effect pretty much one person. As milk drakes swallow their prey hole, they build up a lot of waste material, largely bones, feathers, and fur. If pressed by a hawk, owl, or a human, they can cough up this material on to a person. This vomit is incredibly smelly; while doing only 1-2 points of damage, the recipient must save versus breath weapon or become nauseous for 1-4 rounds, unable to do anything but retch.

Owing to the often poor reception dragon-kind get among humans and their ilk, milk dragons have one other unique adaptation. If they lie completely still for 5 minutes, they start to fade into invisibility. It is not know if this is strictly magical, or a combination of magic and careful adjustment of the drake's scales to reflect light in a special way. As long as the drake lies motionless, only those able to detect invisible objects may find them. This ability serves them well when they are hunted or when they rest during the day.

Milk drakes are harmless to humans, and if offered adequate supplies of rats and vermin can be quite happy in most places with the owners none the wiser. On rare occasions they have been tamed, with the enterprising farmer offering small cuts of meat in likely mousing grounds. They are actually fairly easy to tame, and make decent pets.

Milk drakes generally live in small family units, consisting of a mated pair (they mate for life) and one to two (very rarely three) sub-adult offspring. They offspring stay two years, in their second year helping the next generation of hatchlings feed and to protect them. Upon their reaching a year old, the original group of offspring head out for a new area to call home.