leviathan creature + harmless juvenile

have a dangerous leviathan that large and threatening etc. but it has a juvenile version that’s tiny (like a similar size to the player) and harmless but looks almost exactly like the adult. you could add the juvenile to an early game area and the adult into a later game area so the player will find the juvenile first and then be suprised/ shocked etc. when they discover the adult and realise the link between the two. the juvenile could be cute and playful, being the exact opposite to the adult version.

maybe not almost exactly like the adult… because there’s a difference between a baby and a small adult… so it would look different, maybe different eyes and colors, but close enough that you could easily imagine “aww it’s a baby of that leviathan” without thinking “this is an entirely new species”