Cryo Cincin Mage and the girls had eaten breakfast and were about to depart the Serenitea Pot. Stepping out under the awning, she came to a sudden stop when she saw it. Standing at the base of the stairs, was a little Saurian. It had a yellow belly, brown scales, and big wide orange eyes.

Cryo had seen them before in her veterinarian duties but never one quite like this. It had a red mark on its crown and a red bandana tied around its tail. Opening its mouth, it let out a "rawr" which nearly gave her a heart attack out of sheer cuteness.

Mualani weaved through the girls and patted the little guy's head.

"Hey, Little One," she said.

The girls suddenly lightened up.

"Oh, so this is the little fella Aether told us about," said Xinyan.

At the sound of that name, the Tepetlisaur patted its round belly. It had a proud look on its face. Cryo could practically hear it declaring, yep, that's me! Aether's best Saurian buddy!

Now, they all gathered around to check out their guest. Touching it, Cryo found the crown on its head rocky. The yellow belly pad was a rough too. Other parts were more streamlined for burrowing. The Little One reveled in their attention, purring as they stroked under its chin.

At that moment, Paimon appeared in the Realm. She floated towards the gang.

"Oh, there you are," she said. "Paimon wondered where you wandered off to."

The Tepetlisaur let out a bark and waddled up to Paimon. It yipped, seemingly gesturing at the girls clustered behind it. Paimon chuckled as if the little fella told a joke.

"Hello," said Cryo. "We weren't expecting you."

"Really?" Paimon frowned. "We told Tubby we'd be coming today for a visit." She glanced around the mansion. Now, Cryo realized that she hadn't see the blue finch all day. Unusual.

"Well anyways," said Paimon, "Paimon supposes it's time for introductions. Ahem. Little One, this is the UHA. UHA, this is Little One."

"You mean its name is Little One?"

Paimon chuckled. "Oh, no no no. That's just what we called it when we first met it. Its real name is…"

Tubby felt sick. She'd eaten far more than five people should in a single day. Still, ten orders of Adeptus' Temptation laid on the table before her, with ten more orders on the way. At this rate, she would throw up.

Her UHA Judges weren't looking too good either. Madame Ping was on her twentieth bowl, but Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper had passed out on the floor alongside Uncle Tian. Itto and the Arataki Gang were still going strong, although they looked a bit green-faced. Razor, Kaveh, Mona, Zhongli, Tighnari, Dori, Gaming, Dvalin, Andrius, and Apep were just hanging in there.

Tubby's belly hurt like crazy. Even so, she had to persevere. For the sake of Little One, she had no other choice.

"Order up!" said a voice. Xiangling came around the corner, balancing three bowls on her head and hands. She laid them on the table, much to Tubby's repulsion. Still, Tubby forced a smile.

"You're welcome!" said the chef. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Well, you've got me working overtime. At this rate, I'm going to be here all day. I hope nothing fun's happening in the Teapot."

Xiangling pranced off to prepare the next batch, leaving Tubby with a mountain of food. Everyone, except Madame Ping, sighed and took another bowl.

"Free food never tasted so good but felt so painful," Dori grumbled.

"I never thought I'd say this," said Mona, "But I'm not hungry."

"We have to keep going," said Kaveh. "We can't let Xiangling meet Little One."

Gaming rubbed his tummy. "But do you really think she'd try eating a baby Tepetlisaur?"

"Yes," said Tubby, Dvalin, Andrius, Apep, Zhongli, Dori, and Tighnari.

Tighnari, Dori, Apep, and Kaveh dug in, determined that the Sumeru's ecological extinction caused by Xiangling's first date would never repeat. Everyone else just soldiered up and bravely pressed on.