"Sssorry, but could you pull over for a while?" Stegron spoke up shortly after they passed by the last group of homes before the Connors' Florida House.
"Again?" Dr Connors demanded, though not without understanding why he needed to get out the car.
Now marked four days since they'd set off from New York to the Connors Family Home here in the Florida Everglades. Four days of long hours squeezed together in a car that despite its size, wasn't build to handle a man-sized lizard and Stegosaurian side-by-side, in fact Dr Stegron had been forced to lower his backrest to level with the seat base thanks to his dorsal plates. Thankfully he hadn't complained too much, though Connors suspected that that was on account of why they were coming here in the first place.
"There'ss a ssmall sstretch of beach not too far from here. We can sstop for a while there." Connors offered as he turned off the road and onto a well-beaten track.
"Thanksss." Inwardly Dr Connors was pleased by Dr Stegron's improving manners.
In the months before now, after Stegron had agreed to help Connors with his own issues, he in turn had been teaching Stegron how to be more sociable. True, Stegron was even before his accident an introvert, but since then had become rather antisocial thanks to the way he'd been treated afterwards, small wonder then that these days Connors wasn't too surprised by the abrasive attitude he'd shown.
And while Stegron did still - and likely always would in Connors opinion - prefer to go around in just his scales, he had since with his help secured some things to wear from the same tailor he'd used for his own new clothes. Namely some good shorts and trousers that Stegron could wear at more formal settings, allowances made for the dorsal plates and digitigrade feet that made shirts, shoes and the likes too much of a hassle for him.
"That'ss uss here now." Connors announced once he brought the car to a halt and killed the engine.
"Finally." Stegron groaned once he was out of the metal confines, stretching his limbs with an audible pop.
It wasn't really a beach in the usual sense, being in fact a strip of quite soft earth between the trees to one side and the river on the other. And other than himself and Stegron, unoccupied. Despite some similarity in being a mix of human and reptile as they walked along, at first glance they would still appear to be completely different.
Where Stegron walked on his toes, Connors weight rested on his heels. Rough, uneven orange and tan scales to even green. Stegron built like a tank, Connors much leaner and more agile, although both were still far stronger and with much greater endurance than any human. And while Connors was fully dressed with only the scales on his head and hands visible, all of Stegron's were there to be seen.
Which was something he intended to take care of right now.
"Before we go any further, there'sss sssomething you need to do." Stegron spoke up, stopping to turn and face Connors.
"And that iss?"
"Your clothesss, take them off, now."
"Now?" Connors was a little perplexed by Stegron's instruction. "It'ss sstill at leasst another half-hour'ss drive before we get to the housse."
"I made it very clear that the lessssonsss begin the inssstant we arrive." Stegron hissed. "And that meansss the inssstant we arrive. We're not taking another ssstep until you're down to your ssscalesss."
That, that had been the moment Connors had been dreading the entire trip, to take the critical step of stripping himself down and remaining naked for the entirety of their stay. To him, it felt too much like surrendering to his more primal urges, his hidden desires. But hadn't that been part of the problem? Constantly bottling them up so they never had any release? Building up as time passed? Threatening to spill out?
Only recently had he considered that rather than trying to fight his urges, his new instincts, he should at least try to learn how to live with them. Thus, despite his trepidation, he pulled one arm out of the sweater sleeve, then the other, though the lab coat he nearly always wore when outside the house he kept on for the moment.
"And what do I do with thiss?" Connors wanted to know once it was in his hand, the car some distance from them at the moment.
"Jussst drop it where you ssstand, the pantsss too." Stegron grunted, a small scowl forming when Connors hesitated a moment before complying.
To say that Dr Curt Connors was becoming nervous at what he was doing would be quite the understatement with only the lab coat covering his arms and back once the shoes were kicked free, and Stegron himself wondered for a brief instant if he were pushing too hard, a thought he dismissed just as quickly. When they agreed to help each other, he for one had certainly meant it, and Connors had shown the same willingness. So despite his awareness at how harsh he was sounding, Stegron pressed on.
"Lossse the Lab Coat now, leave it with the ressst, then walk over to me."
This was it. Now the arms were out and holding the coat for just another moment, he couldn't help but stare at them. At first glance they really did seem to lack any real power to them, but he was well aware of what he could do with them if he wanted, not just how much weight they could lift, how much force they could exert, but how quickly, and for how long if needs be.
With hesitant steps, he left his clothes in a scattered pile a little too close to the river for his liking and approached Stegron, who now had switched to a more approving stare.