"All right" Connors exhaled, standing opposite Stegron with his arms crossed and head tilted upwards to meet the saurian's eyes. They were bright emerald green today, a hint of curiosity and meticulously examining, the slit pupils just a little wider than usual. Perhaps, he was in a good mood. Yet he sure looked every bit as scary when you had to look up at him. It also felt a little awkward to go through this with neither of them having any clothes on. Perhaps more so for Curt than for Stegron.

"It iss my turn to teach you now. Firsst, take a sstep back, pleasse" he coughed.

Stegron's height hardly helped the conversation when he was towering over you even if the reptile did not have any ill intent.

"Actually, pleasse take two more" he corrected himself, watching the dinosaur man slowly retreat another bit further. "Mosst people would feel threatened looking sso high up when you are closse" he explained. "A bit of disstancce helpss to sset the converssation on more equal termss. Keeping it on an eye level is esspecccially important. Jusst remember to give people ssome sspacce. They may not physsically need it ass much ass you do, but they would appreciate it nonethelesss"

Stegron seemed surprisingly obedient today and didn't even counter with anything.

"And a few words about your temper" the Lizard continued, raising a hand before the dinosaur man could object, as he anticipated. "I know firssthand you have very little patiencce, but what you are doing iss not right! Threatening people to comply with you out of fear is not how human converssationss work. Don't do that! I undersstand how you may feel frusstrated at the length of time it takess for everyone to get your point, but not everyone iss ass ssmart ass you! There iss no shortcut here! Adding a few polite wordss here and there can alsso help you reducce the tenssion. Don't jusst jump at people like you are about to sslice their headss off when they don't agree! Take your time. Let them talk. Remember about the disstancce and try to lissten to what they have to ssay firsst"

"I get it, I get it" Stegron snorted with clear irritation.

"Jolly good then!" Connors smiled, weighing it wise to drop the topic at that and let Vincent think about it later. "I only wanted you to know that I care and worry about you. Whether you want it or not, you will have to communicate with humanss. Thiss iss how the world iss, and the besst I can do for you iss help make thosse interactionss a little more possitive. We don't want people sscreaming and running away from you when you come out to buy a newsspaper, do we?"

Stegron made another indistinct sound. With some debate, Curt chalked it up closer to agreeing. Sometimes he had a hard time telling.

"And one last thing. I know you absolutely detest wearing clothes, and you have no qualms with everyone having a good view of what you are. I am fine with that too" Connors continued. "However, having at leasst ssomething to cover you from time to time could make connecting to people sso much eassier. In fact, I already ordered a pair of sshortss for you before we came here. They are in the car. Conssider them a gift"

"Thanksss" Stegron growled without enthusiasm. Curt didn't expect any.

That would have to do. Connors was quite pleased with Stegron's progress so far, but he could only hope it would not all come in one ear hole and out of the other when the actual situation would arise.

"You are mosst welcome! Well, I am sstarving!" the Lizard said, grinning as much as his snout would let him without showing too many teeth. "I remember you came to like meat, sso I brought some with uss. Hope you don't mind a steak? I have a sspare fork too..."

"No. Clawsss only"

Connors was about to object, but one look at the larger reptile was all it took for him to sigh in defeat. Just how could one argue with that?! They were friends of course, but he was so much bigger! Perhaps, deep down Connors was still instinctively just a little afraid of him. Truth be told, he already agreed to this on the phone and had no rights to complain now, not four days into the journey, though he did not quite understand how all of this was going to help him: staying just in his scales, without even most basic tools or clothes, hunting and fishing for food - Curt dreaded what else was yet to come. At times he was certain Stegron did this to observe him, to test him, only to find he was doing the same thing without but a look in Curt's direction when he most expected one. Did Stegron really simply consider all of this normal and not even 'training'? Vincent always loved field trips and hiking, hence his more toned and muscular build, but ever since turning saurian he really took some of that to the extreme, perhaps even taking enjoyment in his newfound power. The thought was so alien to the cold-blooded Doctor - to enjoy this hideous form that was the result of all his past mistakes, but one he did not wish to abandon just yet.

[+]

It was the first morning that the two reptiles met in Curt's Florida residence, the mist, dew and chill gradually retreating as the day warmed up enough for Curt to go out. Stegron waited outside while Connors would stretch and take his routine morning sunbath to warm up. Curt called him when he felt enough energy stored for the day and that he was ready to go.

"Sso… What do we do today?" the Lizard asked innocently.

"I don't know. Jussst go around and do your lizard thingsss. Isssn't that what you came here to do?"

"That'ss it? And that would be…?" he asked in hopes for a hint.

"How would I know? You are the Lizard, not me, jussst follow your inssstinctssss"

Connors looked at Stegron with some surprise, taken aback by this sudden development. Was he supposed to figure that out himself? Curt had no idea where to start. Read books? Watch TV? Listen to some music? What did lizards even do on holidays? He never paid much attention to a lizard's free time when he was studying them in the lab. For the most part it seemed like they were just hanging around.

Curt stood in uncertainty for another moment and then took a seat.

"I really have no idea" Curt finally admitted, his head down in defeat.

"Don't you jussst... 'know'? The thingsss you do right away, without thinking. That'sss what inssstinctsss are. You do not learn them or train them, you jussst have them. All creaturesss do. I can't believe you really have no idea" Stegron uttered somehow between a growl and a laugh. "It would be laughable, Connorsss, if it wasssn't ssso pitiful" he added more like a snort. "I cannot imagine how you sssurvived up till now"

Stegron turned around, making his way to the door, the spiked tail swinging dangerously close to a cupboard, but arched just in time to miss it. He was getting better with knowing where it was.

"Do what your heart isss telling you" was Stegron's advice as he walked out. "Don't act like a lizard, be the lizard, feel what it isss like to be one. Do you want to ssstay and have another sssun bath? Do you feel like having sssome water? Or maybe exploring the foressst? Lisssten in to your real Sssself"

Easy for him to say! What was he supposed to hear besides the occasional birds chirping in the forests around? Without any better ideas, Curt decided to head for the woods and may be find those birds for a lack of a better entertainment. Would a lizard do that? He didn't know. Staying in would be too boring and he had warmed himself up more than enough for a bit of a trip, feeling quite fresh and energized.

As he walked outside, Curt was about to call Stegron and ask to join him, but was surprised to see the other reptile nowhere around. Not even ten seconds have passed and Vincent had already managed to vanish into thin air. Perhaps he considered his part done and headed over to hunt or gather some wood for the fire.

Connors stretched his scaly limbs in anticipation of something he'd been quite looking forward to for the past few months. Very soon he was about to find out what he experienced in his dream felt like in reality. With nobody around, just him and nature, he finally felt completely free of unwanted gazes and may be just a little happy. There was nobody around for miles he could accidentally hurt. Well, except Stegron. But that one he didn't have to worry about. He doubted he could hurt him even if he wanted. Smiling, he dashed into the canopy like a blur, completely unaware of the green saurian eyes keenly observing him from the roof.

"I cannot believe after all these years you don't even know how your senses work. Lizards use their tongue to taste the air, not the nose. Even I know that!" Stegron sighed, seeing his friend happily leap up a branch. "You still have ways to go, Connors, but the route might be much longer than I imagined"

The huge reptile jumped down, softening the impact to make it silent. There was no need to follow Curt yet, Stegron thought, he knew everything about his own senses and was confident he could find him any time he wanted. Let the Lizard enjoy his freedom for now. The real training will start tomorrow.