In-Depth Research (Water Monitor TF) [COMMISSION]

Liz and her partner Jack were both tasked with monitoring and studying the habits of Asian Water Monitors Lizards. While Jack wasn't too interested in their task, Liz would be quite the opposite. She had always loved reptiles since she was a little kid, and now she was being paid to study them! It was quite frankly a dream come true for her. 

The main reason Jack had agreed to the quest was because he had wanted to travel to Asia. Of course he was a professional so he'd do his job. He'd ensure to take in some sights along the way though! Liz would be the one babysitting Jack to ensure he didn't try and run off and do some sightseeing before their work was done. On the plane ride over there the two would begin discussion the trip. 

"Okay, so we have to get three pages worth of information down in order to actually receive the funding the lab needs." Liz began. "So we can do that, and then you can go explore around, I know that's what you want to do." 

"Obviously! But I'm still going to pull my weight! We really don't need two people for three pages worth of research, a high school student can do that! All that meas is that it'll be easier to get it done and enjoy what Asia has to offer!" 

"I must admit that sounds nice, but this kind of thing interested me! We don't have a whole lot of information about the lizards, it's like we're the first ones really get down to the nitty gritty of it all!" Liz responded happily. "And I love reptiles! So cute and such a cool feel!" 

"Yeah, so you've told me." Jack laughed, not the first time he was hearing that spiel. "Get your rest in, it's a long flight so we'll need to be well rested." 

"I agree with you there, once we check in we're going right to the spot!" 

"Fine, whatever." Jack chuckled and shook his head. "Then we can get it all done on the first day and actually explore." 

"Okay then, there's your motivation to pay attention then!" 

The two laughed as the plan was settled, drifting into their own things to pass the time on the long flight. Jack would drift into slumber, while Liz began to write down in her journal, documenting everything about the trip. She was looking forward to it, already imaging seeing the Water Monitors close up and personal. They weren't around back home in the States, so its a unique experience that not many non-natives can have. With so much time left on the flight, Liz herself closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall into a sleep as well. 

The two arrived and checked into their hotel room. It was quite beautiful and over looked a forest that served as a path to the coast, the Water Monitors would be someone between the two. Liz looked out the window and admired it with a happy sigh. She put her hands up on the window and turned back to Jack. 

"If you're done looking out there we can actual go down there." he chuckled with his arms crossed. 

"Oh come on Jack, you wanted to take in the sights and it's beautiful!" Liz defended with her own giggle. "Besides, I got my pad and pen, all I need to keep track!" 

"Whatever you say." Jack shook his head and walked out the door, Liz following in suit. The duo made their way out of the building, and down towards the forest. Liz in particular had a johful skip in her step, her excitement on the cusp of exploding out of her. Meanwhile Jack was less excited, he was at the very least amused by Liz's demeanor. 

They eventually made it to the body of water in the middle of the forest, of which the two set up camp there. They waited about, chatting about various things to pass the time until a Water Monitor showed up. However, much time had passed and there wasn't any signs of them despite multiple sightings pointing to this area. 

"You don't think we got fed the wrong information did we?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow, finally questioning the thing that was bothering the two of them. 

"No no no, this has to be it!" Liz retorted, a bit of worry he'd be right. 

"It's been an hour already and no sign of any lizards. I'm starting to think this location might be a fluke." 

"Don't talk like that! There's still plenty of time for them to pop up!" 

"I think we've given them plenty of time." Jack responded. "We can't wait around until one just shows up! We have to look for them!" 

"I think you just want to go do your sightseeing you keep dreaming about!" 

"I'm a professional! And if we want to find these lizards we have to look for them, not wait for them to come to us! Now come on, let's keep looking." Jack responded slowly getting up. Liz sighed and ran her hands through her hair. All that she wanted to do was know more about them. She muttered an idle wish to find them soon, her excitement being almost too much to bear at this point. 

"You coming?" Jack asked back to Liz when he noticed that she wasn't moving yet, however her eyes looked forward for a moment. She felt a cold chill run down her spine and for a split second, it felt like everything inside of her was suddenly split in two before resuming the normal feeling again. 

"Y-yeah...I'm fine." Liz assured Jack as she got up slowly, almost falling over twice as she did so. 

"You sure about that? You're all wobbly." Jack commented walking over. 

"I'm good, trusth me..." Liz spoked, stopping as a forked tongue of a gray color slipping out from her mouth. Hastily, she put it back in and covered her mouth with her hands. 

"Wh-what the hell was that?" Jack asked with wide eyes. 

"I don't know!" Liz shouted. "If I did I'd tell you!" 

"Well I'd like to know!" Jack was dumbfounded at the situation. "And look at your arms!" he yelled out pointing to them. 

Liz looked down and saw that her skin was not what it should be...very much at all! It had a pseudo striped pattern of black and beige scales growing out of them. Not only that, upon further examination, she saw her nails beginning thin and growing out, becoming progressively sharper each second. However, she wasn't fearful but more intrigued at what was occurring to her. This would be something good to document!

"Quick! Write down what you're seeing!" Liz instructed Jack as she looked between her eyes to see her face extending, the same scale pattern forming that was on her arms. 

"Are you insane!?" Jack responded simply aghast. "We have to stop this and figure out how to reverse the changes!" 

"Shut up and take notes!" Liz respond tossing the pen and paper over to him, the paper having some tears in it. Meanwhile, all of her hair was falling off, leading Liz carefully feel her bald, reptilian head. "Whoa...so scaly!" 

"I...you-how are you so calm!?" Jack shook his head not believing what he was seeing. Meanwhile, from behind Liz, her spine was being tugged as it elongated outward into a large tail that slow trailed off into a tip. She looked behind her and experimentally lifted it up and down, nodding with approval. 

"I think I'm...I'm...dffatae. Goodble?" Liz was going to respond to Jack, but found herself slowly losing the ability to speak, strange animal grunts only coming out by the end of her sentence. While this occurred, Liz's body began shrinking into her clothes. This would be met with a shriek from the less than calm Jack. In the pile Liz would finish transforming, she was a Water Monitor herself and a whooping four feet long! She had trouble backing out from her shirt, her tail waggling as she slowly pushed her new contorted body out and looked up to Jack. 

"L-Liz...?" he asked nervously leaning in. "Are you in there?" 

There was a brief moment where the two only shared eye contact, Jack swallowing in fear that she wasn't, before it made a happy noise and nodded her head, Jack breathing a sigh of relief. 

"Don't scare me like that! I'm scared enough as is for you! And you're a lizard now! How did that even happen? Why did it only happen to you? How are we going to fix you..." Jack kept on asking various questions that lacked obvious answers. As he blabbered on, Liz found herself wandering around, walking slowly with one foot at a time, her tongue naturally flicking out at regular intervals.  

Eventually, Jack snapped out of it and looked around to see where Liz ran off to, noticing the Water Monitor entering into the lake, swimming around much faster than she was walking largely in part thanks to the fin like tail she now possessed. She swam around for some time, Jack sitting down shaking his head and what he was witnessing. Liz was moving like she had been a Water Monitor her whole life. Jack figured she wouldn't run off and went to get water for himself, digging through Liz's over packed bag to find the bottles. 

He found what he sought and took a seat and that's when Liz came with something in her mouth, her face looking quite proud. Jack was less than thrilled to see it. In Liz's mouth would be a catfish that was swimming in the lake, one that she caught herself thanks to allowing her animal instincts to take over to hunt, considering she skipped breakfast when she was human, she was very hungry with an empty reptilian stomach. 

Jack watched in a complete daze of confusion and shock as Liz tore into the catfish with her claws, slowly eating it. It was a little disgusting to see, but it seemed like this was the way Water Monitors ate food, so he had to make sure to take note of it. Jack slowly grabbed Liz's pad and wrote down what he was witnessing Liz herself do, shakingly so. 

The sun started to set, Liz was content with her meal and began to sleep under the tent they had set up, Jack simply starred at her all curled up and cozy despite being made into an entirely different species seemingly out of now where. His hands rested on his head and watched as the sun shining on her body slowly left as it went over the coastline. 

However, that's when he noticed something else. Liz's body was glowing! He sat up slowly, last time something weird happened Liz turned into a lizard, and he silently prayed that it wasn't his turn to be a reptile. Luckily for Jack, it would only be Liz going through a transformation. Her skin returned as she grew back into her five foot seven height. Hair found itself growing back out of her scalp, the length and volume returning. Liz's tail shrank away becoming one with her spine yet again, all while her razor sharp claws became mere nails again. And just as quickly as it happened, Liz was human yet again. 

Jack hurried rushed to her side and shook her awake. "Liz? Liz! Are you okay!?" he asked in a nervous haste. 

"Yeah I'm fine." she said groggily as she slowly sat up. "Oh...I have legs and arms again!" she realized looking down at her body seeing she was a human female again. 

"Yeah, what the hell was all that? And why were you so comfortable like that? You hunted and ate a fish!" 

"It just felt right." Liz shrugged. "I was hungry and there weren't any turtles or something else I would eat around!" 

"That's...why eat a turtle?" Jack was dumbfounded. 

"Because that's what Water Monitors eat! I wished there was one because it sounded really tasty at the time!" she defended herself. "But I had all these feelings and cravings of what I should be doing, I think this is the most accurate paper our lab is going to write!" she add excitedly. 

"You're not wrong about that." Jack chuckled dryly. "Let's just get back to the hotel and write this. I need to have a real vacation after witnessing all this." 

"Whatever you say partner." Liz giggled as she got up, Jack already walking ahead. However, Liz noticed something happening to Jack's back...was that a shell? "I wished out loud again didn't I...?" she asked nervously to herself, before that nervousness turned into devious happiness. Looks like Jack would be having similar experience that Liz had thanks to her Freudian slip!