Their inspection tour wasn't to be a major one. Clara had looked over what Abby and her friends had reported on what they had found out about the abandoned hotel that they were planning to turn into the new South American colony. In that, she had some the honest expectations that establishing the colony outside Manaus would not be the same Mieni, which made sense. The Air Force base at Mieni was in perfect shape. The issue was more that the base was being decommissioned, and thus why Animalia had gotten the deal for it, even if there was some suspicion of the motive behind the US military and government selling the land to Animalia. It meant there wasn't that terribly much that had to be done with regard to upgrading Mieni to serve that function. And thanks to corporate agreements from companies in Nevada, California, and Hawaii, shipping material to be part of Mieni's alterations had proved easier then expected. The hotel outside Manaus, however, had been abandoned and nature had reclaimed a lot of it. This meant that it would take more work to get everything up and running.
"I'm sure things will be fine, dear," Richard said to her as they sat on the boat that was sailing from Manaus to the site, "from what Abby and her friends reported, this Melbourne seems trustworthy and even eager to help."
"I'm sure," Clara gave a steady nod to her mate along with a small smile, "It's probably just a lot of worrying with all the things that need to be done... It's just something that raises the stress of the position."
"Just stay confident," Richard answered, "things will be fine."
They found that the small dock on the river side was full with various small boats around it. The boats were largely standard transports and were likely what brought some of the labor hired to work in restoration of the hotel. In fact both Clara and Richard could hear the sound of some form of work going on. As they came around the dock, the boatman moved to bring them in close to the river side, and Clara and Richard could see a large pile of grasses, leaves, branches and even some small trees and bushes laying at another point near the river side.
"That's what they removed from the hotel?" Iphis wondered from behind Clara and Richard.
"More than likely this is a lot of the undergrowth that was around the base of the hotel," Richard answered, "as part of the report that a lot of the undergrowth was surrounding the hotel. Removing it is part of what would be needed for the structural integrity of the building and on some level to protect any and all colonists and any human visitors from being attacked. Big cats like Jaguars will use thick undergrowth as cover... which would leave some one, and particularly humans, vulnerable to attack."
"Puma too," the boatman commented startling the group.
They looked to him as he brought the boat along the shore and departed to then move to the front and have an anchor ready to keep the boat from drifting off into the river.
"Puma?" Clara asked.
"Yes," the boatman nodded, "I've provided a lot of transport missions... to get supplies to the various villages deeper in the Amazon and getting the sick there to Manaus for treatment. On occasion, I've seen brown cats, like you, come for a drink. They may be smaller than Jaguars, but Puma are here."
Clara could only blink at that. As while she was a Mountain Lion, that didn't mean she knew the full extent of the animal's range, which covered much of Western North America and almost all of South America. A lot of the lessons she'd learned since her uplifting had been more in politics, history, and sociology in order to help make Animalia something that could function along side humanity. That then meant that certain things in the sciences may not have come up.
"Maybe we could find one... see on how the uplifting process would relate to human languages," Richard mused, "would local Mountain Lions know English because we know English, or would they speak Portuguese because that is the predominant language of Brazil?"
"The report and and Mandibula said that she can speak English," Clara answered, "testing on languages probably isn't something to get into right now."
"Agreed," said Ianthe.
"But they're leaving it all here?" Iphis wondered, looking to the pile. Shi seemed to ignore the comments on the animals that roamed the Amazonian jungle.
"More than likely it'll be taken either to a garbage dump where the organic material will be burnt," the boatman commented, "or it'll be taken to some of the smaller villages that may use more natural material in their homes. That sort of thing."
"Oh," Iphis responded and then looked around and up to see the various workers at work clearing the grounds, "There is a lot of people working..."
The others nodded. The workers were all pretty much human and were among many of the people hired by Horizon to do the physical work. They were at work with scythes, saws, and clippers to clear the brush from the grounds around the hotel. Richard also noticed ropes laying in places, which were likely used in making sure any new trees that had grown up didn't fall into the building. It was something that would indicate that the people hired had some experience in the sort of grounds keeping work that was needed. It was clearing up a lot of the grounds, but it now contrasted heavily with the damaged building beyond, which would need new paint, replacement windows, and appropriate wiring to make sure the building could function. To Clara it was only a sign of the work that needed to be done, and she was so focused on that that she took little notice of the footsteps approaching them.
"G'day," came Melbourne's voice, "you must be Clara and Richard?"
Clara jumped a bit but did quickly recover, "Yes, I'm Clara. This is my mate, Richard, and Iphis and Ianthe."
Melbourne looked to the conjoined Green Anaconda Animalian and scratched his head.
"We are a conjoined Animalian," Ianthe spoke, "and were part of the idea for a colony here. I am Ianthe."
"I am Iphis," Iphis added.
Melbourne nodded and noted the differences in the tone of voice between the two. It gave some indicator to Iphis and Ianthe's unique gender, but he turned to Clara as she was likely here to see on how well the work was coming.
"Well, we've got a lot of the grounds cleared so far and opened things up," Melbourne spoke, "which would make it look as though the hotel's structural integrity isn't too bad and that rebuilding won't be a major undertaking in terms of the structure..."
"That sounds good," said Richard.
Melbourne nodded and continued to lead them into the hotel, "the biggest part of that will relate to getting the equipment in to replace the windows, but that'll be more a question of organization than the size of the job to do... which would be a good thing."
Clara and Richard both nodded as they followed Melbourne in. Iphis and Ianthe followed along behind them. Ianthe focused forward while Iphis looked at some of the workers and the work to clear the grounds. They found that much of the interior had been untouched, other than that furniture that had been destroyed or damaged when the hotel was abandoned was being placed in that lobby area, which was likely something similar the pile of grass and undergrowth but with damaged furniture.
"Certain things with infrastructure will take time obviously," Melbourne spoke, "but once all the grounds are clear, we can probably move into the work that will involve getting the interior up and running... thought the wiring will probably be the longest to do... but that's mostly in the detail of the work and the fact that removing damaged wiring will mean taking apart parts of the wall and that sort of thing."
"How have things gone with wildlife?" Richard wondered.
"Some parrots and birds are still resting or nesting on the upper floors, but a lot of that has actually lessened as the grounds have been cleared," Melbourne spoke, "Likely because the entrances aren't as obstructed and thus potential predators can now see in. A Scarlet Macaw isn't exactly a small bird, but a Harpy Eagle is BIGGER and could well decide to eat a Macaw. Once we're ready to start putting the new windows in, we'll probably have to do it one floor and one room at a time. Shoo the birds out and then put in the window."
"What about the roof and all that there?" Clara wondered.
"The roof can be cleaned easily and once everything else is put in... we might be able to arrange for something could give any bird Animalians a place to land and stretch their wings," Melbourne commented, "and I'd even say that if you get some Harpy Eagle Animalians, they could provide for good observation skills... keep local wildlife at a safe distance as needed, or at least provide a warning so that no one is doing anything to bother the local wildlife or presenting themselves as a potential target."
The others nodded.
"And how is Mandibula?" Clara asked.
Melbourne actually gave a chuckle, "She's... interesting. She likes the idea of the colony... but she can also be feisty at times."
Melbourne then turned and moved to head up the hallway and away from the central area. Clara, Richard, Iphis, and Ianthe all followed after him. As they came to the end of the hallway, instead of turning to the internal stairway, Melbourne turned the other way another set of doors that too them outside. There they came into the area around the outside pool area. By now, the pool had been drained and the algae removed, though the pool floor was still in need of cleaning. The thing that attracted the most attention was the sound of vines snapping. Parts of the fence that surrounded the pool area still had a large number of vines around them, but a large number of vines were being pulled away. And there, dressed in a pair of shorts and a shirt, which looked similar to what Melbourne was wearing, was Mandibula. She reached up and grabbed at them and then pulled down. They often snapped and then fell down at her feet. As the door shut, she turned.
"I think I'm making good progress," Mandibula spoke, "these vines aren't so tough..."
She stopped however when she saw Iphis and Ianthe and gave a growling hiss and with a snap of her jaws. That caught Melbourne with some surprise.
"You may relax, young one, Ianthe and I won't eat you," Iphis spoke guessing that the Black Caiman Animalian had some measure of an instinctive response.
"You didn't say an Anaconda was part of this colony!" Mandibula said to Melbourne said accusingly.
"I think that I had," Melbourne said slowly, "but if I did not... I DID tell you that Animalia, from what I've been told, has put together rules that Animalians are not to prey on other Animalians."
Mandibula glanced between Melbourne and Iphis and Ianthe, and as she looked to the conjoined Anaconda Animalian, her eyes narrowed.
"And if Ianthe and Iphis were to go against that law... I would do my best to make sure since you are protected," Melbourne then finished with a sigh, which got Mandibula to relax, a little.
"There would be conflicts with caiman and anacondas?" Richard wondered.
"It'd depend on the size," Melbourne answered, "Snakes grow faster than Alligators and Crocodiles. Mandibula as a Black Caiman can grow to fairly impressive size... but that will take time. And while she is independent of her mother, she'll be vulnerable to large anacondas or jaguars until she reaches her full size. In that, a big anaconda, like Iphis and Ianthe, here, could be a threat to juvenile caiman."
"We don't want to give any trouble," Iphis spoke.
"It's okay," Clara spoke, "It is something that has had some tension, even with Animalian society, as old instincts and fears don't go away. It just takes a bit of time for things to get beyond base instinctual fears... but those fears haven't stopped Animalia from moving forward. They just require some trust."
Mandibula only frowned as she watched the group, "And just who have you brought to the lounge area?"
"I am Clara," Clara spoke, "I am Animalia's mayor, and this is my mate, Richard. We're only here to get a look at the hotel and confirm what our ambassadors said about it. Iphis and Ianthe may join you as one of the Animalian colonists here, though that will likely be after the IAC is held in Lyre/Animalia."
With that, Clara then offered a hand to Mandibula who eyed it for a moment and then glanced to Melbourne. He nodded and with that nod, she then shook Clara's hand.