@££*/«....                                          ....«/*££@
#@££*/«...                                          ...«/*££@#
##@££*/«..                                          ..«/*££@##
#@££*/«...                                          ...«/*££@#
@££*/«....                                          ....«/*££@
££*/«.....     .. ferrets                           .....«/*££
£*/«......                                          ......«/*£
*/«....... ......«///*££££@@@####@@@££££*///«...... .......«/*
/«........                                          ........«/
«.........  you see something move in the corner of .........«
..........     your eye - probably one of these.    ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........             backbone animals.            ..........
..........         cat-snakes, or so called.        ..........
..........       comes in different flavours.       ..........
..........                                          ..........
.......... ............... the mink ............... ..........
.......... .                                      . ..........
.......... . minks, also called the snow ferrets, . ..........
«......... . make up the "wandering food supply"  . .........«
/«........ . used by the shamans and underlings   . ........«/
*/«.......   of kirugu vargir. when called upon,    .......«/*
£*/«......   they present themselves, and can be    ......«/*£
££*/«.....   caught.                                .....«/*££
@££*/«....                                          ....«/*££@
#@££*/«... .............. the marten .............. ...«/*££@#
##@££*/«.. .                                      . ..«/*££@##
#@££*/«... . the marten is the sneakier one here, . ...«/*££@#
@££*/«.... . often used for spying, or stealing.  . ....«/*££@
££*/«..... . in the older tales about vidmi,      . .....«/*££
£*/«......   these are probs the ferrets that she   ......«/*£
*/«.......   was said to control. this connection   .......«/*
/«........   might explain why many denizens have   ........«/
«.........   this as their main "pet" god.          .........«
..........                                          ..........
.......... .............. the ermine .............. ..........
.......... .                                      . ..........
.......... . the lusher one in the family is the  . ..........
.......... . ermine. used as bedwarmers, or       . ..........
.......... . harvested for their beautiful fur,   . ..........
..........   the white coat, very pretty,           ..........
..........   although rare.                         ..........
..........                                          ..........
«......... ............... the mewn ............... .........«
/«........ .                                      . ........«/
*/«....... . one of the most notable in kirugu    . .......«/*
£*/«...... . lore, the otter ferret? it goes in   . ......«/*£
££*/«.....   rivers. there are a lot of ferrets,    .....«/*££
@££*/«....   but for some reason, this otter one    ....«/*££@
#@££*/«...   is hardly ever seen. it might be       ...«/*££@#
##@££*/«..   that it is unbound...?                 ..«/*££@##
#@££*/«...   locals use it for sport fishing.       ...«/*££@#
@££*/«....                                          ....«/*££@
££*/«..... ............... the husky .............. .....«/*££
£*/«...... .                                      . ......«/*£
*/«....... . the husky may seem like a dog, but   . .......«/*
/«........ . it is actually a kind of ferret.     . ........«/
«.........   this makes it the largest of the       .........«
..........   phylum, and it's the most recently     ..........
..........   evolved as well, bred for use as a     ..........
..........   predator. it's made more dangerous     ..........
..........   by the fact that it's almost           ..........
..........   completely unknown to biologists.      ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
«.........                                          .........«