..,~\†¤§@#                                          #@§¤†\~,..
...,~\†¤§@                                          @§¤†\~,...
....,~\†¤§                                          §¤†\~,....
.....,~\†¤                                          ¤†\~,.....
......,~\†                                          †\~,......
.......,~\     .. 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.      ~,........
.......,~\                                          \~,.......
......,~\†                                          †\~,......
.....,~\†¤                                          ¤†\~,.....
....,~\†¤§                                          §¤†\~,....
...,~\†¤§@                                          @§¤†\~,...