...~^%§@##                                          ##@§%^~...
..~^%§@###                                          ###@§%^~..
...~^%§@##                                          ##@§%^~...
....~^%§@#                                          #@§%^~....
.....~^%§@                                          @§%^~.....
......~^%§     .. 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.      %^~.......
........~^                                          ^~........
.........~                                          ~.........
........~^                                          ^~........
.......~^%                                          %^~.......
......~^%§                                          §%^~......