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........:~                                          ~:........
.......:~†                                          †~:.......
......:~†%     .. 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.      $%†~:.....
......:~†%                                          %†~:......
.......:~†                                          †~:.......
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..........                                          ..........