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