Stone Circle in the bleak mid-winter

sorry for the delay on this!  I'm back home (:

Increased patrols kept her busy.  Since she'd volunteered to take the night shift, it also kept her from meaningless wanderings instead of rest.  Her sleep schedule wasn't impacted too badly - Banner essentially moved her days a few hours back.  She'd patrol at night until quite early in the morning and then rest until late morning.  Sometimes afternoon, but hopefully that wouldn't become a habit.  When she did find sleep, she found that it was actually good sleep, nothing like that fitful half-slumber she'd become accustomed to.  And she had her nightly patrols to thank for that.

Just as she did every other night, the short lady pushed herself on yet another circuit of Easthollow.  She kept a brisk trot most of the night and luckily hadn't seen anything of interest so far.  Banner slowed when she noticed a packmate up ahead.  Grayscale female.. the name escaped her.  Had she ever learned it?  Damn it, she was so awful with names!  Biting the inside of her cheek, the dark brown female approached carefully and only when she was practically upon her packmate did she noticed how incredibly agitated she was.

Instantly on guard, Banner's hackles rose and she stalked off the well-worn patrol path.  Her bright green eyes were trained on the spot the gray female had indicated as she slowly approached, head down to protect her neck just in case.  Once she'd gotten about fifty yards out, she decreased her pace even more.  A few more steps.. just as a growl left her lips a red fox darted toward her like a bat out of hell.  Son of a..! she exclaimd as she quickly jumped out of the way.  Whipping her head around to look at her packmate, she yelled: Incoming!