Petalfall

The sun rose, as it always did, and Petalfall stretched to greet the day. She exited her den, and noticed her midnight patrol was yet to return. Hopefully they were just running late, she would have to have a word with them about punctuality. The risk was always there that this could be worse, however. The mirror knew how quickly territories could change hands, how quickly leaders could fall. How fast a normal morning could turn into a nightmare. She held her territory with a firm grasp and sharp claws. She took no chances. All it took was one mistake, one instance of misplaced trust and everything you know could fall apart. Her patrol wasn't back yet, was this the beginning of the end? Should she sound the alarms? What if all was already lost?
“Petalfall.” a low voice startled her from her thoughts.
“What??” she snarled, turning to get in the face of the guardian next to her.
“Relax.” Goldbane said, leaning down to look her in the eyes. “I can see you're lost in anxious thoughts again. Breathe.” Petalfall took a deep breath. Her mate knew her well.
“The patrol is late. Something must have happened…” she muttered.
As if on cue, a brightly colored guardian and a deep purple and black spiral entered the clearing.
“And there they are. Everything is fine.” Goldbane reassured her. "Its not going to happen again." Petalfall didn't reply, she began to approach the pair already beginning her lecture.