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The sun rose majestically over the hills of Edisto, South Carolina. Soft rays of sweet July sunlight shone in through the windows of a quiet, cozy house, the gentle breezes pushing and pulling at the front porch swing. As the morning light illuminated the room and crept over her face, Ari began to stir. She nuzzled her pillow lightly with her cheek, not quite ready to get up. She yawned a bit and smiled, the bed sheets still warm and ruffled from the passionate events of last night. Ari's deep blue eyes opened slightly, her arm reaching out for her mate. She frowned a little and sat up when her paw found nothing but empty mattress.

"Ray?" Ari called, her small coon ears perking up for any hint of a response. After a few minutes of silence, she kicked off the covers and slid out of bed, getting dressed into a smooth, silk nightgown before leaving the bedroom, stretching as she walked. Ari looked into the bathroom, living room, kitchen, and basement, but her husband was nowhere to be found. "Huh," she said softly, her sleek raccoon tail swaying back and forth behind her. "Where did that boy run off to..."

Ari made her way back to the bedroom. As she walked back to the warm embrace of her loving bed, she glanced inside her son's nursery and stopped in her tracks. Smiling sweetly, she spotted her mate sitting in the rocking chair.

"There you a-" Ari stopped when she noticed their little sleeping son in Ray's arms, dropping her voice to a soft whisper. "There you are."

Raymond smiled gently and stood, cautiously placing Alexander, their playful one-year-old, into his crib before turning to his wife.

"Morning, love," Ray purred lightly in that deep, soothing, milk and honey voice of his. "I finally got Alex to go to sleep. He woke me up around five and was hell-bent on staying awake." Ray grinned down at Ari, taking her into his arms as he placed a warm kiss on her forehead. "How'd you sleep?"

Ari giggled a bit and rested her head gently on Ray's chest. "Apparently better than you did," she teased as she tilted her head up to nip at his nose

A smirk flashed across Ray's muzzle and he slowly started to smooth out his mate's tousled hair. "Heh, you looked and sounded like you thouroughly enjoyed yourself last night..."

Ari blushed a deep red, her ears folding back defensively. "S-Shut up! So did you!" she whined as she stomped into the living room.

Ray chuckled a bit and turned Ari around to face him, gathering her gently into his arms. "Well, of course I did, baby, You're wonderful." he whispered lovingly as he pulled her closer. He leaned in to kiss her when his eyes caught sight of a small red dot of light, like that of a sniper rifle, flickering over Ari's chest. "Holy shit..." he said as his defensive senses kicked into high gear.

Ari looked up at him, her head cocked in confusion. "Ray? What's the ma-" her sentence was cut short as Ray shoved her towards the hall, getting her out of the beam of red light that now glimmered on the wall.

"Ari..." Ray said in a low whisper as he crept slowly towards the window, his USP Pistol already in his hand. "Quietly go into the nursery and get Alex..."

Her ears flattened against her head, but she nodded slowly and quickly tiptoed to Alex's room. She opened the door silently to find Alex trying to wrestle his way out of his footy pajamas. Ari scooped up her child and cradled him protectively against her chest. She kissed the top of his head and quietly returned to the living room. Ray was scoping out the window when he caught a glimpse of a shadow disappearing around the corner. He leaped out of the window and landed on the wooden porch, bolting after the stranger. Ari leaned out the doorway to try to see what was happening. Raymond quickly caught up to the figure and jerked it back by its shirt, slamming it against the side of the house, his pistol aimed to kill.

"Now, tell me who the fuck you are before I-" Ray growled and paused, his murderuous glare turning into a look of utter disbelief.

"Whoa, whoa! Chill, man! A guy tries to have a little fun and he almost gets shot in the face!" cried Errol, a snow tiger prankster and a friend to the family. He raised his arms in defense, a small toy laser pointer clutched in his paw. "I've got to remember not to mess with a guy whose passion in life is heavy artillery!"

Ray growled a bit, but punched his friend playfully in the arm. "I gotta admit, man, you really had me going," he said as he chuckled gently. "Right, Ari?" he asked, tilting his head when there was no reply. "Ari?" Ray called again, stepping into the house.

Ari was holding Alexander limply in her arms, her facial expression showing how ticked off she was at the 'prank' Errol had tried to play. "I'm going back to bed," she grumbled, walking into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.