"Hey there kiddo." Danny Hebert greeted his son as he walked down the stairs. His brilliant boy, having turned ten a month ago, smiled at him. A small one, no teeth showing, but in his green eyes Danny could see the contentment and love he practically exudes whenever in the presence of family and close ones.
"Good morning, father." Edward Hebert, ever the formal little man he is, greeted him as he stopped on his way to the kitchen where his wife Annette and their younger daughter Taylor were eating breakfast, looking straight at Danny. "Already heading to the Union?"
"Yep." Danny replied, zipping his work bag close and pulling the strap onto one shoulder. "Someone's gotta manage the boys and girls at the docks, and bring this house some more money too."
"Of course, father." His son followed him as he went to grab his coat by the door. "I wish you safe travels."
"Always will." Danny chuckled then mussed up his black hair, laughing a little more at Edward's unimpressed look. Then he gave Danny a hug, much to his surprise, the man receiving a smile at his inquisitive look. "Just for luck."
Edward then ended the hug and went over to the kitchen. Danny shrugged before exiting the house, never noticing the rune glowing on his back before slowly fading away.
"Greetings, mother."
"Hello! How was the test, my little Einstein?" Anette greeted her son when she picked him up from school. Edward looked immaculate as ever, somehow, as he climbed into the back, next to Taylor who eagerly glomped him and finally added more rumples on his polo.
"Hi Ed!"
"Greetings to you as well, Taylor." He said it with a mildly annoyed tone, but his smile took away whatever heat his words had. "And the test went well as usual. A perfect score."
"Yaaay!"
"As usual, hm?" Annette smiled as she drove out of the car park, not surprised anymore at the casual brilliance her son showed. Really, her family was blessed to have a child so incredibly bright as him.
He was a rather quiet baby, rarely crying unless he needed milk or his diaper changed. She and Danny were grateful for that, but it caused them to be mostly unprepared for their more fussy daughter.
In nine months he learned to walk by himself. A month after he said his first words!
"Fada!" Danny dropped the newspaper he was reading, staring at his son who was sitting on the baby chair. Annette paused in her grading of papers, looking up in surprise at Edward who then looked to her and said: "Madar!" The little boy even managed to look smug!
"Oh my god, so adorable." She cooed, but it was nothing compared to Danny's jump out of his chair, fists pumping up and down and screaming "Yes!", hooting and hollering as well.
A few years after that, she remembered that time back in Edward's kindergarten. She and Danny were called to school by the teachers, and there they were told of how much faster their son learned compared to the others, astonishing even. Though he didn't interact much with his classmates, which worried them both for a little while until he started making friends later on during elementary.
"Mother, father, I have made a friend." He said to his parents, presenting his friend to them. Beside him stands a boy his age, dark of skin and seeming a bit nervous judging by his audible gulp, but he rallied admirably and greeted the pair.
"Hey. I'm Edward's friend, Brian Laborn. Nice to meet you."
"Can he come to our house?" Edward then asked.
Years passed, her son never failing to present perfect reports to her and Danny, his circle of friends growing steadily with new additions every now and then. The most notable were his first friend Brian, sharing much of Edward's temperament if not his intelligence. Then Victoria Dallon joined the group with a bang, bringing with her a seemingly endless excitable energy, ever the cheerful one amongst them. Then twins Eric and Erica Stone from one of the upper crust families slowly gravitated towards them, bringing with them their own group of friends that slowly merged together with Edwards. In the end the whole group looked to her son as their sort-of leader, doing many things together and many times having sleep overs in each other's homes.
"...and with a quick and sudden movement I jumped up and over the ball thrown at me. My opponent's eyes went wide, the audience cheered for me and then I hit the floor, and rolled forward. I stood, then grabbed hold of the ball that was in front of me, and quickly threw it at the other boy with only a second to aim."
"Did you get him?!" Her little owl eagerly asked.
"Hmph. He jumped sideways fast, but it was for naught for I had anticipated his next move. My ball hit him right in his belly, and it was all over."
"Woooow!" Taylor said, ever the admirer of her "bestest brother".
Really, Edward's a star athlete now as well? What's next, black belt at martial arts? Heh.
It was in the middle of dinner when Edward, who finished his meal faster than everyone else, went out then back quickly with a folder in hand, a picture of a dojo adorning the front cover.
"Mother, father, I wish to join this dojo. I have done a thorough research on my choice of dojo, and based on the reputation of its practitioners and the safety of the neighbourhood, it is an excellent place for me to learn in safety."
Danny looked at his wife, chuckling as he noticed Annette trying not to spit out her tea at Edward's abrupt request. Taylor was looking at her brother, then looked back at them with a look that practically shouted out her wish to join him.
"Ah well, why not?" He says, expecting his brilliant boy to do very well, as he usually does in everything he had done so far. Besides singing, he and his wife enjoyed a lot of private laughs at Edward's previous attempts at singing better than a monkey at a karaoke. He got better eventually, his resolve strengthening everytime his family and friends ribbed him about it.