Summary: It was just part of the family tradition. An unintended prequel to "Silence".

Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. That belongs to Camelot. This is for entertainment purposes only; I am making no money off of this.

Scarves

Traditions: Part One

Isaac was always amazed at how quickly Matthew had grown up. He could still remember the day that he was born, tiny and sleeping after being brought into the world. He could see the smile, fatigued but bright, upon Jenna's face, as she held the new life in her arms. He knew that his own smile had matched hers as he leaned over to gently kiss their newborn son, welcoming him into their world. Isaac had been so wondrously happy that he had prayed for the dream to never end.

But end it did.

Shortly after Matthew was born, the psynergy of the world began shifting and acting strangely. His own felt different in his hand. It was still Venus psynergy, but… It was like it was still Venus, but stronger. Much stronger, and of a different color. Isaac could never describe exactly what felt different, only that Jenna described a similar feeling, but to a much lesser extent.

The vortexes appeared shorter thereafter. First, there was a small one, about the size of his fist, hovering in the air near Mt. Aleph. A tenacious adventurer from Vault found and reported it to the authorities, who passed it on to Isaac. They learned that it sucked up the available psynergy and life force from those that ventured too close to it, but nothing that they attempted, psynergetically or physically, could destroy it. Isaac deemed it too dangerous to test further, so they restricted the area and abandoned it. The vortex was an anomaly, but a one-time one.

However, another vortex was found shortly after Matthew's tenth birthday. This one was slightly larger. Again, nothing could be concluded except that it was once-again dangerous and to avoid it.

By the time Matthew had turned fourteen, vortexes had been appearing every several months. Isaac had a long talk with Jenna the night after about the necessity of studying the vortexes. Jenna was not fond of the idea, especially since Isaac had voiced taking Matthew with him. Jenna wanted her son to stay away from the danger, to stay with her in Kalay. Lately, with the appearance of new city-powers, larger conflicts were occuring, but she felt that it was still safer than near the vortexes. In the end, Isaac won her over by saying that Matthew needed to know the kind of world that he would be entering into, once he was old enough. Besides, they wouldn't be alone. Garet had volunteered himself and Tyrell to go to the cabin. Jenna had been more willing to consent to Matthew leaving at that point, and she even more surprisingly consented to remain in Kalay, to keep watch over the political state of the world while he was locked up in the cabin doing research.

The ease with which Jenna agreed surprised Isaac the most. However, Isaac felt that she was hoping to find Felix, who had disappeared shortly after returning to Vale, if she stayed put in Kalay. Kalay was a central town where many people passed through, and she probably felt that her chances of finding him increased if she stayed in such a city. In his turn, Isaac was reluctant to leave her by herself, but Jenna reminded him that she would not be left without anyone. Ivan was in Kalay, living with Master Hammet and Lady Layana. She would go there if she needed anything.

The all-male quartet in the look-out cabin did not do research the entire time. They still left the cabin occasionally to replenish supplies, and he and Garet returned to Kalay for holidays as many times as possible. It was during one of these return trips that Jenna (after sending Matthew to bed) voiced what was really on her mind.

"There's going to be another quest, isn't there, Isaac?"

Isaac started in surprise, nearly dropping the soarwing diagram that Ivan had left for him to review. "What makes you say that, dear?"

Jenna huffed. "Those psynergy vortexes of yours are appearing with greater frequency lately. I know as well as you do that, if trouble brews because of those things, the ones who will be doing something about it are us."

Isaac laughed lightly as he returned to looking at the diagram. "That's not necessarily the case. Have you looked at our brave Matthew and Tyrell lately? We may be sending them out shortly instead of us."

"Matthew and Tyrell? Those two can't walk two steps without getting into some sort of trouble! You'd expect to send my babies out there instead?" Jenna put her hands on his hips as she pursed her lips [1].

"Er, that is a hypothetical situation," Isaac murmured in rectification, patting the air in front of him as Jenna advanced. When she took a step back, Isaac inhaled a quick breath of relief and placed the diagram upon the table. He decided to risk the dangerous waters, saying, "However, those boys are growing up faster than we'd like to admit. If something does occur because of these vortexes, we might not be able to handle it ourselves." He continued, "Besides, if they did go, Matthew and Tyrell wouldn't be alone. Have you seen Karis? And Noel and Rief, Mia's kids? I know we saw them a couple of years back—the last time we saw Kraden—but Rief was about the same age Matthew, Tyrell, and Karis, and Noel a year and a half older than him. All of our kids will be grown up before we know it, and when that happens, we may be enlisting their aid to fix this mess. Shouldn't they at least know what's going on before it happens?"

Jenna sighed. "All right. I am forced to admit that that makes sense." She paused for a second, then said, "But am I just supposed to send my baby out into the world with only a prayer of 'Come back safely,' if that day comes? I don't want to just be sitting here, waiting for him to come home. I want to be out fighting, too, preferably protecting my baby! Until that day comes, though, you're in the look-out cabin, and I'm just… sitting here, watching the world for you. I don't even know what it is I'm looking for!"

"It's an important duty, Jen—"

"Isn't there something else I can do for you guys in the meantime?!" Jenna exclaimed.

"Make him a scarf."

Jenna stared at Isaac. "Wait, what? 'Make him a scarf'?" she reiterated.

"That is what I said." Isaac rose from the table and walked over to her.

"Why do you want me to make Matthew a scarf?" Jenna asked. "Are you talking about a scarf like the one you wore on our adventure?"

Isaac nodded. "Yes. It's…" he paused, before finishing, "it's a tradition in my family, one that I would like for us to continue with Matthew, if the time comes."

"And this tradition involves a scarf?"

"Yes. If the son leaves on a journey, his father gives him his sword, one that has been passed down along all of the sons in the line. I took that sword with me when our quest began. And his mother—"

"Makes him a scarf," Jenna finished.

"Yep," Isaac replied with a grin. "She makes him a scarf. A bright yellow one."

"And why a yellow scarf?"

Isaac shrugged. "I don't know. I asked Mom about it a long time ago, but she didn't know either. It was either the color that complimented the first son at the time, or it was symbolic of the sun, or something. Maybe for protection from Sol?"

"I'd say that it was for his mother, so that she would know it was her son the moment he appeared over the distant hill. She would know it was him by the bright color," Jenna replied.

Isaac smiled gently as he pulled Jenna into a hug. "That could be it, too."

Jenna sighed as she wrapped her arms around her husband. "I'm just worried about my baby," she murmured.

"I know."

"And about you."

Isaac rested his forehead against hers. "And I about you."

Jenna smiled softly, hugging Isaac tightly. Then she sighed quietly. "All right, I'll make the scarf," she whispered, "but I'm making it so that he won't need it."

"We'll both make the same wish," Isaac whispered back.

Isaac smiled softly at the memory. Right after that, Jenna had set to work on making Matthew's scarf. She even made it the exact same shade that his had been. It reminded Isaac of seeing his mother making his scarf. She had made it solely for tradition's sake, right after he had turned sixteen and had begun studying Alchemy with Kraden. She had even blamed his need to leave on her completion of it.

If Jenna had not finished the scarf two months ago, Isaac would have questioned the superstition behind the tradition. Yet, there Isaac was, holding the newly-finished scarf that Jenna had given to him before they left Kalay. The scarf that Isaac was about to give to Matthew, who would be leading his friends to find the Roc feather.

It was an eerie coincidence, to say the least.

Isaac sighed. It could not be helped. Matthew had to leave, and he intended to fulfill the tradition by giving Matthew his scarf and his sword. Rising from the chest at the foot of his bed, he headed downstairs to where Garet was speaking to the three kids before their mission debriefing.

No, they weren't kids. It had taken a trip through the Tanglewood, but he finally realized that their children had grown up. They were adults now, he reminded himself, even if they would always be children in his eyes.

He descended the stairs slowly. Garet was still chewing Tyrell out for the broken soarwing, but he stopped when Isaac entered. Isaac shook his head, meaning to ignore himself for the moment, and he instead called Matthew over.

"Yes, Dad?" Matthew asked. He had a slightly hesitant look on his face, as though he was concerned that he was about to be scolded as well.

Isaac shook his head reassuringly. "Relax, Matthew. I'm not here to scold you," he said. "I have something for you, actually, before you leave on your quest. It's from your mother."

"From Mom?" Matthew echoed curiously.

Isaac nodded as he pulled the yellow scarf into view.

"That looks like your old scarf, Dad."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?" Isaac chuckled. "It's meant to look like mine. It's a tradition in our family, before the son leaves on a journey. His mother makes him a yellow scarf, weaving her wish for his well-being and his safe return into the threads." He tied it on Matthew the way he had worn his.

Matthew's cheeks reddened a little, but Isaac could see that he was merely trying to hide his happiness behind embarrassment, the way teenage boys do. Besides, Isaac knew that Matthew missed his mother, and the scarf was a reminder that he wouldn't be seeing her again for a long while. He was simply trying to control his emotion.

"Thanks, Dad," Matthew murmured, as he touched the soft, yellow threads. He closed his eyes for a moment. "It's warm…"

"That will definitely keep you warm when you're in cold areas. I know that I was grateful for mine then." Isaac smiled softly. He could feel the impending departure in the air, and it made him miss Matthew already, even though he hadn't left yet.

"Isaac," Garet called. Isaac looked over, and Garet continued apologetically, "I'm sorry, but we need to start debriefing the kids. We want them to get an early start, so they can't stay up too late tonight."

"You're right, Garet," Isaac said with a nod. Turning back to Matthew, he continued, "Matthew, come by my room later. I have something for you, as well. It's… what the father passes on to his son, all right?"

Matthew nodded, his eyes shining. He tried to appear confident when Isaac could tell that he was nervous. He reached over a ruffled Matthew's hair, grinning as his son released a sudden, "Hey!" for his efforts. But at least he relaxed afterward.

As Matthew left to stand with Tyrell and Karis, Isaac was struck by how much his son looked him when he was his age. He chuckled to himself, feeling for a moment like the Healers that explained the quest to Garet and him.

As he opened his mouth to speak, he had only one thought in his mind: It was time to for Matthew's quest to begin.

But it would begin after Isaac fulfilled his part of the tradition.

A/N: And that's the prequel! I had jotted this idea down in one of my brainstorming notebooks a long while back with the intention of writing it, but I had completely forgotten about it until I was on DeviantART last night and read some of Sora G. Silverwind's Golden Sun comics. They're hilarious. One of them is about Isaac giving Matthew his old scarf, literally (what reminded me of this prompt). If you haven't read her comics, go read them!

Anyway, this is my take on the scarves. It's an unintended prequel to my other story, "Silence". If you haven't read it, please check it out and share your thoughts about it. The part about Isaac passing on his sword will make more sense if you do, but you don't have to read it necessarily to understand this story.

[1] Since you never meet the mothers of the GSDD generation, I wondered who was Tyrell's mother (and Karis's, for that matter). I can't remember if it is mentioned in the game, but I don't think so. I wondered if maybe Tyrell's mother had died prior to the game or in childbirth, another reason for Garet and Tyrell being in the look-out cabin with Isaac and Matthew. In which case, perhaps Jenna was a surrogate mother for Tyrell, another reason for why Matthew and Tyrell are so close. Unless someone corrects me, I'll probably pursue this idea for Tyrell's piece in my "Lineage" collection.

Thank you for reading, and please share your thoughts!