Aang talked the Peacekeepers into letting us say goodbye together.
There were tears, but they were quiet tears. No one cried.
Those of us in District 12, we learned how not to cry.
I remember the creak of Bumi's leather jacket - he refused to dress up for the Reaping - as he hugged me. He'd washed as best he could, yet traces of grime from the mines lingered in the crevices of his nails and ears.
" Don't grip the bow," he reminded me, voice hoarse. "Just draw and let it fly."
"I will."
He cupped my cheek, rough calluses on his hands.
Kya squeezed me like a boa constrictor I'd once seen in tired faded video. She smelled of aloe; she must have been mixing a batch of salves before the Reaping.
"Sweetheart…" was all she could say. Her fingers shook as she drew my braid over my shoulder, the braid she'd plaited this morning. I'd refused a ribbon then, choosing a strip of leather instead. Kya undid one of her own braids; she took the blue ribbon from it and tied around the end of mine.
Katara rested my head against her shoulder.
"Su -"
"We'll take care of her, I promise," she whispered. "And Toph too."
"Thank you," I whispered back. "I'll - I'll watch out for Tenzin. I will - try -"
"I know you will," she said. I watched her throat, watched her swallow a sob. "I love you, Lin."
I hugged her tighter in reply. I hoped she heard the words I didn't know how to say.
When Aang held me, I allowed a few tears to soak into his shirt. It smelled of chalk, had a streak of it on the underside of one arm. My earliest memory was of that scent, of curling up against him as he helped me sound out words.
"Whatever happens - whatever happens, Lin - I want you to remember this: you are an incredibly good person and we love you." He rubbed my back until I nodded and stepped back. If I hadn't, I would have broken down completely and Su was waiting.
My sister didn't ask why I had volunteered.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around my neck and clung to me for ten minutes that passed like ten seconds.
"It's time," announced a Peacekeeper, opening the door.
"One more minute," demanded Katara, her hand clenched on Tenzin's arm. The door closed again.
"Su, listen to me." I unwrapped her arms from my neck. I framed her face with my hands. "Katara and Aang are going to take care of you. I want you to be good for them okay?"
"Okay."
"What I did, don't you ever blame yourself. You're my sister and I want you to grow up just as strong and beautiful and smart as I know you can be." I straightened the collar of her dress. "I - I - I -"
My throat locked.
"Love me?" Su gripped my hands. "I love you too."
I kissed her forehead before starting to pull away.
"Wait." Fumbling a bit, she undid the clasp of the brooch pinned above her heart.
"No, Su, I gave that to you," I protested as she offered it to me.
"Please, Lin…for luck."
It was an old thing, a trinket I'd seen in the market shed. I'd traded a rabbit for it, pinned it on Su's dress this morning, telling her not to be scared, that her name was only in once, that they wouldn't pick her.
A mockingjay in a circle. Not gold, but painted to look like gold.
Su placed it in my palm. She closed my fingers around it.
"For luck," she repeated, words quivering while tears slipped from her eyes. I wiped them away.
"For luck."
"Time to go!" called the Peacekeeper. I hadn't even registered the door opening. There were more than one this round. I didn't need to be told I could either walk out of the room right now or be dragged out.
I chose to walk.
I gave Su a final one-armed hug and a final kiss on her hair, and I walked out with my head held high.
Behind me, I heard Tenzin murmur "Goodbye," heard the stutter of footsteps - whose I didn't know - as someone instinctively tried to follow. Someone else must have pulled them back.
The door didn't bang shut.
It just closed. Quietly.
The Peacekeepers formed a square around us.
They marched us out the rear of the Justice Building.
Robin's egg blue. Blue so clear and striking you almost disbelieved your eyes.
"It's a lovely day," Tenzin said. He was looking up too.
"Yeah. It is."
When I lowered my head, I saw the train, Twelve's escort Joo Dee - and my mother.