Chapter Twenty-One: Sometimes

"I'll be gone for three days," Danny says, rushing around the dorm room. She grabs a red t-shirt and throws in into her small backpack. "Sorry guys, family emergency."

"Again?" Qrow asks sarcastically.

Danny ignores him and ducks under her bed to grab something.

"Why don't we come with you?" James offers.

Danny pauses in stuffing the item in her bag. She turns and gives an apologetic smile to the brunet. "Sorry, but I need to get there fast. I don't have time to take you guys with me."

"We're here to help," Abigail speaks up, watching from her bed. She points a glare towards the angry looking Qrow leaning against the wall. "All of us. Just tell us what we can do."

Danny stands up, swinging her backpack onto her shoulders. She scoops up her basket, and turns to face her team. Her smile is sad. "Hearing you say that is enough."

She opens the door and turns to face her team. She smiles - about to say goodbye – and then her gaze lands on Qrow. Her grip on the doorknob tightens, and she glares. "Don't follow me again."

Slam!

Abigail and James turn from the closed door to their broody teammate. Qrow looks accusingly between the two. "What? You don't think it's a little suspicious when she leaves so suddenly because of family emergencies?"

James frowns. "It does, but I will not resort to stalking her in order to find out where she goes."

"Oh, and searching for her file is any better?"

"You and Ozpin agreed to it. And we aren't going for her file alone."

"Have either of you even asked her?" Abigail breaks in.

The boys turn to their normally quiet teammate, and are taken aback at the anger on her face. It makes her feline-like features stand out.

"You haven't, have you?" Abigail asks in disgust. "She's our team leader, and you're talking about Danny like she is some sort of spy."

"We can't rule anything out," Qrow sneers.

"What have you learned, Abby?" James asks, giving Qrow a hard glare. His look softens when he turns to the Faunus. "We just want to make sure Danny wants to be here at Beacon. It seems like she would rather focus her time solving problems at home."

Abigail looks at the two, aghast. "Of course she wants to be at Beacon. She never would have stayed three months if she didn't want to."

"Well, it doesn't seem like she wants to be here," Qrow snipes.

"My goodness, Qrow," Abigail sighs, angry. "You're supposed to be her partner, so start acting like it!"

"Abby," James breaks in calmly, "where does Danny go when there's an emergency."

"Home!" Abigail cries. "If either of you ever bothered to ask, you would know she goes home at least once every month to check on everyone."

"Who's everyone?" Qrow asks.

"Her brother," Abigail sneers at him, "Alice, Dolly, Crimson, Mal, Seraph, those that seek help."

"So what?" Qrow scoffs. "She runs a refugee or something? Why can't those people take care of things while she's here?"

"She's the only legal adult," Abigail says. She shakes her head. The realization hurts, and fuels her anger. "Oh my- you really don't get it. You never asked. Danny owns some small house, hours away from Vale. She's the only living adult from a massacred nomad. She teaches people on how to use their semblance."

"How does that work?" James asks. "She can't use her semblance."

Abigail shakes her head. "Not without a lot of effort. Her nomad helped people control their semblances. She's the only one who knows how to help, so she does. When she goes on family emergencies, she's starting someone on some exercises or dealing with hunters in the area." Abigail droops, defeated. "I haven't even had the nerve to call my family."

"Abby," James says slowly, sharing a look with Qrow. "What do you mean she deals with hunters?"

Abigail is silent for a minute. "Danny won't come out and say it, but I think they are semblance hunters."

"What?" Qrow roars.

Abigail blanches and stares at him wide eyed. "Why else would she go out there so often? She told me a friend of hers, Alice, was bought off the market. And… she won't say it… but I think she kills the hunters."

"Why would you think that?" James says calmly, contrasting the seething Qrow.

"She says she doesn't," Abigail mutters miserably, "but she has this weird look on when I ask. And she makes sure to say that the hunters will never bother her family again."

"S***," Qrow seethes. "S***. F***. We just let her walk out of here, and there could be semblance hunters waiting for her."

"She's done this before, Qrow," James keeps his calm tone on. "We didn't know."

"Cause you didn't ask," Abigail mutters lowly, so they don't hear.

"What was that?" Qrow snaps at her.

"Don't get riled up," Abigail says quietly. "You're acting like you care."

"I don't care about her," Qrow snaps. "I care that semblance hunters are actually real."

"What?" Abigail unimpressed with him. "Did you think they were a myth?"

"Yes," James speaks up. "And until I see one for my own eyes, they will continue to be. Semblance hunters are a myth created from the war times to scare children into hiding their abilities so they won't get shipped off to the battlefield."

Abigail looks sadly at him. "Then I hope you never see one of them. I have, because they go after the weak and the helpless, the poor and the oppressed. They look for children without homes, and adults with no one to report them missing. The only reason I haven't been taken is because of my father."

"S***," Qrow mutters again. He gets off the wall and collapses on his bed. "Our team leader is off battling the boogeyman."

"You see why I get so worried when she leaves?" Abigail asks. The Faunus gets off her bed and walks to the door. "And it would do the both of you better to get to know your teammates instead of searching through our files."

"You won't tell, will you?" James asks.

Abigail gives him a hard look. "No, but I expect you to come to me if you want to learn about me."

The door slams on her way out.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reviewing, Praetorianwarrior. There are still a few more chapters until the next fluff-ish one. Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!