@tacitbetrayal // x
Seifer saw it unfold, off and on turning his attention away from Luche and the other Squad Captains but when he finally looked over towards the explosion of laughter, that's when he saw it -- a few of the new recruits had thought it was funny to mock Axis.
Apparently, they thought because he was mute, it meant he was deaf too. Up they went, this new recruit had his hands rigid and twisting, spouting nonsense among his friends.
Right in front of Arra. Right in front of everyone. And they laughed. They laughed at this genuinely kind-hearted Glaive who caught on too late that he was the butt of some cruel, cruel joke.
Hell, Seifer didn't blame him for running. The clipboard in his hands was slammed down, his voice deafening the commons area--
"THIRTY LAPS-- NOW!!" He shot a glance back to Luche -- he would make sure it would get done but oh, Seifer was just getting started with them.
But first, he needed to help his friend and right now Axis was really hurting. So he went after the shorter Glaive, found him tucked away out of sight, out of mind. It was no surprise that Seifer's comment didn't help.
But reading the way Axis spoke of himself -- the way he looked so broken and torn apart. Gods, it hurt.
"You're not--Axis, you're not worthless!” He crouched down, forcing Axis to sit. “You know better than to listen to a bunch of fuckin'--" He tugs down a hand, trying to sign as he speaks, "Axis -- man, I can't talk to you if you don't see me."
He grabs both of his hands, long enough to sign. 'I'm not going anywhere but don’t you ever let me catch you saying that about yourself.'