Elias strums quietly, the guitar heavy where it's leaning against him. He plucks slow, then faster, before plucking out a more familiar tempo. It's holiday adjunct, he thinks. Not quite a Christmas song, but something festive enough that it makes him think of it. He pauses for a moment, listens to the quiet tones of bells around him, and begins to implement the rhythm into his strumming. He gets so lost into it, he doesn't notice movement around him, his body slowly moving in time with the music until he reaches the end of the song, resting his hands quietly on the base of the guitar and leaning back to breathe, the music slowly fading from his ears.
He blinks, looks up and twitches violently when he sees Jeff Hardy sitting across +`from him, a smirk spreading across his face. "I didn't hear you come up," he says, setting his guitar aside.
Jeff shrugs, then nods at the guitar. "That was nice. You think that up on the fly?"
"Yeah," Elias says, tapping his fingers against the tuning pegs. "Do that with most of my music, to be honest. I rarely write anything down. It's all just... impulse, I guess. It usually works out, people generally like it."
"That's impressive," Jeff says. "It feels like most artists just stick to a script lyrically, musically. I've tried different things, but it doesn't always work out. That you can do it successfully is pretty awesome."
Elias chuckles. "I guess," he says. "I'm so used to doing it that way that it just feels normal for me by now."
Jeff hums. "Wanna play that again?" he wonders. "Can you do that?"
Elias stares at him for a moment, picking up the guitar and strumming lazily for a bit before he finds the thread again, working through the rhythm until he finds what he's looking for, following the sequence of bells once more to hit that quasi-festive tune he'd plucked out earlier. They sit quietly as he plays through it, Jeff slowly bobbing his head in time with the music.
"This is nice," he says after awhile, Elias' music slowly drifting away into quiet echoes that ease into silence the longer they sit there.
"I'm glad you think so," Elias says, setting his guitar aside again. "I feel like it's been forever since I had someone who actually cared to listen. Wrestling crowds, I can't keep their focus for long. Something shifted after COVID. I don't even know."
Jeff watches him for a few moments, then says, "Well, listen, if you ever just want someone to listen, come find me. I'm intrigued by your process. And the music is pretty good too."
Elias looks surprised, then smiles at him. "I may take you up on that some day."
Jeff inclines his head, then moves to stand. "Merry Christmas, Elias."
Elias hums. "Merry Christmas, Jeff."