A/N: This is a sequel to Chapter 7 Twoset Manga-ka
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Cartoonist and illustrator Brett and his assistant Eddy have been in Brett's studio working through the night to meet a deadline with Brett's editor. They managed to submit the work on time and were having a well-earned break. Eddy was already lying on the couch in the corner of Brett's studio with his eyes closed, ready to dose off for a nap.
"...Hey Eddy."
"...Yes Brett?"
"Do you ever see things on people that aren't really there?"
Eddy opened his heavy eyes to look at Brett who was still sitting at his desk.
"What do you mean Brett?"
"Y'know... things like auras or horns or flowers or ...whatever."
"Hmm.. what an interesting thought."
"So.. do you ?"
"I must say I never viewed people that way... do you, Brett? Maybe that's what makes you such an interesting artist ..."
Brett smiled.
"Well, I'm not sure about that.. I suppose I do have a vivid imagination..."
"So Brett, please tell me, what do you see?"
Brett bit his lip in hesitation before he spoke softly.
"Well, for example, I sometimes see wings on people."
Eddy smiled.
"What kind?"
"Um... most have feathers, in different shapes, sizes and colours depending on the person."
"Wow, that's fascinating... so.. what do I have ?"
Brett gazed at Eddy with tired eyes, then chuckled.
"You, Eddy would have..... bat wings!! Little black wings that flap about when you're moving around and once you stop, they flutter a bit and would then fold themselves behind your shoulder blades."
Eddy scoffed.
"Oh my god that's so mean!!!"
Brett kept giggling.
"I'll draw what I see on you, Eddy."
It must have been the sleep deprivation and exhaustion that caused Brett to be in a weird giddy mood. He would often get into these playful drawing moods after a deadline. Eddy liked these moments though as Brett would often produce something stunning.
Brett reached over to grab the sketchbook he reserved for pieces not related to work, his "free creations" sketchbook. He then grabbed a pencil.
Very swiftly with a well-practised hand, Brett roughly outlined a figure of a body in the centre of the paper, then started from the head to draw in a neater outline of a male face with a strong jawline. He very quickly glanced at Eddy's face then proceeded to draw the outline of the tuff of hair, followed by slender yet strong shoulders and arms. He paused, then quickly drew a collar of an opened neck shirt.
"Better keep it PG, I'll give you a shirt."
Eddy laughed. He slowly got up and was now sitting upright on the sofa, resting his head on the backrest so that he could see what Brett was doing.
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness. So long as it's not complete frontal nudity I don't mind."
"Oops."
"What."
"I just realised I can't draw you from this angle."
"Why not?"
"Your bat wings are so small, you can't see 'em from a front angle."
Eddy scoffed.
"You seriously think I have bat wings!?"
Brett grinned.
"You seriously think I think you have bat wings?"
Eddy raised an eyebrow.
"What? I didn't get what you just said..."
The next moment, Brett started drawing a large arc out from the back of the man he was sketching.
"Oh my god they're huge. Those aren't bat wings.... They look more like something on a devil!!!"
Brett chuckled.
"Eddy, you ain't no devil."
Eddy watched as Brett filled in the details. Multiple curved lines were added to what was initially a plain arc drawn as the outline for the wings. Within a few minutes, Brett had drawn in some of the details of individual feathers which were a part of a perfectly symmetrical and beautiful pair of feathered wings with the largest possible wing-span that could fit in the width of his sketchbook.
"Oh my god Brett, I was wondering why you started off drawing me so small in the centre... those massive wings.. that is ..just..wow."
Brett kept his eyes on his drawing as he responded shyly.
"I... think your feathers would be white.."
Eddy was in awe.
"..Brett, that looks stunning.."
"...You know what Eddy, I think I might scan this in and finish it digitally... try some cool effects when I colour it. Maybe make your wings silver.."
"I can't wait to see it completed... but just watching it being sketched was already incredible.. thank you, Brett."
"Um.. you're welcome, I guess. It was you that inspired me."
Eddy had been a fan of Brett's manga for quite some time. Eddy was a paid member of the website where Brett showcased his monetised work and it was his fanmail to Brett was brought them together to meet up. When Brett learned that Eddy used to be an art student, Brett had offered Eddy a job to work as his assistant which gave Eddy an opportunity to learn the art of drawing manga. They had a friendly and professional relationship. Eddy was always in awe of Brett's skilful and beautiful work and Eddy somehow seemed to inspire Brett with a lot of illustration ideas. It appeared like a win-win arrangement.
"So... Brett, what kind of wings would YOU have?"
"Me?"
Brett looked up, appearing to be genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, you."
"Um... I dunno. I never thought of myself as a wing-bearer."
"I think... you'd have wings similar to these... but if mine are white, I'd say yours would be black by contrast. Maybe with a similar wingspan to mine but with larger.. stronger looking feathers?"
"Hmm... I like that. Oh, so what if yours were silver? What colour should mine be?"
"...How about gold?"
"Hmm.. maybe I'll make mine silver and yours gold... it would match the colour tones of our hair better that way."
Brett had pitch-black hair and Eddy's hair colour was somewhat naturally lighter and he would often colour it with lighter shades or streaks.
"Yeah.. yours silver and mine gold... nice.. it'll go well with the highlights in my hair... maybe even put brighter highlights than my usual ones.. more gold...."
"Yeah... sounds good..."
Eddy couldn't remember when but he must have fallen asleep shortly afterwards.
When he woke up, Brett was asleep on the other couch. Brett's PC was humming away, it had not been shut down yet. Eddy pushed himself off the couch and staggered towards Brett's desk and tapped the spacebar on the keyboard. The PC gave a buzz and the monitor flicked on to show a digital illustration of what looked like himself and Brett, his golden wings spread wide taking up almost the entire screen while Brett stood in front of him at an angle facing him, his dark silver wings also spread out in the front of the page. Brett had put in a lot of thought in utilising their height differences and positioning so that the proportions of how much the bright gold filled up the background and the dark silver in the front was perfect. Eddy's hair with additional golden streaks to complement his golden wings were perfect. Brett's sleek black hair shining the same way his dark silver wings did was perfect.
Oh my god... just how does he do this so well ??
Eddy was in such awe, he only then noticed that Brett had omitted drawing any clothing, the shirt collar drawn in the earlier stages of Brett's sketch was gone and instead, any crucial "bits" or "parts" were cleverly hidden with Brett's dark silver wings.
Eddy grinned.
Oh my god... what a tease. He's so good.