Layla turned her attention toward the camera.
For someone who had admitted only moments ago that this was her first time on a stream, there was remarkably little hesitation in the movement. Her posture remained composed as she inclined her head toward the lens, the gesture small and deliberate rather than theatrical.
"Good afternoon, chat."
Layla bowed respectfully to the camera, her movements as composed as her voice.
The reaction in Zoey's chat was immediate.
CHAT:
WE HAVE BEEN GREETED
everyone bow back RIGHT NOW
I just straightened my posture ?!
good afternoon MY LADY
Zoey remained half-standing behind her chair, one hand curled around the backrest. The restless movement from moments earlier had stopped.
Layla straightened from the bow with the same unhurried grace. The light from Zoey's setup caught in her red eyes, deepening their color for an instant against the stark white of her lashes.
Zoey finally found her voice.
"...okay that was so polite I think my soul just saluted."
Layla remained quietly composed beside her, which did nothing to help Zoey recover.
"Right! So! Chat, this is Layla, as you’ve probably figured out by the general silence and respectful panic in the room. She’s here for our skincare collab today, and she brought an aura of quiet destruction. I mean that in a good way!"
The words came out in the kind of rapid succession that suggested Zoey had started the sentence before deciding where it was going.
Her chat seized on the description immediately.
CHAT:
quiet destruction 💀
zoey stop naming your fear
she’s just standing there and you’re unravelling
Zoey redirected both hands toward the table with enough enthusiasm to make the neatly arranged products look like the safest possible subject available to her.
"We have everything set up. Toner, serums, scary glass things...it’s gonna be great, it’s fine, everything is fine."
The arrangement had survived all of Zoey's earlier adjustments. Toner, serums, and the assortment of carefully positioned containers still sat where she'd left them, ready for the collaboration even if their host was having considerably more trouble looking prepared.
Layla's attention moved to the products arranged across the table. Unlike Zoey, who had spent so much time fussing over their placement before her arrival, she approached the setup without ceremony.
"Should we do the presentation first? Or while we apply the product?"
The question came easily, in the same level voice she'd used to greet the stream. She was already seated comfortably within the frame now, the black of her dress standing out against the brighter setup around her. Even here, surrounded by Zoey's equipment and the clutter of an active stream, her composed appearance remained remarkably intact.
Zoey's chat was quick to react.
CHAT:
SHE’S EFFICIENT
immediate business mode
even her voice sounds like packaging design
Beside her, Zoey jolted at the sound of Layla's voice. Her hands, which had been hovering uselessly near the edge of the table, came down against it. She blinked rapidly, looked over the products, then back at Layla.
"Right! Y-yeah...um, we could. like, do a little intro while applying? Like... skincare and context? Multi-tasking?"
The last word rose uncertainly from the rest of the sentence.
Zoey turned toward Layla and waited, watching her face for an answer. Layla's expression offered little assistance. She sat with her attention on Zoey, listening with the same quiet composure she'd carried into the room.
The messages beside the stream continued to multiply.
CHAT:
this look like a hostage negotiation now
layla about to drop INCI lists like poetry
zoey is one serum bottle away from fainting
Zoey glanced toward her monitor, caught enough of the conversation to know where it was going, and promptly busied herself with the products.
The cleanser was closest.
She grabbed it from the table and brought it up in front of her, turning the container until its front faced the camera. Under the bright light, there was very little mystery about what she was holding. Zoey nevertheless examined it with the concentration of someone hoping the packaging might provide a better opening line if she stared at it long enough.
"Okay! So...we have this thing it's ahem...blue ?"
CHAT
blue ?😭
Layla blink twice if you need to escape
Gremlin zoey never used products
"YES I DID ! ITS... it's just not my usual brand that's why didn't recognized the products..."
The defense came quickly. She lowered the cleanser a little, then straightened in her chair and lifted her chin, gathering what dignity was still available after introducing a skincare product by its color.
Layla waited beside her while the messages continued scrolling across Zoey's monitor.
Zoey cleared her throat.
"Ahem L-layla, for exemple what brand you use daily ?
She turned the question toward Layla with considerably more confidence than she'd shown the cleanser.
CHAT
she try to steal her secret!
Forget it zoey, you can't afford it
If there wasn't the brand name on it, she surely would have tried to drink it
Zoey still had the cleanser in her hand when Layla looked toward her.
For all the buildup surrounding the collaboration, the carefully arranged products covering the table, and the audience waiting for some piece of a model's skincare routine, Layla didn't need long to answer.
"...soap. the white one."
Zoey stared at her, mouth hanging open and eyebrows raised, the cleanser still held uselessly in front of her.