Fond glance at her companion. "I'll concede that the two people prettier than me are at this table, I suppose."

"Oh ho." She grins. "I had wondered what could have induced you to vanish so abruptly."

"A pretty girl needed my help with a lucrative gig. Who was I to say no?"

"That could never be you, obviously."

Smile. "And there might be rewards to share," she says in a low, teasing murmur. 

"What kind of score have you got your eyes on?"

"One I'd rather not share in public." Wink.

"Big, then."

"Very."

"How about I buy you a drink, then, and we can kill some time before slipping off."

"If you're not in a rush."

"I always have time for you." She stands to go fetch some more drinks from the bar.

She watches her friend go. 

And there's a scrape of a shoe behind her, barely audible over the hum of the tavern - normal motion perhaps - a tiny sound like a knife scraping over a cleaning cloth - 

Lilou twists - but her hands are already sparking with magicka before she confirms there’s a threat, a dagger in her hands ‐ 

And lightning jumps from her fingers at the woman trying to subtly knife her in the back. 

There's some startled screams from the patrons - and a loud curse from the woman as the lightning hits her before she can summon the very distinctive Mythic Dawn armor around her - a second assailant, a man, follows suit, a bound mace appearing in his hands as he tries to close with the fucking mage apparently. 

Berengere is out of her chair by the time it appears, ducking low inside his guard and taking him in the solar plexus with her shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

Lilou's pretty sure the woman's a mage - by that hand motion a summoner - 

She barrels into the woman, still leading with her lightning bolts even as minor as they are, before the woman can keep casting. 

Lilou, it turns out, is even better than the woman with a knife, even if she's having to do some fancy footwork to avoid getting hit by what she's pretty sure is a poisoned blade. 

The man rolls with the blow - tries to strike Bérengère again - 

She is a Blade, and her body is a blade, and she wields it expertly. She allows her opponent no time to get his feet under him- aiming for a nonlethal takedown, if possible.

Lilou isn't as good a fighter as her - isn't as fast at her own takedown - but she's going for the same thing, and she's skilled enough to get it. 

Both their opponents end up pinned on the floor, though Lilou's passes out. 

She sends hers quickly into unconsciousness, then checks how Lilou's doing.

She's doing okay - taking deep breaths and healing herself, but her magicka isn't particularly low or anything. 

Good.

The guards should be arriving pretty soon, given that this is the Temple District.

They in fact do, not long after the fight ends - before the patrons can really recover. 

And they would like an explanation, and for the troublemakers to come with them.