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Iro was nothing if not easy to find. She'd gone to school today, after having been thoroughly scolded for cutting just the week before, and after a mentally taxing day of learning, she was right back where she always was - lounging in her seat at a table outside the local pub.

School days made her feel at once exhausted and overly energetic, with no physical activity to speak of, and she was eagerly awaiting some kind of excitement to come her way.

It always did down in these parts. It was just a matter of when and where.

She'd been eyeing the boy for a little bit as he came walking down the street, trying to place the gorgeous myriad of traits she could see on him, quietly noting the purpose with which he strode down the street. Iro could admire anyone with such focus.

It was a mild surprise when he came walking up, and a small smile crossed her face when she cause sight of the little bat on his shoulder. Curioser and curioser. She'd just quirked her eyebrow at him in greeting when he mentioned Elron, and then... oof. Whatever interest she'd felt started to seep away.

Elron was one of the neighborhood boys who was known for running his mouth, picking on smaller children, and generally being a horrid brat. Anyone looking for Elron was probably bad news. It was a shame, Iro thought. She could've lost herself in those lovely eyes for a bit.

"Ah. Elron. Well, you'll find him down that-a-ways," she said, jabbing her finger down toward the end of the street. "Turn left at the end, he's probably playing ball with his minions." She sat back heavily against the back of the chair, ready for this handsome young man to breeze past on his way to find his horrible friend, and then...

He and I need to have a little talk. Iro perked up again, real quick. That didn't sound friendly at all. In fact...

Her eyes lit up, and all of a sudden, this boy seemed a whole lot cuter than he had a second ago.

"What'd he do now?" she said, sitting up. "You know what, never mind, I don't even care. I'll show you where he is." She didn't try to keep the glee out of her voice as she bounced out of the chair with uncharacteristic speed.

This was probably as ideal a day as Iro could have asked for. There was a spring in her step and she hummed a little as they walked, each step taking them closer to what she hoped was a brilliant beatdown of this kid nobody liked.

Not to mention she was walking with this deviously handsome boy (who, for all intents and purposes, liked a brawl as much as she did). She couldn't tell whether she ought to play it cool or make her interest known, but then she realized she'd never been one to be coy. She was about as subtle as a battering ram, but maybe that was alright in this situation.

She gave the boy a taste of her own cheeky grin, and gave him a wink before sauntering off until she was just ahead of him. "If that's the case, I'd better walk up here so you can see it," she teased, letting her hips sway as she walked. "Once we get down there, I'm the one who'll have a view. I hope you're good with your, uh, bat." She looked him up and down pointedly. Better sneak a couple of her own lines in before they hit the end of the block.

Iro's grin went from cheeky to devilish as she caught his gaze and held it. Oooh, he was a naughty one, and she liked the way he watched her, almost hungry. Very nice indeed. She pursed her lips thoughtfully and glanced down at his hands, then winked at him again as if telling him to come and get it. Oh, she was interested indeed.

Then she rounded the corner at the end of the street and her attention shifted. Flirting would have to wait. "There's Elron," she said, not bothering to be quiet as she nodded toward a lanky boy with long dreadlocks.

Elron obviously heard. He stopped mid-kick to glare at her. They'd come to blows before, and there was no love lost between the two of them. "Buzz off, Iro. I didn't do anything to your stupid cousins today." He emphasized today, as if that made a difference.

She chuckled. "Oh, no," she purred, nodding at her companion. "I'm not the one you'll need to worry about today."

Oh, she was all about this. She quirked her brow invitingly as he passed. Mmph, lovely.

By now, Elron had caught on that something was amiss - and certainly seen the bat, from the way his eyes widened. "Whoa. Iro, call off your dog," the boy said, sounding brave. But he'd turned to avoid showing his back to Ilkay and had taken a step back.

Iro threw her head back in laughter. "Elron, you pissed this one off all on your own," she said, crossing her arms, standing feet shoulder width apart as she prepared for the imminent showdown.

Elron would fight back, but could he fend off a bat? Hard to tell.

Elron didn't have much time to fight back. He doubled over almost immediately with a sharp exhale and dropped, rolling into a ball with his arms over his head to protect himself from the bat.

On the sidelines, Iro let out a loud whoop. "Oh, baby, nice oomph!" she cheered, pumping a fist into the air. If she thought this boy was cute before, she even more smitten now.

Elron was groaning on the ground, his friends having skittered back a distance and well out of the bat's reach. Iro danced over to beam down at him. "Learned a lesson, have ya?" she asked. Elron didn't seem to have heard, really. He rolled onto his side and clutched himself. Oh, what a pathetic mess. She glanced over at the boy with the bat. "Nice form. Got more for him, or was that enough?"

Iro grinned. "You're right," she agreed readily, though she would have loved to see a little bit more of the show. She leaned down, tucking a hand under Elron's armpit, and hauled him to his feet. The boy's knees almost crumpled, and she threw her weight into getting him upright, then turned him in the direction of his home and sent him stumbling off with a less-than-gentle smack.

She looked back at Ilkay, just in case he had any objections, and gave him a nice, sweet smile. "No overnight grudges in these parts," she explain. "You can beat a guy down, but you gotta make sure he gets home alright." It was an unspoken code of conduct in their neighborhood. If Elron ever needed her help against some outside threat, she'd grudgingly lend it, even if she wasn't his fan.

With that, she straightened up, catching the boy's sly gaze with her own. She pursed her lips in thought. "You can come use our well," she said, looking him up and down. "My name's Iro. You can remember that as you watch me walk this time." She sauntered off with one more lingering look.

She didn't need to exaggerate the swing to her hips as she walked. There was a supple strength to the way she carried herself, a quiet hint at what she was physically capable of. This girl was strong. She didn't need to try to hide or flaunt it. You'd have to be blind to miss it.

She led him a couple of streets down, skirting around the house to the well that sat in the back, which they shared with their two neighboring houses.

"Ohh," she said, quirking her brow and smiling knowingly. A correct assumption, probably on more than one count. If she was honest, she didn't really know, but she liked the idea. She let the unspoken meaning of Ilkay's question linger for just a moment between them, toying with a bit of the tension before nodding. "I like me a good brawl or two. A lot of honor to defend when you have 15 younger cousins, you know."

She perched herself on the edge of the well, one foot up on the edge, leaning forward with her arms draped across the elevated knee. She'd positioned herself right next to the winch, so that he'd have no option but to lean over her to get to it when he brought the water up. "You clearly don't mind getting dirty, yourself, Ilkay," she said.