First character ran back, elegant but unruly (8)
I believe the answer is:
anarchic
'unruly' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'first character ran back elegant' is the wordplay.
'first' says to put letters next to each other.
'character' becomes 'a' ().
'back' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'elegant' becomes 'chic' (chic means fashionable or elegant).
'ran' backwards is 'nar'.
'a'+'nar' is 'anar'.
'anar'+'chic'='ANARCHIC'
'but' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for anarchic that I've seen before include "Totally without rules" , "rioting" , "rebellious" , "Lacking order" , "Revolutionary" .)