You probably only think that because no one's made it fun for you. [Rin pats a stool next to her.] Would you like to make a tree? I can give you a lesson.

[Hibiki's question gets a nod, which rolls into her explanation.]

My father made it fun. [This is Hibiki, so Rin realizes she needs to keep it simple.] Magecraft is somewhat different from what most people would suspect magic to be. It's more akin to magic science. A mage has to have a thorough understanding of how things work, in other words, so we can take a shortcut.

[Which in practical terms, to get back to answering Hibiki; Rin gestures to the Sakura tree.] When I was little, I used to practice with real crystals, growing and shaping them. An experiment like this is built on a similar but different process, but anyone can do it.

That's because they're salt crystals! [Rin reaches for a bottle of ammonia, along with some of the other supplies set out.] Would you like to make one? Maybe you'll have an easier time understanding the process if you can visualize it as it's happening.

That's because you're more sugar than salt.

[Rin's mouth twists into a cat-got-the-cream grin at her own joke, before she gestures at some of the supplies laid out.]

Sensei will guide you every step of the way, though, so I'm sure you'll do splendidly. Unless you want to make your own, we can use this cardboard I just finished cutting out... [They're in pieces, and look like they need to be pieced together, but she slides them over to Hibiki.] What colors would you like your tree to be?

[Rin reaches for some food dye she swiped from the kitchen as she asks this, and some wetted cotton swabs.]

[...SHE DOESN'T, ACTUALLY. If it were red and black she might, but she mentioned gold mainly because it makes her think of jewels and luxury. Which. She rarely has because she's broke all the time, orz.]

Autumn colors, huh? Ooh, if we get the dye just right, we might even see a lovely orange effect, like the ones you see during a walk in the park while the seasons are changing.

[Squirting the red and yellow food dye into separate petri dishes, Rin offers the cotton swabs to Hibiki.]

Okay, these are already wetted. What you want to do is get a little of the food dye on them, and blot the tree branches. Stain them without saturating the cardboard all the way through, in other words.

[They're dark brown, but yes!]

Inuki is your dog if I recall right, yes? [Rin folds her arms on the table, watching Hibiki go at it.] And yup, just like that! It's yours, so there's no wrong way to go about it. Oh, but the more dye you add, the darker the crystals will be. If you only add a little, it'll be lighter in places, like how the sakura tree turned out.

[It's got a rich pink color going on at the tips, but near the base of the lower branches it's white.]

Let me fold them together for you. [Rin reaches out for them, and nods her head to the other supplies laid out.] I want you to mix some ingredients together in that cup there. I'll tell you what measurements to use, but you'll want water, salt, ammonia, and the blue liquid in that other cup.

[There's a few other ingredients out she used to make said blue liquid, but those aren't needed!]

[Hibiki, no.]

Definitely don't drink it! I know you like blue, but your insides are better staying pink.

[But Rin will take the cup to examine the contents, and from the approval written on her face, yeah! You did good, Hibiki.]

[The bar has been ruined so many times a tiki lounge is the only thing that can save them.]

Well, I've gotten your tree set up! It should stay standing like this, with any luck. All you have to do now is take the salt solution you mixed and pour it into the petri dish.

[Rin taps the inside, so Hibiki can see it's like a little bowl.]

You know how real trees drink up water and nutrients from the ground, right? This works a lot like that.

It's going to take around thirty minutes for your leaves to start showing, but you can already see a little of the process now.

[Rin points at the base of the tree.]

See the dark spots where the roots are getting wet? Eventually the whole tree is going to look like that, as the cardboard is wicked by the solution.

If it were water it would just dry out eventually, but what else did I have you mix in that container?

[Oh my god.]

Ammonia, Hibiki. [Rin is shaking her head, both amused and gently scolding.] We're not spreading the plague here.

Well it's a lung infection, so it would be a surprise even to me.

[Rin sounds more fascinated than anything, but it's okay Hibiki! Your hypothetical tree will survive.]

Anyways, there's a lot of uses for ammonia. You've probably seen it in the laundry room without noticing; it's often used to get stains out of fabrics.

What makes it important to this project, though, is that due to its chemical composition it evaporates quickly.

[Pfft, she's just going to laugh at that one without correcting her, nodding with earnest.]

Close! Most of the mixture is evaporating right along with it; the ammonia just speeds things along. But you're right that there's something in there that isn't. After all, its original form wasn't a liquid.