Reddening the runes was a step that was probably best done in the classroom, but a bit of pigment and a brush weren't that difficult to transport outside. Besides, she'd done so much of her project with Mr. Alder and couldn't bear to leave him hanging now, you know? Maybe for the bits of the assignment that she was absolutely required to do in the castle, but for now, Alice and the tree were still going on strong.

"Hi Mr. Alder." Settling down at the base of the trunk, she beamed up at the tree before spreading out her work materials. The Tiver, a fine-tipped paintbrush, a towel from the dorms to do her painting on (not hers, obviously), and, of course, her Gandr. She didn't have any linseed oil to grind the pigment with, but she chanted "Laukaz, Laukaz, Laukaz," before she began.

The fifth year worked quietly, speaking only when she needed to chant the runes. "Fehu Fehu Fehu f f f f f f f f f fu fa fi fe fo of ef if af uf f f f f f f f f f. Uruz Uruz Uruz u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u r r r r r r u u u u u u u u u! Thurisaz Thurisaz Thurisaz th th th th th th th th th thur thar thur ther thor thu tha thu the tho th th th th th th th th th. Ansuz ansuz ansuz aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw s s s s s s aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw."

Merlin, was she glad no one was around to hear this.

"Raidho raidho raidho r r r r r r r r r ru ra ri re ro rudh radh ridh redh rodh (rut rat rit ret rot) or er ir ar ur r r r r r r r r r! Kenaz kenaz kenaz ku ka ki ke ko kun kan kin ken kon ok ek ik ak uk kaunnnnnnnnn. Gebo gebo gebo gu ga gi ge go gub gab gib geb gob og eg ig au ur g a a a f f f f f!" Dipping her brush into the Tiver again, Alice wiped off the excess and began painting again with a careful hand. It had to be perfect. Botros shoulder pats, okay?

Her tongue was sticking out in concentration. That's how much focus was there. "Wunjo wunjo wunjo wu wa wi we wo wun wan win wen won wo we wi wa wu w w w u u u n n n. Hagalaz hagalaz hagalaz h h h h h h h h h hu ha hi he ho hug hag hig heg hog (hul hal hil hel hol) oh eh ih ah uh h h h h h h h h h! Naudhiz naudhiz naudhiz n n n n n n n n n nu na nu ne no nudh nadh hudh nedh niodh (nut nat nit net not) un an in en on n n n n n n n n n."

Alice's voice was starting to get hoarse from the constant belting of the Galdr songs, too. Water bottles have been a good idea, yeah?

"Isa isa isa i i i i i i i i I i i i i i i s s s s s s (s s s s s s i i i i i i) i i i i i i i i i. Jera jera jera j j j e e e r r r a a a j j j j j j j j j ju ja ji je jo (jur jar jir jer jor) j j j e e e r r r a a a! Eihwaz eihwaz eihwaz (iwaz iwaz iwaz) e e e e e e e e e iwu iwa iwi iwa iwu iwo iwe iwi iwa iwu e e e e e e e e e. Perthro perthro perthro pu pa pi pe po purdh pardh pirdh perdh pordh po pe pi pa pu p p p e e e r r r th th th r r r o o o! Elhaz elhaz elhaz z z z z z z z z z uz az iz ez uz oz ez iz az uz z z z z z z z z z (m m m m m m m m m)." Her Gandr was lookin' good so far, if she did say so herself.

Wait, was that a A DROP OF PAINT right there? Alice frantically rubbed at it with a corner of the towel positioned under the Gandr she was painting. It had to be PERFECT. No room for mistakes and stray bits of Tiver ruining her runic wand.

Hmph.

"Sowilo sowilo sowilo s s s s s s s s s s s s o o o l l l su sa si se so (sul sal sil sel sol) us as is es os si se su sa su s s s s s s s s s! Tiwaz tiwaz tiwaz t i i i i i r r r r r tu ta ti te ter tor tur tar tir ter tor ot et it at ut (Tyr Tyr) T i i i i i r r r r r!" That last bit of the Galdr song reminded her of Tiver, which she quickly took another blob of on her paintbrush before resuming her work. "Berkano berkano berkano bu ba bi be bo b e e e e e r r r r r (burk bark birk berk bork) ob eb ib ab ub b e e e e e r r r r r. Ehwo ehwo ehwo e e e e h w o o o ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu e e e e h w o o o! Mannaz mannaz mannaz m m m a a a a a a n n n mu ma mi me mo mun man min men mon um am im em om mon men min man mun m m m a a a a a a n n n m m m m m m m m m!"

Four more. FOCUS, Fischer. Focus. "Laguz laguz laguz l l l l l l l l l lu la li ke lo (lug lag lig leg log) ul al il el ol lo le li la lu l l l a a a g g g u u u l l l l l l l l l. Ingwaz ingwaz ingwaz i i i i n n n n g g g g ung ang ing eng ong ong eng ing ang ung i i i i n n n n g g g g! Dagaz dagaz dagaz dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z du da di de do dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh odh edh idh adh udh od ed ud ad ud d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z."

And Othala, the last rune of them all. Alice was really beginning to appreciate seeing it, y'know? Because it always meant that she was finished, or it did in these class cases. "Othala othal othal o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o othul othal othil othel othol othol othel othil othal othul o o o o o o!"

Finally finished, the fifth year set her Gandr down and let it dry while she turned to the tree. "Thanks, Mr. Alder, for keeping me company while I did this project. It meant a lot to me." She nodded seriously and.. well, she'd already given it an offering, but this tree was important, and so Alice slowly pulled out another packet of jelly slugs from her pocket and dug another hole at the base of the tree with her foot and set the candy inside of it.

"For you, Mr. Alder. I'll come visit you sometime next year, okay?"

She gave the trunk a big hug, and then turned back to her Gandr. So much work for such a funny looking thing.