"Have you ever practiced alchemy before?".

"No, never. I've only read about it", Adrien said, carefully tearing the meat away from his drumstick with a knife. "It seems both very interesting and very weird".

"How so?".

"You know -- the way it works, I mean -- like, for example, the thing that, in alchemy, ice is not water...".

"Well, that is true in elemental magic as well", Val replied. "As ice is not fluid, it lacks a fundamental quality of the Water element. Since it is a solid and forms a surface, it is more Earth-aligned than Water-aligned".

Adrien raised his eyebrows. "I'm not sure I like this...".

"Alchemy is not about the literal properties of the ingredients, but rather about their perceived, symbolic function. When seen in that light, water and ice are two very different things with very different properties". He finished eating his share and set his fork down on the plate. "Don't you agree?".

"When you put it like that, I kinda have to", Adrien chuckled.