He stamped the scrolls he'd just made; he smiled with satisfaction as he saw Val's insignia appear in red wax over the parchment. "So, you've had this stamp since...".

"Ever since I was... ah, twelve", Val replied.

Adrien gasped so hard that he made himself cough. He noisily wheezed for air. "You -- you took the Master rank at twelve?!".

"Yes, but --".

Adrien let out a long, exasperated yowl. "Then I really have no hope of ever catching up!", he whimpered, flopping sideways onto the table. "You've made it to Master as a child, and I --".

"Adrien!". Val's hands flashed; the suddenly forceful tone of his voice put a stop to Adrien's theatrics of despair. "We've already talked about this. Each person's journey is different. Especially since I was never a child to start with".