[CW: racism]

Tristan was used to being questioned when people first met him. He let it slide off of him like water. But water was still wet and cold. The next question, however, revealed that the issue was not the colour of his skin but his age.

Did he just get called naïve?

There was a neutral smile plastered on his face, a smile that increasingly looked like a grimace as he put his bag on a table and sat down while his patient continued talking. People in distress said strange things, rude things, sometimes threatened him. He had seen it all and he could bear it and pay no mind. Except his 'wisdom' was again questioned on account of his age. The smile now looked pretty scary.

He dropped it altogether and spoke: "I assure you, I have finished medical school and I have worked as a doctor for several years." In an asylum. He decided not to add that, as he didn't know whether young Mr. Carrington knew. A few sought him out exactly for that reason, but in the majority of cases the word 'asylum' didn't exactly open doors. "Tell me about your illness."