It had been a bit of a long day, and Matthias had a lot on his mind. He had just received word that his mother was ill, but he had been instructed not to return home. It wasn't the Gray Death (so far as they could tell, at least), and there was no need to pull Matt from his work and his life here in Greenville.
It still worried him; it was his mother, after all. How could he be expected to sit back and do nothing? Perhaps a visit to the tea shop- he had met Gabrielle a time or two before and she seemed to have some knowledge of which teas had healing powers. Or at least what might help to make his mother comfortable. It was, perhaps, a desperate attempt- he raked his mind through items in the magic shop and couldn't think of anything that might help.
He'd gone for a long walk once he was able to leave the shop for the day, and he was completely lost in his thoughts. He had no destination in mind, no idea for where to go or what to do. He thought about heading out to the Brisbois estate to visit his cousin, but realized it might be rude to show up unannounced. Oh, but he could stand to see some family- or at least a friendly face- right about now.
Wandering the woods, Matt hadn't quite realized just where he'd ended up, and he didn't notice the woman in the water until he heard a voice. Pausing in his tracks, Matthias blinked and took a look around, starting a bit when he saw her. "I- hello," he called back, holding his hands up so she could see that they were empty. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't realize anybody was here. I'm just passing through- er, I'm Matthias. Matthias Eklund."