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Mot smirked in delight. His name calling was getting under the poor ghoul's skin, and he found that to be most amusing. It didn't feel like bullying when they fought back like this. The ghoul had a lot of bite and sass. That's what made this fun. Making a ghoul cry was not his idea of fun, but an exchange of sass definitely was!

Mot listened quietly to Riyo's story, liking that he had somehow gotten her to talk a little more about herself, but at the same time he was looking for ways to tease her. "Ooh, waste of time, huh? I don't know. Imagination can be a dangerous weapon, and fiction is a great way to feed it." He was completely bullshitting what he was saying, but it did not make it false. Still, he only read fiction because it was fun. "That and it sure beats listening to the creakiness of an empty house, right? Books on pocket lint won't fill the void like a good novel will."

Riyo's rant certainly would put a damper on the situation, and for the most part it did bring the cowboil down. However, Mot saw this as another gateway into the facts that made up Riyo. Learning about her might help him get her to play nice. Slowly but surely.
She seemed almost sad inside, from what he could see. Sad and lonely. Disappointed in what the world has thrown at her. Much like a tragic figure in a sad story book. One that needed someone to light the way!

What a sap he was.

Mot considered Riyo's question for a moment before replying. "Nope." He said confidently. "I make my own adventure. If the world seems like it's trapping me, I simply work to find a way to break free."

Karma had a sly way of punishing Mot for picking on the ghoul. She had hit home again. All his dreaming and imagining was all very childish, truthfully.

Riyo had managed to shut the boil up.

Mot couldn't for the life of him come up with a situation to refer to. No adventures, no real life badassery. Nothing. He'd gotten beaten up trying to be bad a** on plenty of occasions. Gotten in trouble for sneaking out. Gotten in trouble for talking when he wasn't supposed to. Nothing ever came out with him on top. Nothing that made his made up dreamland admirable.

He really was just a child playing games. Maybe that really wasn't such a good thing after all.

Mot chuckled lightly, rubbing his neck. "Shoot, you got me there." He did his best to hide the way he was feeling; inferior and belittled. "Real life is pretty boring in comparison, I suppose. You win~."

Lie about adventure? Mot almost did lie and made something up. Normally he would have. Instead he chuckled lightly and shook his head.

Was Riyo trying to make him feel better? If so it was working. Naively, Mot perked up with a smile. Her suggestions seemed like gold to him. "I guess I could do those things." He snapped his fingers. "Actually, I did get to to target practice while riding a skeletal horse once." That was adventurous, right? it was to him! He even had a cute ghoul riding behind him! He must not have been able to recall it in his short spell of sad puppy mode.

"Young?" He paused as she paid for her books. "Aren't you young too?" It seemed curious since she spoke to him as if her life was already decided.

Puppy mode was back, but it was now more out of concern for Riyo. No. this would not do. Ghouls should always feel young and happy! It was just LAW.

After a long moment, Mot huffed. "Well. that won't do." He said with confidence, his hands set firmly on his hips. "Time to make you feel young. We. Are. Going. On. An. Adventure." As if Riyo had no say in the matter at all.

Mot had not thought this through. His eagerness to cheer her up had overshadowed Riyo's avoidance of fun. This would be a trial. She even looked at him like he was stupid for bringing it up. However, Mot swallowed his worry for the moment and attempted to remain vigilant.

"Well.." Mot started, trying to put on his serious game face by crossing his arms and pursing his lips. "It's for science." This would so work! How could it not? "You seem confident you can't have fun anymore and you're no longer feeling young. Soooo~ I will prove you wrong with this experiment!" He grinned, breaking his whole serious persona he attempted to pull off.

"I will prove that you can still enjoy a fantasy in real life."

Doubt sank deep into Mot's gut. That look Riyo was giving him burned right into him. Any moment now and the ghoul would call him out on bullshit.

However...

Mot mentally sqee'd when Riyo gave in. But then the reality set in. He had to come up with an adventure worthy of impressing the ghoul. This would be a very big task. However, being called Sheriff helped perk his ego a bit, puffing up his chest proudly.

"Let's see.." He pondered aloud as he slipped past her, rubbing his chin with his other hand settled on his hip. Had someone not just come through the door he'd have walked right into it. Lucky for him it barely grazed him as he walked through the opening.
Deep thought.

"There was this one time. Jericho and Shun and I fought some angry minipets." Mot recalled, shuddering at the thought. Crazy Coconuts and Canon Cats attacking all in one day. "I'm not so sure pissing off animals will be an enjoyable adventure though.." Shoot. What else then?
All he could come up with were make believe games he played as a kid. Usually by himself unless he was at school. It almost seemed like a good idea, but Riyo was such a stick in the mud, he had a hard time believing she would play along.

"Did you ever imagine an adventure as a kid?" He asked in passing, trying to come up with an ideal scenario for her. Where he was taking her was not yet clear. He was either focused on a specific location or leading her on a wild goose chase.

p***k? Oh, Shun was just making friends everywhere he went, wasn't he? Riyo's reaction to his name was not surprising considering his personality. Mot did not hold much grudge against him, regardless of his behavior.

Riyo started to sound like she was going to divulge into a happy child hood memory but stopped sooner than Mot would have liked. This made his job harder. It was hard getting some people to open up. Then again, at least she was cooperating. "Other time?" Wait, that was it? Was it better than searching for treasure for a week? Sigh. It was like pulling teeth trying to get her talking. Mot needed to try harder.

"I've got something in mind. It won't be nearly as adventurous as when I was a kid though." Mot was a hyperactive child, and while he still held a fair amount of energy to spare, it was nothing compared to his childhood.
Oh! Maybe if he shared his own stories she would share hers! Genius. "I know this may surprise you, but as a kid I liked to pretend I was a cowboy. An outlaw or a sheriff chasing an outlaw." He said with a cheesy grin, teasing his own character. "I was stuck inside most of the time, but I'd climb walls and pretend they were mountains. Stuff like that."

Mot paused and looked back to Riyo. "You said you ran away once?" He was probably prying, but it wasn't as if it could not be expected of him. "I did that a few times, but I usually only made it one block away and ended up running home." He chuckled as if it was a fond memory. "I usually only did it to spite my mother. Then I'd realize she knew I was bluffing and come home in a huff when she didn't come chase me."