Unable to resist a chance to tease, Mao answered the question about being on fire with only an impish, “Maaaaaybeee…” He wasn’t though, not actually. His tails had a tendency to spark into flame now and then, but mostly he was able to keep them down to a smolder.
The weird villagers referred to could only be the citizens of Repose. Reassured that the man was then likely used to this crazy shit, Mao felt he could risk coming out. But not as he was. He’d play it safe a little longer. Now that he had ingested a bit of someone, he was a little more in control of himself, and being a big old monster cat was kind of too risky in a place like this.
So, rather than a panther, what jumped out from the drawer was a sleek and shiny (and small) black house cat. Those orange eyes were no longer glowing, though they danced with cheeky mirth as the cat greeted the man with a sweet and harmless mew. Surprise! Don’t you feel silly now?
In this form he was rather disinclined to talk. Luckily, there is such a thing as body language. The cat approached and rubbed himself enthusiastically against the dangling feet, purring like a mini diesel engine. Didn’t you just want to take him home?