[The wolf nods, she understands fear, of course she does - she has felt it a hundred times. Fear for the people of Kamiki Village, frozen like statues under the curse of Orochi, fear for Kushi when she faced down the eight-headed serpent, fear for the people of Sei-An, suffering in the streets from the poison mist of Blight's influence, fear for Himiko...rest her soul, when she saw the beastly Ninetails' true form, and fear for her world and its people when she faced down Yami alone, in the cold, crushing darkness inside the Ark of Yamato.

Fear exists in all creatures. Gods, too, are not immune to it.

But bravery, true courage, is standing up to those fears. It's knowing that, even if you fail, you still have to try. It's overcoming those fears. It's standing up again, and moving forward. It's remembering the good things, and people, in your life and letting that empower you.

It's faith.]

And yet you raced through them to come to me. [The wolf's lips tug up at their corners, and that smile reaches well into her dark eyes.] Think back, before the time when your heart would beat fast, what did these flowers remind you of? How did they make you feel? When you would weave them into your hair, or into my fur, and breathe your love and care into them...and help them grow. Share them with others.

Did that make your heart beat fast?