Kion could hardly believe he was seeing a hot spring in the middle of a jungle like this. it looked so nice and warm for any animal to come and enjoy. Kiara knew that her little brother would like seeing this cool sight in the African biome that makes up the whole Pride Lands. "Ta-da!" She sang.

"Wow." Kion muttered under his breath. "It's... it's..."

"Beautiful?"

"Yeah. Just look at it. ItIt'a nice little spot that me and Kovu like to hang out in now and again. Go on, try it out, Kion."

The cub took a little breath and looked at the warm, misty waters, and he slowly dipped his right paw, and it felt refreshing, and soothing to his furry skin. He slowly dipped himself further into this jacuzzi and he was simply enjoying this when he dumped his whole body in the refreshing waters.

His head was above the water and he sighed in relaxation as the water did the work in soothing his soul like this. Kion had his eyes closed as Kiars went into the waters sitting next to him on the left. She sighed in relaxation as well when she felt the waters touch her furry skin again.

"How does it feel?" Kiara asked with her upper eyelids down with a smile.

"Ahhh. This feels so nice." Kion said with his eyes still closed. "I wish you would have taken me to this sooner, sis. I'm beginning to like this place already. What do you call it?"

"Me and Kovu call this place: Upendi." Kiara replied boldly while crossing her arms behind her head. "Yep, this place is one of the best places in the Pride Lands. "Me and Kovu found this place a few days after you were born."

"Why not share it with mom and dad?" Asked Kion

"I could, but I prefer if we keep this spring to ourselves. Still, we see some animals come pass by here and say hello to us."

Inside, Kion was feeling way less sore from the fall when he had that run-in with that sable antelope when he was looking for a breakfast kill. Yes, the pain was slowly going away as he stayed in the water more. "Thanks for bringing me here, Kiara. This is so amazing."

"You're welcome." It was silent for a while and they didn't really talk to each other. There was hardly any sound, except for a faint sound of an elephant trumpeting outside of this little jungle, and the sounds of birds chirping, cawing, and cackling were heard every once in a while in the trees.

One thought that came into the future queen's head was her grandfather himself Mufasa, and if his spirit truly lived on in the whole Pride Lands, or all of Africa. Could he really be a deity watching down on the earth from the stars and heavens?

"Kion?"

"Hmm?"

"This sounds stupid, but... do you actually see grandfather Mufasa and talk to him once in a while?"

Kion was a little unfazed, but he ultimately admitted: "I do. Yes. He lives in me like he lives on Dad, or every other lion loving in Pride Rock. Vitani admits that she says Nuka as a ghost, too."

"Hmmm. That is very peculiar. I guess he lives in me too, right?"

"Right." The cub nodded his head. "Whenever I feel alone, Grandfather Mufasa and Grandmother Sarabi will always be there to give me advice once in a while."

Kiara smiled. "How can I talk to them?"

The cub began thinking in his head about a perfect answer for that question. After thinking, he said: "you can just... call on him and the same for grandmother Sarabi. I think it mostly happens when you feel so troubled or miserable for any reason."

"Hmm."

"Kion," said a female, ghostly voice. They turned their head to the right and a spectral lioness was right there, giving these two a warm smile. Kion knew who it was and he smiled, "hello again, and Liara, look at how grown you looked."

The elder sister was a little awestruck at what she is looking at right now. "S-Sarabi?" She said. "I-is that you?"

The ghostly lioness let out a small laugh in amusement, and she replied. "Of course. I am your grandmother." The future king felt like shedding tears of joy seeing her deceased grandmother right now. "It is so good to see you again."

"Grandmother. It is you!" She was about to get up and hug her, but something caught her from doing so. "Oh, wait, you're a ghost so it probably won't work."

"Sadly, yes." Said Sarabi. "If you could hug me, I would be even happier. Alas, I am happy to see you and Kion nonetheless." She walked up to them. "That is a wonderful little spot to be on vacation."

"You wanna come in it's Grandmother."

"Oh, Kion." Sarabi sighed. "I would love to, but I wouldn't be able to feel the water."

"I see."

"Still, it makes me so proud that you are protecting the Pride Lands with the new Lion Guard you created."

"Grandmother," Kiara began to speak next. "Will I be a good queen over the Pride Lands once that happens someday?"

Sarabi was silent for a moment and she said: "I think you will be a wonderful queen my dear Kiara. You might faulter at some disputes or peculiar events that i cannot say, but that is normal for all animals to have in their lives."

The young lioness made a small squeak sound of excitement and felt proud of herself. "I knew it! Haha! I knew I'll be a good queen."

"Your grandfather always speaks very high of you, dear." Sarabi added. "And I must tell you that he is very proud of what a beautiful lioness you have become."

"Oh grandmother." Kiara felt like shedding a tear of joy again hearing these compliments. She suddenly remembered the horrible dream Kion had the other day, and she looked at him. "Kion,"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell Grandmother Sarabi about that nightmare you had the other day?"

"Nightmare- oh. I know what you mean." He cleared his throat when he addressed the lioness spirit: "grandmother Sarabi, I had... a nightmare four days ago and it was about Scar. He kept telling me that me and him are the same, but I did not believe every word he said."

Sarabi's smile turned into a small frown. "Scar?" She said. Kion nodded a Yes to her. "Hmm, that sounds terrible, but that was only a nightmare. Dreams are only in your head, Kion. I can assure you that it is far from real."

"I know, but... I sometimes fear that I might become evil like Scar if I'm not careful." The cub admitted. "Then I'll lose my roar of the Elders."

"Come now, Kion." Sarabi reassured him. "I can see it in your heart that you are nothing like your great-uncle. Scar was full of anger, bitterness, and hatred within his heart, and you are the exact opposite of what makes Scar himself."

Kion was silent for a moment, but he said to her at last: "are you sure?"

"Of course. I know that you a better lion than Scar ever was. Me, and your grandfather both think so."

"Yeah, Kion." Kiara added. "You are a good lion and very heroic." She gently pulled him close to her warm body as a side-hug. "Take it from me."

The young cub smiled. "Thanks, Kiara. And, you're right, grandmother Sarabi. It was nothing but a bad dream." And he let out a yawn. "Why am I even thinking about this anyway?"

"It's perfectly alright, dear. We all have feelings of doubt like I have mentioned before. I want you both to know how much I love you two, and how proud me and your grandfather are of you."

"Grandmother, will I ever see you again?" Asked Kiara.

"Of course. I will be watching you always, just never be afraid to call on me if you ever feel troubled or alone, Kiara." She began to slowly vanish into nothingness. "May the kings ofntne past watch over you both." Those last words echoed and Sarabi was gone, Sending chills to the siblings' spines.

"Well, are you glad you've seen her again, Kiara?"

"Yes. I' happy." The future queen let out a big smile on her face. "I'm... a little conflicted if I am hallucinating or if that was real." She continued to enjoy this hot spring.

"Don't worry, you're not hallucinating." Kion reassured. The siblings continued enjoying this heavenly experience and the water was certainly acting like a perfect cure for worries or any problems. Ot was just like Timon and Pumbaa would say: "Hakuna Matata". The young cub felt his small mane of hair being gently stroked by his big sister as he was relaxing the day away. "I'm really glad you brought me here, Kiara."

Kiara smiled and gave him a miss on his cheek. "I'm glad you love this." She replied. Kiara crossed her arms behind her head again and closed her eyes as she was enjoying more of this. While doing so, she felt Kion resting his head on her body like his own pillow. Looking at that was just so adorable and the future queen couldn't help but wrap him in her right arm like her own teddy bear.

She was feeling great about herself to bringing her one and only brother into this secret place, and she can certainly trust him not to tell anyone else about this secret hot spring. "Kion?" Said a female voice.

The cub looked to see who said his name, and it was a familiar face that he had just met yesterday. "Rani?" He recognized. Yes, it was the leader of the night Pride herself once again. "What are you doing out here and who's this?"

"I'm sorry, I believe we haven't met." Said Kiara. "What's your name, stranger?"

"Rani, leader of the Night Pride that lives in tbr Back lands around here."

"And are you a friend of Kion?"

"Well, we just met, but yes." Kion replied. "I just met her yesterday and she is a really cool lion."

Rani flushed at being called that peculiar word: "cool", and pawed her right paw on the ground while her cheeks looked like a pair of tomatoes. "Thanks."

"What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"I just wanted to pay Kion a visit here in the Pride Lands." Rani replied. "That looks like a nice hot spring. So relaxing, so calm."

"It was a secret." Said Kion. "But then you came and found it."

"Oh, this is a secret place?" Asked Rani. "I didn't know. Well, I'll just pretend this spring never existed." She was about to walk away when she was stopped by Kion and Kiara who said her name in unison.

"It's alright, Rani." Kion stated. "It just caught us by surprise."

"Yeah, if you want and if you're a friend of Kion, you can come in the hot spring." Kiara added with a smile. "As long as you keep this a secret from everybody else." Rani smiled and she happily came in the water and joined the two siblings in this relaxing moment. Like Kion, Rani really liked the mildly boiling waters of this spring and it was like she was taking a dip in heaven.

Rani sighed and enjoyed this lovely experience. "Wow. This is so... so..."

"Soothing?"

"Yeah! Very soothing." Rani replied. She put her paws behind her head as she was enjoying this now. Yep, she was certainly glad to have bumped into her new friend again, and the future queen over these lands. She was sitting next to Kion's other side, and they all sighed under the feeling of the waters brushing and soothing their skin.

Not only that, but Kiara appeared to have made a new friend as well. This Rani cub was becoming more interesting and intriguing, and Kion hopped that he can know more about her, and her own pride.

For now, they just relaxed together as three through this moment.