Prompt Shop Bop

Tenga

Until they split up, Jiwe didn't criticize her on the matter, namely because he knew she wouldn't listen. Did she notice how displeased he was with her behavior? Of course she did; how could she not? However, Tenga chose to ignore it, not wanting to admit just how terrible of a mother she was being. To admit that was to admit she failed at everything she had set out to do since she was a child, that she had promised herself she would be when she found out she had cubs. She had been so positive that she would be a better mother than her own, but in the end, Tenga couldn't even stick to her word. No matter what Laani did or tried, she could not measure up to Tenga's expectations. Was the bar too high, or did Tenga simply move it anytime Laani came close? Was Laani incapable of reaching it, or was Tenga incapable of allowing her too? Tenga, of course, believed the former, but perhaps that alone makes the latter scenario true. Whatever the case, all of Tenga's attention and nurturing went into Sasa, her favorite child.

It's honestly a miracle that the boy grew up to be as good as he is. The extra attention his mother chose to shower him with could easily have spoiled him, but he managed to grow up with a strong sense of compassion and empathy, likely because of Jiwe's interactions with him (though Tenga would be hard pressed to admit that she was not helpful in this process, preferring to attribute his success to herself just as much as to Jiwe, if not more so). He grew up adoring his sister regardless of the lack of attention and support Tenga gave her, constantly including her (even when Tenga made a point not to, because Sasa has always been someone who is eager to circumvent restrictions placed upon him and became very good at doing so thanks to his pranks) and protecting her when others antagonized her. Before he fully understood the fact that Tenga was purposefully excluding his twin sister, Sasa would ask the white lioness about her, always concerned when she wasn't coming along with them. Despite the methods she used to justify it to him (and to herself), she couldn't deny there were stirrings of guilt within her.

Because despite it not being his goal to do so, each time he questioned her on the subject, Sasa forced Tenga to briefly potentially acknowledge the truth of her actions, to acknowledge that she was a coward who couldn't support her daughter unconditionally upon finding out that she was not the perfect one Tenga had hoped and dreamed for. Tenga gave up on Laani the moment she found out she was cursed, in the end proving to be no better than her own mother. In fact, she could arguably be seen as worse. Her mother at least didn't stick around, but Tenga is present in Laani's life and still neglectful. If Tenga actually had to confront that reality and face the fact that she is not justified in her actions as a mother, she would fall apart, because that would mean the promises she made to herself as a child to be the best mother she could be would have simply been empty words, and the thought that she could also have failed so spectacularly as a mother is too much for Tenga to admit.