Seeing his most hated rival right in front of him made the Orcanine Orc's attitude do a complete 180 turn. His face turned into one a snarl, treating the Orcupine Orc as if he was the bane of his life.
And it seemed as if the reaction was reciprocated. The Orcupine Orc frowned into one of anger as soon as he saw the furry body of the Orcanine Orc.
The feud that had been fueling their very tribes for years and years on end finally showed its ugly head. Even though they promised that they were going to be in a truce with each other, their hatred could not be hid away just so easily.
In truth, the two tribes were just waiting for the chance to battle it out once again and finally prove who was the better worshiper for the Earth Goddess.
"Cowardly bastard!" the Orcanine screamed.
"Useless meathead!" the Orcupine replied back.
The two of them faced each other, just like how they had always faced each other when engaged in a screaming match. Even though their Chieftains told them specifically to refrain from fighting it out with their rivals, they just couldn't help themselves.
If the Orcanine Orc was a little bit more level headed, he would have realized sooner that the Orcupine Orc in front of him was also secretly enjoying the game of baseball. However, his head was too filled with the shouts of his Chieftain and his brothers about the cowardly Orcupines to even think about such stuff.
In truth, the Orcupine Orc had also chanced upon the Rebornians playing baseball and ended up loving the game just like the others. He, too, rooted for the Montgomerys and was delighted upon seeing the young girl finally hit a home run.
He wanted to shout and cheer, but his celebrations were cut short by the appearance of the Orcanine Orc.
Both of them were quite vulnerable, feeling a little bit embarrassed and ashamed that they were caught watching the game. So, when they saw that their rival witnessed them in such a candid way, they thought that they were going to get made fun of.
It ended up making them a lot more defensive, which only exacerbated their hatred for each other.
"Get out of here!" the Orcanine howled.
"No, you leave!" the Orcupine shrieked.
In such a stand-off between the two tribes, it was normal for them to immediately start their ritual performance. This was the only way they were going to decide which one was the superior Orc.
The Orcanine Orc bent his knees low and braced his body, making his muscles and his fats tense up. He was preparing to slap his body to create a rhythmic beat that would surely make his rival back off.
Similarly, the Orcupine Orc shivered his body, creating a rattling sound as his quills and spines collided against each other. It was only through his most proud strumming performance would the Orcanine Orc realize that he had tried to humiliate the wrong Orc!
But just as they were about to establish dominance against each other, they heard raucous cheering and shouting in the field.
Both of them stopped what they were doing and looked at the state of the game.
Unfortunately, it seemed that their slight victory just a few minutes ago was quickly taken back by the Dragonborns. They had scored a homerun against the Montgomerys too!
The Orcs were disheartened upon seeing this, with their bodies visibly getting depressed.
They sneaked glances at each other, and realized that none of them were moving.
This would have been the perfect timing for either of them to carry out their ritual performance and 'defeat' the other Orc.
But they didn't.
This meant only one thing: none of them wanted to destroy the secrecy of this place.
If they banged their chests or strummed their quills, then the sound would travel far out into the forest, letting everyone know about this little spot in the field.
And they didn't want that to happen. They still wanted to watch baseball in peace, without anyone interfering in their leisurely pastime.
The Orcanine Orc slowly stood up, unflexing his muscles and undeniably showing that he was standing down.
And similarly, the Orcupine Orc's quills lowered down and blended into his fur.
The two shared one last glare before they turned around and returned to their respective spot in the metal fence.
And for the rest of the game, the two Orcs silently enjoyed the show while actively ignoring the fact that their most hated rival tribe was standing just a few trees away from them.
If this little bit of tolerance was what it took to enjoy baseball in peace, then the two Orcs were very willing to pay it.
After the game, the two went their separate ways. The Orcanine Orc finished his delivery of the Kakao beans to Neo Orcus before returning to his village and reporting to his Chieftain.
"All went well, I hope?"
The Orc just meekly nodded his head. He didn't want to speak.
"Good! I can feel it. We are getting ahead of those cowards. It will only be a matter of time until the Reborn company is on our side. And when that happens, I will finally agree to a meeting with the Orcupine Chieftain, just to see the look on his face when he realizes he lost against me!"
After reporting to the Chieftain, the Orc returned to his home.
…
…
…
Then, two days later, the Chieftain asked for his services again to deliver the sacred Kakao beans. Of course, the Orc accepted it and went to the forest.
He made a slight detour into the familiar metal fence and chanced upon the Orcupine Orc already watching the warmups of the baseball players.
The two shared an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgment.
There was a silent understanding between each other to just watch and enjoy the baseball game rather than trouble themselves with their tribe's rivalry.