There's a simplicity to the way Orc explains things that's both enraging and beyond traditional feelings of anger. What's the point, when there are no questions to be asked? What were you thinking? would be purely rhetorical, because the answer is right there.

"Pretty glad you didn't eat me too." The way he died wasn't painless, but it's been preferable to the ones that came before.

Here's the thing - Howard can hold a grudge like no one's business. But he and Orc have been friends through everything. Howard's literally buried a body for Orc. Orc gave a kid pushing Howard around such a bad black eye he had to go to the hospital. Howard's had Orc spend the night at his house when Orc showed up with a busted nose, no questions asked. Howard's washed Orc off when he was covered in booze-stinking vomit and Orc's picked Howard up and put him on a bed when Howard's fainted from dehydration. There's a bond there that the Capitol is trying to saw away that seems just a bit too tough for the usual theatrics to fray.

So Howard says "I didn't mean it, you know, what I said back in the Arena. I was just mad and saying whatever I could to be an asshole."