Curiosity borne of pride - and what exactly was his reputation that the Father of Djinni should know about it? - battled with the terror that still simmered inside of Bartimaeus’ mind, tugging at the back of his mind every time he slipped into a more relaxed state of being and reminding him that no, this was not an entity he wanted to be nonchalant around.
"Mm?" Was that a way out? An easy exit, yes, Bartimaeus could figure that one, and it was certainly nice of Iblis to offer. It’d be terribly easy to make up something about a pressing engagement and hurry away so he could try to forget the entire experience. On the other hand, lying to the other Jinn didn’t exactly sit well with him. Maybe it was a religious thing. And it was hardly as if Iblis was being aggressive, or unfriendly. Quite the opposite, in fact; this was probably the most cordial altercation Bartimaeus had had in years.
"Oh, well…the humans can wait." He replied breezily after a few seconds of silence, his normally prevalent self-preservation instinct so shocked by the words coming from his mouth that it seemed to faint dead away. That probably accounted for the grin on Bartimaeus’ face as he leaned against a wall, folding his arms. "I’m not reckless. Not normally, anyway. And when I am it’s only because the alternative is dying a quick and easy death and really, how dull would that be? It’d be a shame to betray my reputation.”
The humans can wait. It was a simple statement, but it made the smile on the Ifrit’s grow into a much more genuine grin that matched Bartimaeus’. It wasn’t very often that other creatures stuck around after Iblis had given them an opening to leave. Not that the Ifrit blamed them, of course. It doubted that it would like to spend much time around someone with its rather… colourful history.
But now wasn’t the time to ponder such things, as Bartimaeus was (however reluctantly) agreeing to talk for a bit longer. Iblis put its hands behind its back, watching as the other Jinn leaned against the wall. Bartimaeus’ words drew amused laughter from Iblis. This Bartimaeus was certainly an amusing one. The creature took a tentative step closer to the wall the Jinn was leaning against, its movements much slower than normal to put the other at ease.
"It would be a shame to betray a reputation such as yours. No doubt you’ve spent millennia perfecting it. How does one so young amass such a collection of tales?”