Baiting is definitely happening. It's the only effective method Steelbeak knows to get what he wants, and he's been doing it for so many years already that it's a reflex.

"Wow, alright. I thought you and the old man were friends. You're not even gonna try to save his life? If it were the other way round, he wouldn't have thought twice about bringing you back, but I guess that just means nothing to you, huh?"