He half expects this male to swoop down and bite at him. Mother often did, the way she turned with flashing eyes and screamed at him. Instinctively he understood she was screaming but he wasn't exactly sure what that entailed. He could see the way her mouth formed vibrations and he had tried, once or twice, to mimic it but had only gotten as far as two words (which in reality was one, but he was not attuned to this.). Bone Head. That is what she repeated often. Whether she had a mocking tone or not, he would never know because he didn't understand. His siblings laughed at him when he tried to repeat them - he could see the crinkle in their eyes and the flash of their teeth as they rolled and chatted together.
But in the end, he knew nothing.
No one had ever deigned to teach him anything. So he ran across Iromar in some essence of freedom not even realize that danger stood not but a few feet from him. The bubbles in the water or the tall, mysterious male. He could smell him and he is reminded of dirt and muddy water. The male smirks at him despite the vibrations that Boneskull is setting off and then his mouth moves.
Boneskull quiets then, staring hard at the male's lips and then looking up, noting the expectant look he is given. He opens his mouth and forms his lips. "Bone. Head." Those two words come out tonelessly and somewhat slow, almost unintelligible. He can't know how they sound because he can't hear, but he senses that he has formed the letters right, that it is coming out correct, and he stares at the male as if for confirmation.