As the sun blared down over the golden sand, wind shifting the dunes wildly, Hosep pulled out his waterskin. As he drank, a crimson droplet began to make its way down his cheek, staining the dark tan of his face the same color as the wine. In the distance a silhouette of a camel, adorned with tassels and many saddlebags appeared in the distance. Hotep readied a purse seemingly stuffed to bursting, and gracefully transitioned from a walk into a saunter as he approached the beast.
“From the west a traveler hails, a purse full of coin and a skin full of ale.” Said a voice in the direction of the camel. The voice was soothing, and it seemed to resonate within itself, travelling through the air and vibrating in Hotep’s skull.
“Hello!” yelled Hotep. “I would like to purchase your beast” The accent of his native tongue dragging out the vowels, and twisting the consonants.
“We are not the creature you seek, to behold our form would end the meek.” The silhouette replied, rocking back and forth as it slid backwards.
“Meek!?” shouted Hotep, running now to try and get a clear picture of one who was so bold as to insult someone such as himself. His dash suddenly stopping as the grotesque being came into view. It towered over him, casting a shadow that covered his entire body. The thing that had spoken seconds before showed no sign of the elegance foreshadowed by its voice. Two human heads rested on top of an elongated neck, 3 arms protruding from various places around it’s bloated mass. Clothes seemingly stitched together from scraps of multicolored cloth. Eyes wide and mouth ajar, Hotep managed to stand his ground.
The mass of flesh spoke from what appeared to be a gaping hole nested within rows of teeth and muscle. “We meet so many who flee from us, please let us speak here in the dust.”
“In my years of travel I have never laid eyes upon something as unique as what stands before me now.” said Hotep, his eyes moving wildly, inspecting every inch of the wonder he had found. “Of course we may speak, sit if you can manage it.” Hotep sat down and tapped the ground next to him, beckoning his new discovery closer.
The creature sat down, several feet farther from Hotep than he was asked to be. “Does your mind not quiver, your soul not bend, your every instinct not say, this creature will be your end?”
“I have lived a dozen lifetimes, and I will live a dozen more. If I met my end here, I wouldn’t be fit for the title of immortal.” said Hotep. “Why do you speak in such a melodic pattern, is it not taxing to rhyme every word.”
“They say two minds are better than one, we are proof of the adage, with wit matched by none. Our damnable torment made more easy to bare, every line a rhythm, every word a pair.”
Hotep sat for a moment, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples vigorously. “If...   I may be so bold,” He paused for a few seconds “could your name...  I be told?” Hotep breathed a sigh of relief, and waited for his reply with a look of pride on his face.
The creature’s faces contorted, presumably to show amusement. “Many a year has passed us by, we’ve been gazed upon by many an eye. But as we roam this mortal clutch, you are the first to ask us such.”. From its eyes began to ooze a pearlescent black ichor, deep as the night sky, and thick as fresh honey. “We were once Annabel and Edgar Lee, but in a fit of jealousy, a cruel man turned us into this, and named us his Homunculus.”
Hotep looked Homunculus up and down, an inquisitive look on his face. Suddenly, He pulled a fine silk carpet from his satchel, the rippling azure and radiant gold matching his clothing. He also produced a roll of fine bandages, soaked in oil. Wrapping Homunculus in the bandage and draping the carpet over them to produce the image of two heads within a single robe. “I’ve traveled these sands for centuries, and seen unfathomable wonders. Rivers that run red, fish that fly, and days when the sun turns black as the night sky. I hope to experience all of this world’s wonders before passing on to the next, and if you join me I know we will find one that suits you.”. Hotep stood up and began to walk into the distance, followed closely behind by two lovers, wrapped in bandages stained black.