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Description:  "Ever the Twain" was the only story original to the collection. It tells of twins, Neru and Nian, who are inseparable. The brother Neru dreams of being a dragonrider; the sister Nian is more practical. The two live at a hold on Ista Island. One day, when dragons come to Search, they identify Nian as a good candidate for the queen, but she will not go without Neru. The dragons take them both on Search, along with Nian's friend Orla and another boy called Chaum. At the Weyr, Orla tells Nian that another girl, named Robina, has been promised the queen. The twins work in the infirmary for a day, but on Impression, the queen dragon hatches and Nian Impresses her and learns her name is Quinth. The two of them manage to break the egg Neru is next to, revealing a bronze dragon named Larinth, who Neru impresses. Later, in the weyrlings' barracks, N'ru tells Nian that he was upset that she was chosen on Search and he was taken along as a mere afterthought. Nian tells him that she never wanted his dream, she wanted him to be happy. They contemplate the fact that Nian and Quinth would probably be transferred to another Weyr. Quinth assures them that they will always be held together by their dragons, and that they would never be alone. A Gift of Dragons, by Anne McCaffrey (2002 collection of four stories, one original) ´ "The Smallest Dragonboy", by Anne McCaffrey (1973; short story previously collected in Get Off the Unicorn) ´ "The Girl Who Heard Dragons", by Anne McCaffrey (1986 fine press book; cover story in The Girl Who Heard Dragons (1994)) ´ "Runner of Pern", by Anne McCaffrey (1998 novella original to Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy; set some time before the events of Dragonflight) ´ "Ever the Twain" (original to the collection; historical setting unclear)