Mirta Story by Cupcakedoll. Characters belong to Mr. Straffi, Rainbow, Nickelodeon, and whoever else. Our story opens sometime during season 2.

It had been a mistake to come back to Cloud Tower, even if it was Lucy's birthday. When Mirta got to the dorm she'd been greeted with, "Drop out of fairy school, loser?"

Inside, Zia was getting cauldron cakes out of the vending machine. She looked around nervously before she waved to Mirta. "Hey Mirt, I don't think you want to hang around here, I mean everyone knows you transferred to Alfea and all…"

Mirta made a face. "Yeah I figured but thanks for the warning. I just came to give this to Lucy. She still in our old room?"

"Lucy didn't say it was her birthday… but then she wouldn't. yeah, still in one-oh-five, go on up."

"Thanks!" Mirta smiled and dashed up the stairs. Number 105 had Lucy's name on it but no other one. She didn't have a new roommate? Mirta knocked. 'Lucy?"

"Oh it's you."

Mirta held out her present. "Happy birthday."

"Um." Lucy clearly had to make her mouth work to say, "Thanks. You want to come in?"

"Ok. For a minute."

The room hadn't changed, still dark and dreary as ever. Lucy's stuff had spread into the half of the room that used to be Mirta's—a potted nightshade on her desk, a half-rolled poster for Drake Skales in concert and five Hex Girls cds on the floor.

"How's it going at fairy school?"

"I like it!" Mirta exclaimed, then tried to tone it down. "I'm finally passing potions and I joined the magical arts club. We all hang out, me and Flora and them."

Lucy opened her present. The purple bottles and soaps only looked a little out of place in the dark room. "What's this stuff? Merlin's Magic hair care? Get this at the school store?"

Mirta ducked and blushed. "Downtown. Stella swears by this stuff. Smell it, I love the 'night garden' scent. Better than pink."

Lucy sniffed and made a face. "Look, thanks for the thought and all but sweet smells are so last year and if any of my friends find out you're here…"

"Ok I get it." Mirta backed out, trying not to show how much that hurt. "I better get back anyway. Bye."

She hurried back downstairs, very carefully not crying, and paused for a minute to put some coins in the machine. Cauldron cakes, gravestone cookies and chocolate newts. She'd missed witchy snacks!

On the streets of Magic, where nobody would recognize her as 'that witch who goes to Alfea' Mirta could find a corner to hide in and wipe her eyes. Her heart hurt. Her heart hurt and she kept hearing Lucy's words. Mirta sobbed.

Just then she heard a little cry. "Meee!"

"Huh?" Mirta looked up. She was standing on a corner off the street, near a bridge. Where was the noise coming from?"

"Meeeeee!"

Under the bridge. Mirta climbed over the rail and jumped down into mud. Was something in the river making it? A water banshee? They didn't come into the city!

"Mee."

"Hello?" Then Mirta saw a brown cloth bag at the edge of the water. It squirmed a little. Mirta swallowed hard and picked it up.

"Meaaaa."

Didn't sound like a water banshee. The last tear dropped off Mirta's cheek onto the bag as she opened it. She saw a bundle of wet fur with big eyes. "Mee!"

"Oh!" It was shivering. Mirta tucked the muddy bundle under her jacket. It shivered against her ribs as she ran for the bus stop.

Bloom was chewing on her pencil. "Write an essay on the seven noble trees of the magical realms, including history and uses." She was stumped.

"Here, chew on this." Flora offered a carrot.

Bloom took a bite and looked at her books again. She heard a loud snore.

"Stella!"

"Wha..?"

Flora threw a carrot at her. Bloom giggled.

"Ah, that was hard work. Study break time!" Stella regarded the carrot. "Flora, can't you grow a cake tree?"

"Stella, these are due next week! You asked me to keep you on target."

"I'll get to it after dinner. What's Musa doing?" And since everybody really wanted to be distracted they all went to peek in Musa's door.

Musa was sitting in pretzel position, floating a foot above the floor. Five instruments drifted in the air around her and played a slow tune.

"Wow." Bloom whispered.

As they watched, Musa and the instruments landed. She opened her eyes and looked at the clock. "Half an hour! Record! How's the essays going you guys?"

Bloom and Stella groaned.

Just then they heard a voice from outside, "Hello? Anybody home? Flora?"

Stella was nearest so she got the door. "Hi Mirta, come on in. Ah, your shoes!"

Mirta spent about one second looking at her muddy shoes. "Look, I found this thing in a stream on the witch side of town. It's cold, what should I do?" Mirta let the little creature tumble into her lap.

Bloom said, "It's a kit… oh."

"A kitto?"

"A kitten I thought, but on Earth they only have four legs."

Flora took over, "Oh, she's cold and dirty! I've got a seed for this, Stella can you help me? Musa, get some water."

"Sure."

Bloom rubbed the kitten's head with her finger. "Poor thing. He was in the water?"

"Mmhm. I don't know how it got there. Maybe someone…" Just thinking of it made Mirta's eyes fill with tears.

Bloom gasped. "How awful! Wait, I have that bed Kiko didn't want…"

Stella and Flora clasped their hands together and joined their powers. The seed in Flora's hand changed into a bright yellow flower. Mirta washed the little thing off in water—it said "Mee!" in an angry way the whole time—and they put it in Kiko's old bed on top of the warm sunflower.

"Job well done!" Stella announced, watching the little creature stretch all six paws, two at a time.

"Mee!"

"What does it eat?"

Stella offered her carrot.

"Not that!" Everybody said pretty much together and pretty much all laughing.

"I, ah, think I'll take it to see Miss Ofelia." Mirta carefully scooped up flower, bed and animal.

Bloom held the door, "Hey can I come with you?"

"Sure."

They walked through the halls. It was after class, so there were only a few students around, mostly groups coming from the bus or aeroslam practice or the library. Mirta listened as conversations drifted past them.

Silicya was saying into her cel phone, "…and then it turned purple and bubbled over, and everyone else's were ready to drink! I was so embarrassed! Wait hang on, babe. Bloom! What've you got?"

"It's Mirta's… we're not sure what it is…"

As usual, Mirta suddenly couldn't think of anything to say.

"Oh, how cute! I don't know what it is; it's not from my realm. See ya!" and then back into her phone, "What? Princess Bloom and that witch girl…"

"Mya?"

The little animal's eyes opened wide, black pupils opening until its eyes were solid black. Then it blinked and looked normal again.

"Bloom!"

"Hi, Katy Spika."

"Going to the aeroslam court? Layla's teaching everybody this version from Tides and oh what have you got there? How darling! It looks kinda like me!"

And Mirta had to smile, because as Katy said that her tail uncurled and hung out the bottom of her tunic.

"Oh no! My tail!"

Katy ran off, trying to catch her unruly appendage. Mirta and Bloom looked at each other. It would be rude to laugh. They managed not to, for a whole ten seconds.

They reached the hospital wing without running into anyone else. Miss Ofelia was just seeing off another fairy who thanked the nurse profusely and looked very relieved.

"Miss Ofelia, Mirta found this little guy in a stream. Do you know what it eats or, uh, what it is?"

The nurse pushed up her glasses. "How interesting. Definitely feline… six legs… for an exact identification we'll have to contact the Magix Zoological Garden. Or… Palladium? Come take a look."

From the hospital appeared their teacher Professor Palladium… and Professor Avalon.

Bloom went all melty. Mirta wasn't even looking at her, and she could tell Bloom was going all melty.

Palladium smiled and petted the kitten. It said "mya" and nibbled his fingers. "It may be some kind of Atlantean firecat. How interesting."

"Fascinating." Said Avalon.

"Professor, do you know what it eats?"

"Universal creature formula should do… but we've missed the last bus haven't we? Avalon my friend, I don't suppose you'd perform a fetch spell for our favorite students?"

Mirta thought Professor Avalon didn't look very excited, but he nodded. "Certainly. If we can find some space?"

There were a few empty rooms in the hospital, so they went in one of those with Miss Ofelia peeking in the doorway.

Avalon crouched down and drew two circles on the floor. "This is a basic matter transference spell. You'll be learning it in your junior year, Bloom. You can tell Stella it's an 'instant shopping spell' but you do need money."

Bloom blushed. "Uh, professor… loan?"

Palladium already had his wallet out. He dropped some coins in one of the circles.

"Pay you back tomorrow!"

Avalon said four short words. The empty circle lit up and flickered quickly through colors and vague shapes that went by too quickly to be seen. Then the flickering stopped and something appeared in the circle. Bottles. And the money in the other circle disappeared.

Palladium applauded. "Perfectly done! And this should be enough to feed the baby until you can get to the store in the morning. Mirta, were you planning to keep him in your dorm?"

"Yes if it's allowed."

Miss Ofelia answered, "I don't see why not. Why don't you go get him settled in?"

"Mmhm. I will. Bloom, you coming?"

"Later ok, Mirta? Professor Avalon, I wanted to ask you something? Do you have time?"

"For you Bloom, always."

Mirta made a face at their retreating backs and hurried her charge to her room. The kitten—calling it 'kitten' seemed as good as anything else—said 'mya' a lot while Mirta settled its bed and warming flower in a laundry basket to keep them contained. She looked at the bottles of universal creature formula. "Shake well, break seal…" she read the bottle under her breath, and tried it. The kitten grabbed the bottle with all six paws and sucked away. The sides of the bottle curved in. Mirta stared in wonder. Then it said, "Mya." Again and went to sleep.

Well that was easy. Mirta smiled and rested her chin on the table next to the basket. The little animal's ribs moved when it breathed. Maybe it would grow wings, or turn out to be some special magical being or something.

But it wouldn't do to show up tomorrow without her homework, after the teachers had helped her out! Mirta very quietly got out her books.