Dirty Paws: Conquest of the Sky

Introduction

This story was based on the song 'Dirty Paws' by Of Monsters and Men. Their music has inspired me in both my writing and personal music career. I hope that I do them justice with this story and that it will bring more people together to love their music on a whole new level.
It only seems fair to include the lyrics of the song. It sort of spoils the ending of the story, but anyone who has heard this song would automatically have known that its ending is a happy one and I intended to keep it happy. Enjoy the story and may you feel touched by this tale.

Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men:

Jumping up and down the floor
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say

Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow

So for a while things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws

***

The end of winter had ascended upon the forest. As the snow dissolves, and the earth is reclaimed by the green, the animals awaken from their slumber. The hummingbirds are humming again, initiating a chain of awakenings that sweeps over the hibernating animals. Snails, frogs, hedgehogs, bears and many others inside the kingdom emerge from their seasonal nap. 

 The squirrel awakes, from a regular nap for the tree squirrel does not hibernate, unlike his ground-bound cousin. His first thought is of food. An acorn is all he craves and luckily for him, he had stored up a literal mountain before his sleep. Charlie frantically searches for his treasure while a doe gracefully treads through the grass underneath his home, alike him in search of a meal. They greet each other briefly, but a conversation does not follow because the squirrel is too busy with the thought of eating, and acorns.
  "Charlie!" A familiar voice shouts. The frantic squirrel turns around quickly and smiles upon seeing his dear childhood friend Notail.
  Notail leaps from his own oak tree twig towards Charlie. His landing is, nicely put, flawed. Which is only logical since squirrels without tails have a significant issue with their balance.
Charlie, who's heart is still beating rapidly, greets his friend with a hug. Normally the squirrels in this area greeted each other by intertwining their bushy red tails. As Notail's name suggests, he has no tail. Therefore, the Council of Acorns had decided that every member of the community had to greet each other with a hug. All council members unanimously voted that it was the right thing to do (as they do on any vote). They are quite an inclusive bunch as their motto states, "No squirrel shall be left behind. All are one and all are kind" A motto which has not been contradicted or broken for centuries.
  "Have you seen my acorns? I could've sworn that I hid them in the trunk of my home." Charlie asked, his eyes still darting up and down the tree. He quickly adds, "I've been searching all morning and can't stop thinking that someone might have taken them. Even the smell of them is absent, so I know they've been gone for a long time. It troubles me to think someone took my acorns. How extremely rude must one be to just take a hardworking squirrel's acorns?"
  "I saw that freak lurking about your tree yesterday...' Notail exclaims. He pauses for a moment and then snaps his fingers, "Paws, that white grizzly in the cave near the lake."Charlie's breathing becomes heavy. If his heart could beat faster than it is now, it might explode out of his chest. Episodes of the last time they quarrelled with Paws flash before his eyes. Teeth sharper than those of the mighty crocodile. Claws stronger than the wings of a harpy. A roar louder than the howler monkey's, and a breath more deadly than the venom of the fer-de-lance snake. Charlie swallows audibly. "Are you sure that it was Paws?" Charlie asks, slightly panicking. "Charlie, I am certain. There is not a single grizzly that looks so.... so unnatural. I saw a white bear with dark brown paws, what else could it be?" "You're right, must've been her." Charlie announces that he's got an idea and signs Notail to follow him. They both start scaling the tree, their tiny claws clipping and hooking into the bark. What they lack in height they make up in speed. Their agility and cleverness is their primary defence in almost every hostile situation. It was known in the forest that nothing was faster than a squirrel who felt threatened.
  In a matter of seconds, they clamber all the way up to the top, where they gaze towards the mountains of Falckry. They both hold their breath upon seeing something they both can't explain in words or thoughts.
 "We must warn them." Notail whispers while nudging Charlie's shoulder. Charlie remains frozen from fear, his tail tucked between his legs and ears flattened against his head. Not realising that Charlie is still on top of the tree, Notail climbs down. Unable to move or think Charlie accepts his fate. A shrill screech roared over the forest and made Notail stop in his tracks along with birds screeching and flying away in panic from their nests. Notail looks back realizing Charlie isn't following him. Without trying to lose the momentum of his run he launches himself against a tree, clips his nails into the bark and circles it. Halfway he jumps back to the ground and sprints back to the tree that is Charlie's home.
 'Charlie!' He panics. Fear slowly consumes his mind, convincing him the worst has already happened. He keeps sprinting as fast as he can resulting in loss of feeling in his four limbs. The beating of his tiny squirrel heart sets the rhythm for his sprint as he pushes away the dark thoughts. He keeps screaming his friend's name, but the shrill screeching grows louder, it is pure agony and pain escaping Charlie's lungs. 'Charlie!' Notail screams again. No answer, just screeching wafting through the branches and leaves. He sprints up the bark of the tree, halfway through the screeching halts and something falls from the top of the tree. It nearly crashed into Notail.  There was no questioning, he realised that the object soaring towards the ground was his best friend. The body thumped against the soft green bed of grass and Notail stared at the remains of Charlie for what felt like hours. He slowly descended the tree and came to a stop at Charlie's final resting place. There was no breathing, no sound, not even a twitch from his tail. Unable to accept his friend's death Notail threw Charlie's carcass over his shoulder and starts running towards the tree of Turling. 'Don't worry buddy, we're gonna get you to Turling. He's gonna get you all patched up and then we'll go find your nuts.'