Triple Life [3rd Life SMP]

2. Alpha

Grian was an alpha. One of the strong ones, then? Strong... but with less health. He would have to choose his battles wisely. As he looked at the screen, people began sending messages, informing the group of their roles and commenting on what had just happened. It seemed everyone had collapsed when given their role.

<Etho> Okay, immediate thoughts: I'm taller. Guess that's an alpha thing.

Upon seeing that, Grian quickly climbed to his feet and straightened to his full height. He could tell right away that he was taller than before. It was only a few inches, but it was noticeable, and he gave a happy chirp, bouncing a couple times. Now this was a great benefit!

<BdoubleO100> Oh NO. I'm short!

<Etho> That's not new.

<BdoubleO100> Shut up! I'm an omega and it made me shrink! This is so rude!!

Grian laughed, but he felt a strange ping of recognition now as he thought about Bdubs being an omega. Some new part of him, similar to the animal instincts that came with being avian, now whispered to him to find an omega. Find an omega, bond, take care of them. He gazed into space as he absorbed that. The rulebook had mentioned that everyone would feel driven to form teams, but he hadn't realized it would be that instinctive.

Grian looked back at the chat. It seemed his fellow alphas included Etho, BigB, Martyn, Pearl, and Lizzie. He let them know his own status, and they happily welcomed him to the group. He thanked them, but found himself feeling wary of them too. Competition. He'll need to be on guard around them.

Doc, Ren, Impulse, Cleo, Scott, and Skizzleman were all betas, and while they had no physical changes, they commented that they felt a little calmer than usual. They had an instinct to find both an alpha and omega, bring together the trios that everyone was expected to form. They were already discussing who they might want to team with. Grian's heart raced. That meant...

Yep, sure enough. The omegas. Mumbo, Jimmy, Bdubs, Tango, Joel... and Scar. Grian stared hard at Scar's username as he shared his thoughts about the role. He felt a little more shy than usual, and he wanted an alpha's company. He confessed that it was almost like wanting to submit to someone, which wasn't something he was used to feeling, and his choice of words got a lot of the others laughing, some sending winks.

Heat curled in Grian's gut. A submissive Scar... that was a pleasing mental image. And Mumbo too... either one of them would be a good partner. He licked his lips, then shook his head, snapping himself out of it. He needed to focus. He should keep preparing his base, then he could go meet some of the others later and see about getting a team together.

He got a campfire going so he would have warmth, and kept working. It was only a few minutes later though that he felt his communicator buzz again. He sighed and looked at it. Doc had sent him a message asking if they could talk in person.

Grian hesitated. Doc felt like someone he could trust, but the other was a wild card. He hasn't played with them before. Even if they were friends outside of this, there was no telling how Doc might behave to win here. But then, they were all green. What could Doc do, really?

So Grian agreed and sent him his coordinates, then got back to mining. He had gotten a good bit of space cleared and was organizing things into a chest when Doc arrived.

A knock on the stone outside the entrance, then Doc called, "Alpha, may I come in?"

Grian's ear tufts perked. That was... an unusual form of address, but he sorta liked it. It settled the part of him that was naturally more wary now. "Sure, come in."

Doc walked in. He looked around, then smiled at Grian. "Ah, making a Hobbit hole? How nostalgic."

Grian tilted his head. "What?"