Suppose that Alice throws a spell and hits Bob, and Bob doesn't hear what Alice said and so has to ask "What was that?" or something similar. This happens a lot in large field battles where it is very noisy because everyone is saying their calls. Something similar can happen if, let's say , Alice throws a spell at Bob's back while Bob is turned, and Bob doesn't feel the spell and Alice needs to tell him that it hit.
The question is: in such a situation (assuming no Hold is called), while Alice and Bob are trying to resolve what happened, are Alice and Bob still considered "in-game" and thus legal targets for someone else? How about if while Alice and Bob are talking, Alice uses the opportunity to catch Bob by surprise by throwing another spell?
If the answer is that in this case, Alice and Bob are *not* legal targets (i.e. they are in a "mini-hold"), then what is necessary for Alice and Bob to do to communicate this fact to other players around them? Similarly, if Alice is not allowed to catch Bob by surprise in this way, what does Alice need to do to confirm that "the discussion about what happened is over, we're back in game now?)
The question is: in such a situation (assuming no Hold is called), while Alice and Bob are trying to resolve what happened, are Alice and Bob still considered "in-game" and thus legal targets for someone else? How about if while Alice and Bob are talking, Alice uses the opportunity to catch Bob by surprise by throwing another spell?
If the answer is that in this case, Alice and Bob are *not* legal targets (i.e. they are in a "mini-hold"), then what is necessary for Alice and Bob to do to communicate this fact to other players around them? Similarly, if Alice is not allowed to catch Bob by surprise in this way, what does Alice need to do to confirm that "the discussion about what happened is over, we're back in game now?)