Gilan originally settled as a bright yellow hummingbird, and remained as such throughout the incident on the Queen’s Gambit and throughout her time aboard the Amazo, as it was easier for him to remain close to her in an environment they both knew was undoubtedly hostile, despite Ivo’s protection. It was when Nyssa found her close to death that something changed, and the first day she woke up in Nanda Parbat, she discovered Gilan had resettled into the form of a mountain lion.
During Sara’s training with the League, she - like all other recruits - underwent the trial that would allow her to be separated from her daemon across far greater distances to assist with reconnaissance, and to also allow her new identity of Ta-er al Sahfer to remain less recognisable to any authorities. Because of their training, Sara and Gilan have become incredibly skilled at making it seem as though nothing is strange about their bond, but since her return to Starling City, there have been a few occasions where he has strayed beyond the normal bounds for a person and their daemon. Team Arrow knows how they can do it, but it garners more than a few strange looks in public.
Blog relevant information - When she was resurrected in the morgue, Sara almost had to be carried out as it occurred to her that Gilan was nowhere to be seen, and she couldn’t feel him anywhere. It was explained to her later that the temporary insanity induced by the Lazarus Pits was more caused by the fact that it took time for daemons to return than the combination of the chemicals. Sara was sick for days until the morning she awoke to find Gilan curled up against her chest. She promptly didn’t leave her bed for the next day, doing nothing but convincing herself that her beloved daemon was safe and sound and wasn’t about to vanish at any given moment. Even now, Gilan sticks closer to her than he would have before, almost as though their bond had been restored to how it was before Sara’s training with the League. Until she’s 100% recovered from her revival, they don’t like to push things, as it makes Sara downright ill at the moment if Gilan is out of her sight.
