Before meeting her future husband, Lily became a musician and learned to play the flute; her musical talents were the first thing Chong, who used to serenade her with his banjo, felt attracted to.[2] After they both formed a nomadic group, they traveled around the world while playing songs and telling stories with their friends.
Lily and her friends ran into Team Avatar when AvatarAang needed to get to Omashu in order to find an earthbending teacher. While both groups were hanging out together, Lily braided Katara's hair with flowers. After Sokka pointed out that they really needed to get going, Lily calmed him down, saying that Sokka needed to focus less on the "where" and more on the "going", as apparently Sokka had a case of "destination fever". As Fire Nationtroops prevented them from flying over the mountains, Team Avatar and the nomads decided they would take the secret pass through the Cave of Two Lovers of which the nomads had been singing. Lily pointed out that the curse stated that the only way to get through the caves safely was to "trust in love".
After being locked into the cave, Lily showed her naive side by lighting all the torches at once, due to the logic "they last two hours each, we have five, so that's ten hours". Sokka quickly put them out again, saving the team's only light source. When one of the torches startled Appa during the attack of a wolfbat, the flying bison caused a cave in, cutting off Lily from Aang, Katara, and Appa.
Lily ventured further through the caves with Sokka and the rest of the nomads. After about an hour of aimlessly walking through the ever shifting tunnels, they had another run in with wolfbats, but this time, the vicious animals were trying to get away from two badgermoles. Sokka discovered by accident that these giant earthbending creatures were music lovers, so Lily and the others started a song which enabled them to ride the beasts out of the tunnels to safety, where they reunited with Aang, Katara, and Appa. After saying their goodbyes, Lily and the other nomads parted ways with Team Avatar.[1]
Lily was a bit air-headed but always optimistic; a laid back, free-spirited person who preferred to enjoy life rather than obsess over the details. Very mild-mannered and at times almost lethargic, she did not always pay attention to the most obvious things. Lily was never nonplussed like the rest of her nomadic friends. She had gentle disposition: mild, friendly, warm with a kindly gentleness for good measure.