char *command = "nest";
char *halloween =  join("hallowee", command[0]);   //this gives an error

char *join(const char* s1,  const char* s2)
{
    char* result = malloc(strlen(s1) + strlen(s2) + 1);

    if (result)
    {
            strcpy(result, s1);
            strcat(result, s2);
    }

    return result;
}

char *join(const char* s1,  const char c)
{
    int len = strlen(s1);
    char* result = malloc(len + 2);

    if (result)
    {
            strcpy(result, s1);
            result[len] = c;         //add the extra character
            result[len+1] = '';    //terminate the string
    }

    return result;
}

char *command = "nest";
char *buffer  = " "; // one space and an implicit trailing ''
char *halloween;

*buffer = command[0];
halloween = join("hallowee", buffer);