Kit Cloudkicker

"Kit Cloudkicker, ma'am. I'm the navigator!"

Kit Cloudkicker is a fascinating individual. Not yet in his teens, this daring young bearcub is already a fine athlete, a masterful navigator, and a walking authority on aircraft and aviation — self-taught, no less. For his age, Kit is a budding acrobat and an aspiring aviator — strange perhaps, because these skills seem to be innate rather than acquired. Cheerful and handsome, Kit’s boyish good looks and natural charm make him admirable as well as talented, rounding out his impressive list of traits.

However, Kit's appearances mask a history of tremendous hardship. Raised an orphan, Kit Cloudkicker spent several years in an orphanage and on the streets before settling at Higher for Hire, his new home. Now, with his partner and best friend Baloo, Kit Cloudkicker serves as the Sea Duck's navigator — and he's quite possibly the best navigator in the skies.

Kit Cloudkicker's past remains shrouded in mystery, and Kit himself is reluctant to discuss the early years of his life. Suffice it to say, Kit had no family and needed to survive on his own. Wandering from town to town, Kit visited pilot hangouts looking for someone to teach him how to fly, or at least give him a ride to the next port. Homeless, Kit was reduced to sleeping in doorways and under docks, often contending with the unsavory elements of the streets. Only Kit's dream of becoming a pilot gave him the strength to survive this period.

Through some turn of events, Kit joined the Air Pirates at the age of ten, where he was taken in by Don Karnage. Seeing something special in the boy, Karnage tried to mold Kit into a worthy protégé. However, before long, Kit became sick of life with the pirates and was determined to leave; but with no means of supporting himself, he could not go far.

When the pirates stole a valuable stone from Khan Industries, Kit swiped it with the intent of selling it later. The pirates gave chase, but Kit found refuge with a large gray bear named Baloo — master pilot of the Sea Duck. Through a harrowing adventure involving the Air Pirates, a superweapon, and an attack on Cape Suzette, Kit and Baloo bonded and emerged friends for life.

Kit now has a home, a job, and a surrogate family at Higher for Hire. He is enrolled in the Cape Suzette elementary school and serves aboard the Sea Duck as Baloo's navigator. Dubbed with the nickname "Little Britches," Kit is best friend and partner to Baloo, whom he affectionately refers to as "Papa Bear."

Kit Cloudkicker is an outstanding specimen of a twelve-year-old. He is handsome and plucky, with a youthful grin and an infectious laugh. His common attire is a worn green sweater with a small patch on the elbow as a souvenir from his street days. Kit also has a red-and-blue baseball cap Baloo gave him when they met, which he wears backwards on his head.

Kit is an athletic boy. During his years on the streets and with the Air Pirates, Kit has developed considerable speed and stamina rivaling that of a trained gymnast. Although Kit is short for his age, he uses his small stature to his advantage in squeezing through narrow passages and hiding in tight spaces. He particularly enjoys track and field at the Cape Suzette School, where he dazzles his classmates with his agility and physical prowess. However, Kit has so far been unsuccessful in applying for a spot on the school track team.

Like Baloo, Kit Cloudkicker's one true love is aviation. He sleeps it — he dreams it — he thinks about it every ten seconds, at least! Kit's quest to become a pilot someday was the one thing that kept him going during his rough past, and it is now an ambition which Kit intends to fulfil. A natural flyer, Kit has an inherent knack for piloting and a keen understanding of aerodynamic theory — he even plays "scarf-and-goggles" in the Sea Duck's cockpit in his spare time. Having been in at least 200 planes and memorized the entire Standard Flight Manual, Kit is a self-taught expert on aviation, but Baloo restrains "Little Britches" from practicing his skills until the boy is old enough to get his license and receive formal instruction.

That does not keep Kit from enjoying himself in the air. His favorite sport, "cloudsurfing," combines his physical fitness with his love of the sky. In cloudsurfing, Kit hangs onto a tow rope behind the Sea Duck while riding his airfoil, a metal board which allows Kit to skim the clouds and perform stunning aerial acrobatics. (For more information on the airfoil, see the "Special Technology" section.)

Kit's other major talent is navigation. A living compass, Kit possesses an innate sense of direction and can easily find his way around using either a map or his own memory. His knack with navigational instruments makes Kit Cloudkicker an expert navigator, mapping out cargo routes and courses for Baloo with remarkable efficiency. As a result, the Sea Duck is always on time for deliveries — or should be, were it not for Baloo’s nagging habit of stopping at Louie’s for a little R&R between runs. Nevertheless, Kit has proven himself a capable navigator — the best in the skies, according to Baloo.

Cloudsurfing, Kit Cloudkicker's favorite pastime.		Navigation, another of Kit's specialties.

Kit has various other abilities. He is good at making surprise entrances and fast exits, and he is quite adept at bargaining or conning his way out of a tough spot. Kit's versatile young voice can mimic some other voices with surprising accuracy, a trait which has come in handy on at least one occasion. Finally, Kit shows promise as a mechanic, having constructed a second airfoil after Don Karnage destroyed his first one.

Kit Cloudkicker shows much maturity for a twelve-year-old. Kit's experiences on his own have taught him self-reliance and given him remarkable street smarts, making Kit appear somewhat wise beyond his years. However, Kit is still just a boy, prone to act recklessly or impulsively where his own freedom is concerned. His better judgment can be especially clouded when it comes to flying. Kit wants to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot, but fails to consider his own youth and lack of experience as reasons to wait until he is older. Impatience, as well as an attraction to fame and wealth through flying, sometimes puts Kit at odds with Baloo. This has led to at least two incidents where Kit has — however painfully — forsaken his friends to realize his dream. He'd been misled both times, and only by Baloo showing up in the nick of time was Kit saved.

While well-liked and respected, Kit has difficulty opening up to people about his past. Kit's life on the streets had forced him to adopt a "tough-guy" image to survive. Even now he still has problems completely trusting people. However Kit may refuse to admit it, he has to some degree leaned on Rebecca and Baloo as a type of surrogate family to replace the parents he lost so many years ago. As an orphan used to relying on himself, Kit yearns for stability but at the same time remains wary of any outside authority in his life. Kit may sometimes feel that Baloo and Rebecca stifle his ambitions, but they only step into Kit's life when it is clearly in his best interest. Between the two, Kit finds himself drawn to both the happy-go-lucky, carefree life Baloo leads, and the warm, stable home environment Rebecca offers.

As for his peers, Kit has made several new friends his age in Cape Suzette who share his interests and ambitions. To this end, Kit and his companions established the "Jungle Aces Secret Midnight Club," an organization dedicated to the fanhood of aviation. Meeting in a junkyard in suburban Cape Suzette, the Jungle Aces place no restriction on membership except that the candidate love aircraft and have at least one adventure to tell the other members. Kit is particularly attentive to the well-being of children younger than himself, including Molly Cunningham, whom he looks out for as a sort of "older brother."

Besides being resourceful, Kit is also very industrious. He is not unaccustomed to hard work and understands the principle of working to earn a living — a trait which often clashes with Baloo’s preference for "easy money." Due to his common-sense attitude, Kit often works to restrain some of Baloo’s more irresponsible tendencies, becoming in a way Baloo's conscience. (Whether or not Baloo chooses to listen is another matter entirely.)

Despite their differences, Kit and Baloo have a wonderful rapport and are a first-class team — one whose friendship has lasted through thick and thin and will continue to last, it seems, always.