Deliberately, carefully, Conn thrust the sword at the beast's skin, The wicked point sliced through the beast's hide, right into the vein by the neck. The animal flinched as though attacked by a horse fly. Blood welled and dripped.
With his teeth set in a grin, Conn dropped the sword. If clanged on stone. With his good hand he grabbed the animal by the horns and forced it to stand still.
Then he bent his head and licked the blood from the beast's side. It tasted sharply of metal.
'With this blood I shall be a warrior!' he vowed.