@Meroko26 She was probably checking if there was something about his background that could be used as reference, since it sounds like both the transformation stuff and making the leap from an animal into a youkai are both fundamentally based on something along the lines of "actualised self-image".
Going by Buchio's account whatever "spark" triggers that transition comes before (human-analog) consciousness arises since he only went self-aware during the transformation and doesn't seem to know of any specific or active personal desire for it.